The Theme for July is Health Care

Stay with me, the theme for this month could feel intense, but we are intentionally going to be kind to ourselves and do this in small bites!

The theme for July is: Health Care

Project: Create a doc to organize your health care information and schedule appointments for the year

Goal: Get up to date on your health care needs

Notes: If you were here in April, you might have already made an In Case of Emergency Doc, these documents could live together in a binder or folder you can easily access.

Time to Set Aside: Start with an hour and see how far you get. You might decide to schedule more time. 

To keep this from feeling overwhelming, something you could do is set an alarm to work for 15 minutes at a time and check in about your capacity to continue at the end of each work block. (This month’s playlist is intentionally short, so you can use it to pace yourself!)  If you reach a point that you want to stop, but have more to do, schedule an hour for Future-You to work on this. Try approaching this as a neutral task and not worry if it takes more time than you expect.

 If you need to make first time appointments with doctors and/or you have been avoiding this work for any reason, consider reaching out to someone you trust for support. Maybe they could hang out with you while you make these calls, or they’d be open to a virtual coworking session where you join on a platform and make your calls while they work on something else. (They might even have the same type of work to do and would be open to doing the work alongside you).

Make this document in the format that is easiest for you. It could be handwritten in a bound journal, typed in a doc, or the notes app on your phone. Think of what is most accessible for you, and what you’d find easiest to update

Begin

  1. Take a few minutes and brainstorm the list of your yearly healthcare needs think: PCP, gyn, derm, specialists, mental health providers, dentist

  • Note:If you do not have insurance or cost is prohibiting you from making these appointments, use this time to research affordable health care options or alternatives. You might find that reaching out to your network could help you find resources you were not aware of

  • Note: if you are someone who books these appointments regularly and don’t have this bucket of work to do, use this time to get all of your information in one place so that information lives somewhere else other than your calendar

  1. Go down that list and add the information for any providers that you already see

  2. If you need to find new providers, schedule a block of time for that, you will most likely start with the list of providers covered by your insurance. You might find asking your network could be a shortcut here!

  3. Schedule the appointments! Have a fun beverage or something fun to do, like a coloring book or crossword, while you are on hold for these calls. This is a difficult system to navigate, so give yourself grace if this feels annoying and hard. Ask for help if you need it. Maybe you have a friend who would be willing to make some of these calls for you, or otherwise support you

  4. Make sure to make calendar holds for your appointments!

  5. Take a little bit of time to organize the document so it's usable in the future. Make notes about upcoming appointments. If you have a person that is your in case of emergency contact, consider sharing this doc with them.

  6. Make a calendar hold for yourself in a year to do this again. Remember, you will typically be scheduling a next appointment during your appointment, so this task gets easier as time goes on!

It almost feels like a luxury to be talking about the drudge work of making health care appointments at a time when insurance and health care are being taken from millions. As part of always keeping a mindful connection between self care and community care, now is also a good time to tap in about ways you can support your communities in regards to health care. From working with local organizers who push for legislative action around broadening medicaid and medicare to volunteering at non profit clinics to tapping in with mutual aid funds and gofundmes, there is a lane for all of us to be doing the work of broadening access to health care for all! Take 15 minutes and start to make your plan.