Who we are
The founder members of My Medical Choice met in 2020 through likeminded local action groups. We were concerned our absolute right to bodily autonomy was being gradually eroded.
We are a genuine grassroots organisation, and were funded exclusively by a founder member. Funds raised by subscriptions go towards continuous improvements to the website, creating additional services, and helping other people-led organisations and projects get off the ground.
As a private members’ association (PMA), privacy is at the heart of our organisation and only founder members that know each other personally can hold administrative positions to ensure the safety and confidentiality of all who join up. Unlike many other organisations, My Medical Choice guarantees that we do not harvest data, nor do we sell it to or routinely share it with third parties.
Our goals
Members of our group that work in the NHS confided that, due to staff shortages and long shifts, medical error is a big problem – a problem that can even result in patient death. However, getting treatment and medication right first time for those who, due to accident or illness, cannot communicate is a problem with a solution. We resolved to build that solution.
We created a medical-emergency alert system for members that:
- provides our members with online storage for their medical history, emergency-contact information, legal directives, and more;
- uses medical-alert items to give emergency services the login data they need to access to the member’s crucial medical information;
- stores legal documentation that ensures members receive only medical treatments and procedures they choose to undergo;
- stores a copy of their Lasting Power of Attorney document should they have one.
Our ethos is all about putting people back in control of their health by enabling them to make their own medical choices, and ensuring those choices are respected by medical staff.
In doing so, we take the pressure off the NHS by giving emergency services and A&E staff quick and easy access to their patient’s vital medical data. This removes the need for guesswork, which in turn means fewer mistakes are made. Everyone benefits.
We also wanted to ensure that our members weren’t subjected to medical treatments they didn’t want when they were unconscious or unable to communicate. This remains a source of considerable anxiety for many – particularly around the subject of routine blood transfusions.
My Medical Choice solved this problem by creating a comprehensive Advance Decision Notice (often known as a Living Will) that, when completed correctly, makes any directives stipulated in the document legally binding. And our medical-alert system warns emergency services that our members have an Advance Decision Notice in place, and enables them to access it online.
For members concerned about the potential need for blood transfusion, we created the National Blood Donor Database of private blood donors. We also produced educational material and a consultation pack on own-blood and bloodless surgical procedures to use for scheduled surgery appointments.
My Medical Choice protects its members’ healthcare choices and puts them firmly in control of their bodily autonomy. We are resolved to keep it that way.