Every person gets one health story, and one private Family Stork email address every clinic already knows how to use. Tired of managing health records for yourself and everyone you love? Family Stork organizes them for you automatically.
Most families stop after the signature. The medical power of attorney is filed, maybe a copy goes to the primary care doctor, and everyone assumes the hard part is done.
Then something happens. A fall, a stroke, an emergency surgery. The person named as agent arrives at the hospital with the legal authority to make decisions — and no idea which medications Mom takes, which cardiologist adjusted her dosage last month, or whether the new blood thinner interacts with anything else.
The legal document says you can decide. The health records tell you what to decide. One without the other is not enough.
These are the documents and records that belong alongside the signed medical power of attorney. You do not need to be a medical professional to gather them — you need to know where they are and keep them current. Consult your parent's doctor or an elder law attorney for questions about any specific item.
Every medication, every dosage, every frequency. Include over-the-counter supplements and anything prescribed by specialists the primary care doctor may not know about. The most common preventable harm in a hospital admission is a medication error caused by an incomplete list.
Where to get it: ask the pharmacy for a printed medication profile — it shows everything currently being filled with refill history. Then check each specialist's patient portal. If your parent has a private Family Stork address on their record, each provider's prescriptions and visit summaries arrive and file themselves — the medication list stays current without phone calls.
Primary care doctor, cardiologist, endocrinologist, oncologist, physical therapist, dentist, eye doctor. Name, practice name, phone number, fax number. When a hospital discharge planner asks "who is the primary care doctor?" at 2 a.m., you need the answer immediately — not after a search through a phone's contact list.
Medicare card (or Medicare Advantage plan card), supplemental/Medigap policy, Part D prescription drug plan card, any long-term care insurance policy number. A photo of the front and back of each card, stored digitally, is faster than searching a wallet in an emergency.
The medical power of attorney names the decision-maker. The advance directive tells that decision-maker what the person actually wants — resuscitation preferences, ventilator decisions, comfort care instructions. These two documents work together. One without the other creates confusion. Every state has its own advance directive form; many are available free from state health departments or the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
If your parent has been hospitalized in the past year, the discharge summary contains the diagnosis, treatments given, follow-up instructions, and medication changes made during the stay. A new hospital team treating an emergency will look at the most recent discharge summary before anything else.
The echocardiogram from July. The oncology follow-up from September. The blood work that showed the kidney function declining. These reports give a new provider the context to make decisions that match the patient's actual condition — not just what appears in a single hospital's electronic system.
Drug allergies, food allergies, latex sensitivity, contrast dye reactions. Include the specific reaction (hives, anaphylaxis, GI distress) — "allergic to penicillin" and "got a stomach ache from penicillin once" lead to very different treatment decisions. Ask your parent's doctor to confirm this list at the next visit.
The legal name varies. In some states it is "healthcare proxy" (New York, Massachusetts). In others it is "durable power of attorney for healthcare" (California, Texas) or "medical power of attorney" (Texas also uses this term). Some states combine it with the advance directive into a single form. The legal effect is the same: naming a person to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. An elder law attorney in your state can confirm which form applies. (Source: American Bar Association — Health Care Decision Making)
A filing cabinet in the basement does not help at 2 a.m. in the emergency room. The records need to be:
Family Stork was built for exactly this. Each person's record has a private email address shown on their profile. Any provider — the cardiologist, the primary care doctor, the hospital discharge desk — emails records to that address. Visit summaries, lab results, prescriptions, discharge papers — they arrive in one timeline and file themselves. The family members you invite can see the record from their own phone. When the moment comes, the medication list is there. The specialist reports are there. The provider contacts are there. Nothing to search for. $99/year for the whole family — or about $10/month.
After working with thousands of families organizing health records, the most commonly forgotten items are:
A medical power of attorney names a specific person to make healthcare decisions on your behalf when you cannot. An advance directive (or living will) states your wishes about specific treatments — resuscitation, ventilators, feeding tubes, comfort care. They serve different purposes and work best together. Some states combine them into a single form. Consult an elder law attorney for the correct forms in your state. (Source: National Institute on Aging — Advance Care Planning)
Yes. Give a copy to every provider — primary care doctor, specialists, the hospital system your parent uses most. Most providers will scan it into the electronic health record. The agent should also carry a copy (digital or paper) for situations where the provider does not have one on file.
Review the medication list, provider contacts, and insurance information every time something changes — a new medication, a new specialist, an insurance renewal. At minimum, review everything once a year. With Family Stork, the records update themselves as each provider emails visit summaries to the private address — the review becomes a confirmation, not a research project.
That is the normal situation, not the exception. Most aging parents have records spread across a primary care doctor, two or three specialists, a hospital system, an urgent care, and a pharmacy — all in separate portals with separate logins. Family Stork gives each person one private email address. Any provider sends records to that address. They arrive in one timeline. One place to look. Start free.
Yes. Every adult should have one, regardless of age or health status. Name someone you trust, share the health records listed above with them, and make sure they know where to find everything. An elder law attorney or estate planning attorney can prepare the document — many states also offer free forms through their health department or bar association.
Tired of managing health records for yourself and everyone you love? Family Stork organizes them for you automatically. $99/year, or about $10/month.
Start organizing — free