Guides for looking after a family's health
In most families one person kept the vaccination card and remembers what the cardiologist said. What we write here is for that person, and for the relatives who want to share the job: how to organise records, prepare for an appointment, start helping a parent, and judge an app or an AI assistant before trusting it. Medical questions are left to clinicians and to the sources each guide links to.
AI and healthGuide
Can you trust an AI assistant with health questions?
What an AI assistant does well with a family's health records, five steps to an answer you can rely on, and how Alo, the assistant in Lifelong, works.
Razi Syed 4 min read
PrivacyGuide
Does HIPAA protect the health data in your apps?
HIPAA covers doctors, hospitals and insurers, not most apps you download yourself. What does apply, eight questions to ask any app, and how Lifelong answers.
Razi Syed 8 min read
Kids' healthGuide
How to keep track of your child's vaccination records
Who holds your child's vaccination record, what to write on it at each visit, and how to get an official copy when the card is lost.
Razi Syed 4 min read
Health recordsGuide
How to organize your family's medical records
One record per person, what a new doctor will ask for, and how to get copies from a doctor or hospital: who to call, how long they have, what it can cost.
Razi Syed 6 min read
Doctor visitsGuide
How to remember what the doctor said
What to do before, during and after a doctor's appointment so the plan gets home to the family: questions, teach-back, recording with permission, a write-up.
Razi Syed 6 min read
CaregivingGuide
How to take care of an aging parent: where to start
The first weeks of caring for a parent: the conversation, permission to speak to their doctors, the papers to gather and who to call.
Razi Syed 6 min read
CaregivingGuide
Who counts as a family caregiver under US law?
US law has no single definition of a caregiver. What FMLA, the ADA, state paid leave, hospitals and federal programs each cover, and how to tell which fit you.
Razi Syed 8 min read
Inside LifelongEssay
The family is the unit of care
Health does not happen one person at a time. A parent's prescription, a child's fever and a grandparent's appointment three time zones away are one story.
Razi Syed 2 min read
Inside LifelongEssay
Why we are building Lifelong
My father tore down two walls of our house to care for my grandfather. That is why I started Lifelong, and what the three of us are committing to.
Razi Syed 4 min read