To this day, I’m both amazed and unamazed at how many times we hear from recently “orphaned patients” whom upon finding a new doctor to take on their care (which is not so common these days), contact us to inform us that “the new doctor is not interested in taking, or even seeing my medical record from my former doctor”.
I’m amazed because the medical record is like a blueprint for the patient. It contains vaccination history, lab results that may have some trending values, surgical details, prescription history, consult letters from specialists and so much more. Why wouldn’t a good doctor want to know what the history is, and instead want to rely on a patient’s memory or simply order new testing as if that’s an indication of the past?
I’m not amazed because if I was a doctor and I just took on 500 new patients, each of whom brought me their medical records, am I really going to study 500 new medical records? Likely not. Though I certainly would want to see if the record contained something like a CPP (current patient profile) which gives me a “patient-at-a-glance” one page overview. But many don’t even ask for that.
The point of the matter is that “Nobody Cares About You Like You Do”. Not even your doctor. Doctors today are on a treadmill in a less than ideal healthcare structure. The doctor who spends a half hour listening to your issues and working with you so that you leave happy is quickly becoming the story of parents and grandparents and is not at all to be seen in the new breed of doctors.
So… What’s your responsibility in this scenario?
Answer: Regardless of whether you have a doctor or not, get your medical record copy. Keep your medical record copy. And keep your medical record copy accessible and up to date. Moving forward, ask for copies of new test results, new diagnostic results, etc. And append these documents to your existing record. There are PDF apps that enable you to scan and/or append digital documents to existing digital documents.
Right off the bat, I would recommend that you go through the record and familiarize yourself with the information. It won’t all be understandable, but a lot of it will be. It will likely jog your memory about certain medical events of the past, medications, etc.
When might you need this information? The list of possibilities is endless. The most important thing is access to information. In an emergency but rare circumstance, it can mean the difference between life or death. But without getting extreme, here are just some of the many times you’ll be glad you have it:
- When travelling as a way to communicate your history to a foreign doctor
- When trying to explain some important part of your history to your doctor (Remember? The one who didn’t want the record may very well want to know something from it in the future. Happens all the time).
- When you want a second opinion on a medical matter.
- When you go to a walk-in clinic for something relating to a current condition
- When needing proof of a medication you took in the past (ie. class action lawsuit)
- When you want to correct a misdiagnosis that appears in your record and can harm your rating when applying for life insurance.
- When you want to show an E.R. doctor what your baseline readings typically are.
You keep records of your car maintenance, of your mortgage documents, of your receipts for tax purposes. Are you going to suggest that your medical information, which is as unique to you as a snowflake, is any less important?
The next time you hear a doctor say “I don’t need that record”, take comfort that at least one person in the room has made a good decision.
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The information provided on TheHealthInsider.ca is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. TheHealthInsider.ca advises consulting a medical professional or healthcare provider when seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment.