Your Wellness Needs a Home, Too: The Wellness Document
Relatedly, to last week’s email article and podcast episode,
The other morning, as I was waiting for the people in my house to be ready to go somewhere, I was reading emails that I often put aside until later because I value them but I don’t always have time to read them when they arrive!
Specifically that day, I received the monthly email newsletter from The Cognitive Clinic, a local mental health and wellness clinic. I’m a fan. I have worked on projects with them, we end up at the same community events, I’ve been on Dr. Carla's podcast. And Ava mentioned in the recent newsletter that August is National Wellness Month, and I think I love that!
I’ve gotten away from celebrating events on my blog and podcast as I want the content to be timeless, but National Wellness Month is too good to pass up! To celebrate the theme, let me share an idea. And, while I also try not to say “Should”, this is something I think we all Should do.
Let me lay it out - I have an Evernote Note, and my son uses a Google Doc. Mine is called “MCK Wellness”, and my son’s is “[His initials] Medical”.
You could use a note on your phone, a Word Document, even pen and paper, I suppose, though I prefer digital means. The point of having this on Evernote or a GoogleDoc is to keep it virtual so I can access it from my phone, my laptop or my Ipad. I can share access to it with my husband if he needs to access or share information on my behalf, if something happens to me.
Here’s what is in these documents.
At the very top, we have our health care providers listed. I have my eye doctor, dentist, primary care provider, gynecologist, counselor, dermatologist and chiropractor listed, plus links to the patient portals for those and my user IDs (but not passwords), where applicable.
Below that, I have listed supplements like my Gruns multivitamins or my MoonChews for better sleep that I order every 1-3 months and those user IDs and websites as well.
Then, my prescriptions are listed. What I am taking, what the instructions are (for example, I take one every two weeks), which doctor prescribed them, when I started, and where I source them (either XPress Scripts or my local pharmacy).
Then, there is a short list of my upcoming appointments, like my September skin check at the dermatologist, my regularly scheduled check-in with my primary care doctor in September, and my next dentist appointment in December.
Then, a block of appointments of things I need to do (like have bloodwork drawn) or schedule, and an estimate of when those should occur. For example, at time of writing this, I don’t have an appointment set for my annual physical but the end of November is the year mark, and I have a note in my to-do list to call the office on September 1. Same goes for my annual gynecologist appointment, to be scheduled some time after the end of October, which is when I had one last year.
I had my mammogram in July, and when I was scheduling that appointment, the scheduler was impressed that I knew exactly when I had it done in 2025. Last month’s exam was exactly one year and one day after the last one per insurance instructions of not more than once a year.
All of those data points take up less than one page of our documents.
After that, in reverse chronological, or most recent notes first, are my notes about past appointments. This IS NOT a medical record. But it is a place to park my notes about my own health and wellness.
I have notes in the document from my recent virtual appointment with my primary care physician regarding some labs that I had drawn in June. There was one we were a little worried about so we talked about some lifestyle changes I need to make, we adjusted one of my prescriptions, and she made a note in my file for repeat labs when I schedule my physical in November.
It’s titled “Wellness” because keeping up on these metrics helps keep me well. I don’t go to the dentist twice a year because I am ill but because I want to stay well. I don’t go to my eye doctor annually because there is something wrong with me, but because I want to make sure to maintain good eye health and keep my eyeglass prescription up to date.
What would your pertinent information be? Please, my friends, start a Wellness Document this month if you don’t already have one.
This may sound like a lot of work (it’s not), but let me share reasons why you should bother.
Why? EMR:
Electronic Medical Records are great, so most of your providers can have access to most of your medical information, but not all. My dentist office, my eye doctor, my dermatologist - they are not part of my EMR. So for my own continuity of care, it’s important to me to keep track of those visits and notes in my own document. Not every lab value or doctor note, but the highlights.
Why? Because there is more to our Wellness than just our next doctor appointment.
Those next appointments are important, of course. In addition, I can look up in my pharmacy records that I received a flu shot on October 31, 2025 last year, but it wouldn’t mention in that record that I had a “robust immune response” and had a fever for 2 weeks! (My note-to-self in my Wellness Document is to talk to my PCP about a different formulation or other options!)
Why? Because we may need to access this information when we’re filling out forms for a new provider, and we don’t want to forget details.
Why? Because once we have created it, we can add details as we go along or as we remember them.
Good news! You do not have to have a complete Wellness Document immediately.
Yes, I opened up my Wellness Doc while I was writing this. I started mine about a year ago, and I realized I didn’t have my surgeries listed (like childbirth, etc.), or their dates. And now I do.
I checked on those notes from last year’s flu shot which reminded me to make note of the TDAP vaccine I received in March to protect our little grandson who arrived a few weeks later. I added that to my document, so the next time someone asks when I received my last Tetanus booster - because you know someone will! - I will actually be able to tell them!
Why? Because, our loved ones may need the information some day.
Perhaps you are part of the team for your children’s health and wellness. Or as they grow up, they take a more active role in maintaining their wellness notes. Or you are a caregiver for an older loved one and need to add notes after doctor visits or phone calls. Or, your spouse or family members may have to act on your behalf if something happens and you can’t answer questions for yourself.
We don’t want to think about any of these last few scenarios, but they are a very real concern, friends. My dad had skin cancer. He was never clear on the type. I’ve had skin cancer. I would have liked to have known what type he had.
Why? Because a “Wellness” document helps you take action.
Imagine with me, after your next doctor appointment, you jot down ideas that occur to you and the next actions you’re meant to take in your Wellness Document and copy them to your to-do list. You add a deadline to those tasks, based on when your follow up visit with that doctor is scheduled. And then, you actually complete them.
Or, you don’t and when you check in on the document in a few weeks, you’re reminded to take action and you do.
None of these notes should be scribbled on the back of open mail envelopes because that was the only thing within reach when the doctor called, or scrawled on the after-visit summaries and then never acted upon. The papers are not the reminders. The 7 page After Visit Summary is not the reminder or the to-do list.
Finally, let’s talk maintenance, of course.
I strongly suggest we all have a Wellness Document. And, similarly to the recent email management article and episode, we need to maintain our Wellness Document, updating it “regularly”. And regularly is in quotes here, because it’s subjective. How often do you want to update your notes?
For example,
I completed many wellness tasks in the last two months, and I feel confident that I'm caught up. But, wellness also requires maintenance, so I will check the document and my to-do list every month or so, adding any new information and also reminding myself of the to-do’s.
So, what did we learn?
August is National Wellness Month.
You need a trusted document or repository for your own health and wellness information, including
Provider names, contact information and perhaps portal links
Prescription and supplement information
Upcoming Appointments
Next Actions to Take
Notes from Past appointments
And, because it is important to care for and maintain your health and wellness, decide when you will regularly maintain your Wellness Document, as well (for example, “on the 15th of every month”).
Take this first step this week to acknowledge and celebrate National Wellness Month!
