02 / A DIY Digital Health Command Center

The Digital Health Binder You Didn’t Know You Needed

By Emily Tissot

Apps, Notion templates, or systems that streamline tracking meds, symptoms, and bills.

My sanity was wearing thin one random Tuesday, two hours into a call with my uncle’s case manager. He had finally been approved as a dual Medicaid/Medicare recipient—and now the real work began: getting him diagnosed. His condition, still unnamed, left him 90% immobile but 100% mentally sharp. So he spent all day thinking about how to manage his care—and far less time actually able to act on it. Luckily, I have a deep love for systems and organization. So I took on the challenge of building a structure that could keep his care on track. I cracked open my laptop and started, like many of us do, in Google Sheets.

As I got a clearer understanding of his needs, I transitioned the system into a Notion template and connected it to ChatGPT via Zapier (though note: Notion now offers built-in AI, behind a paywall).

If you're in the process of getting your ducks in a row—either as a patient or a support person—here are a few trackers I built to make the process smoother, and how I set them up in Notion — it’s available for you to duplicate and use! See below for sample data and the process for setup.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please have a password manager to store login credentials for patient portals, pharmacies, and insurance accounts in a safe password tracker. Do not store in notion! I highly suggest Bitwarden!

View Patient Center Sample Data (PDF)

💡 How to Use This Template

Step 1: Set up a free Notion Account at www.notion.com and keep it open on your computer.

What is Notion? Notion is an all-in-one workspace platform that combines elements of note-taking, project management, and data organization into a single tool. Notion is free to use for most individuals. The free plan should be adequate for this template. If you need more space, they have a paid plan for about $10 per month.

Step 2: Open the Template

Step 3: Duplicate the Template. To do so, click the "Duplicate" button in the top-right corner of the page (you’ll need to log in to your Notion account). Notion’s article on how to duplicate a Notion template → https://www.notion.com/help/duplicate-public-pages

📩 You’re all set. Let us know how it goes at [email protected] We plan to enhance the tool and we might put on a workshop.

💹 Life Beyond the Chart

A book worth reading: "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" by Robert M Sapolsky. I read this book as part of an introduction to psychology class in college. It was one of those books that really cracked my brain open about the role that stress/worry/anxiety played in not just my life but humans in general. Some parts are a bit scientific so not so easily digestible by everyone, but the gists and principles really help you think about how you interact with the world (for better or worse). Audience: YA and up due to some scientific language.

An activity worth doing: Cooking. I find great comfort in following a recipe and watching it come out like expected. That's science by the way - a process in which following a set of laws can recreate the same result. The sun makes an appearance in the East every morning and the heat in your pan is directly related to how intensely something will cook. When you have a set of instructions and ingredients in front of you it's also like magic! Doing this at this time and that at that time can be played with to achieve slightly (or greatly) different outcomes. It's fun like that. But cooking serves me best when I am stressed. Why? Because I get to give it all of my attention, follow its rules instead of wrestling with big decisions, and I can reasonably expect a good outcome.

A boundary worth setting: the 85% effort rule. I was raised on this idea that you have to give 100% all the time. Then millennials happened and I learned that if you have your gas pedal floored all the time, you're going to burn out your engine, and you have nowhere to go but down. So now, I give 85%, which is a lot! 85% of a pizza can feed several people, 85% on a test is better than I did on tests in high school, and if 85 of a 100 people show up for a party, you're not going to have leftovers. The practical difference in my life has been that I can catch my breath, I can pause to say hello to a friend, and I have room to move things around to address high priority projects. Give it a try.

A comfort item worth keeping nearby: a token. I'll start by saying, "be a little superstitious, it's much more interesting that not being". Many years ago before my first big speaking gig, my wife gave me a little heart-shaped locket and inside it is a tiny little angel. "For luck", she said. Now, whenever I leave home, I take it with me. It protects me, it helps me when I'm having to be an extrovert for work, and it always reminds me of home and my love. Of course, it doesn't create a physical shield during a hailstorm or put words in my mouth when I'm floundering, it's power is far greater than that - it reminds me of what really matters. So, keep a token, infuse it with love, and let it remind you always of what really matters.