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Importance of requesting your Doctor's Notes

Posted by All_in_1963 @burrkay, Jul 25, 2018

Many Clinics and hospitals, including Mayo Clinic are implementing the EPIC software.
My wife and I are also Mayo Florida patients and we love the fact that we can quickly access, via the portal the doctor's notes after a meeting with him/her.
Our local provider, has recently implemented the EPIC software, and one of the tools is "My Chart", which I try to use to my advantage when encountering the multitude of doctors who my wife and I seem to see daily....welcome to old age!
After having had a followup meeting yesterday with my pulmonologist-following a number of tests he had ordered a month or so ago, I stopped by his office this morning and got a copy of his "notes" from our meeting. Again, I personally had to go there and request a copy of his notes, as they are not available via the new EPIC software tools. To my dismay, I found a statement in his notes…"Bronchoalveolar lavage of the left lower lobe showed evidence of malignant cells or infection."!!!!
Our meeting yesterday was cordial and up-beat. My pulmonologist made no mention of this…only that everything was GOOD! I have queried him this morning via My Chart, but the point of all this is, the new EPIC software does not allow the patient to access via My Chart the Doctors Notes. I had challenged this several weeks ago and was told that basically the reason was Privacy, etc…
Bottom line, the patient needs access to the doctors notes! Those of us who are technically proficient use these notes to gain a clear understanding of what was said, and act accordingly. Many doctors do not allow the use of AudioNotes to record the meeting.
Hopefully, in this case the statement was a "typo". However, I wanted to get the message out that it is important for the patient to get a copy of the doctor's notes and read it and understand it. If we have questions, ASK FOR CLARITY…this is very important!
Doctor's are human and do make mistakes. If the above statement was a typo, I will breath a sigh of relief. If on the other hand the doctor simply missed the diagnosis, I will be grateful for my inquiry.

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Mentor
Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Jul 28, 2018
In reply to @burrkay "Thanks for the responses. Many of us don’t want to know the details. I on the..." + (show)
@burrkay

Thanks for the responses. Many of us don’t want to know the details. I on the other hand do, and can no way retain all the “medical speak” during an encounter with my doc. Thus, I access the doctors notes (if available) after any visits to see what I may have missed. Google is a wonderful tool to simply highlight a Greek word and get an interpretation.
Today’s docs don’t have the time to explain all the details. Many clinics are demanding that they see more patients per day, and be less engaged in conversation...all the more reason for the patient to be attentive to the details.
Bottom line...for me...I want to know! I will converse with the doc, but I often later think back on what was said and simply can’t recall Some pertinent details.
Also, the notes are helpful when family members ask about what was discussed. My wife is a stage 4 Lung Cancer patient. Our adult children live far away. When we see my wife’s oncologist, they want to know what was discussed. The notes are very helpful for me to pass along to them and keep them informed.

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John, like you, I want to know the details. I have caught erroneous information in my charts, and once even caught someone else's paperwork in mine! Because I get copies of all my labs prior to an appt, I can speak more in depth with my team.

Hopefully, your Dr thanked you for catching that typo, and will be proofreading the office notes from here on out.

REPLY
Texas Freedom | @oregongirl | Jul 28, 2018

yes they put that I am a heavy smoker in my file. WHAT? I thought what else is wrong. I found several errors in my paperwork when I requested it. I am about to request the paperwork on my mm this next week.

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Jackie, Alumna Mentor | @travelgirl | Jul 28, 2018

Thank you for sharing @burkay
I agree with requesting the Dr's notes and records. 16 yrs ago my Mom didn't do that. the dr misdiagnosed her having endometriosis cancer. That misdiagnosis cost her her life. If she would of requested her medical records or had the ability to view, them she would be alive today. The path report records had a note to the dr, that he must rule out cancer and do further testing. The dr missed that note and went on to do a surgery. I believe if he had further checked her for cancer, the surgery and treatments would of been handled differently.
My Mom's illness and death taught me a lesson. Always read and get your medical records.
Jackie

REPLY
sdemaria | @sdemaria | Jul 28, 2018

I'm experiencing lack of communication, reading my test results and I even had someone else's file in my folder once. My first surgeon lying to me to cover his blank!!!!!! Caused me so much pain, loss of being able to work, became homeless. Gotta luv people!!! Disgusted with everything! But I won't give up!

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1 reply
Maureen, Alumna Mentor | @alpaca | Jul 28, 2018
In reply to @sdemaria "I'm experiencing lack of communication, reading my test results and I even had someone else's file..." + (show)
@sdemaria

I'm experiencing lack of communication, reading my test results and I even had someone else's file in my folder once. My first surgeon lying to me to cover his blank!!!!!! Caused me so much pain, loss of being able to work, became homeless. Gotta luv people!!! Disgusted with everything! But I won't give up!

Jump to this post

Transparency is important. In the open notes survey most patients wanted to continue and many found errors in their notes.

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baz10 | @baz10 | Jul 28, 2018

Oh yes! do be sure and get the diagnosis notes. I went to a new doc and when the nurse was checking me in and asking about previous surgeries, etc, she asked about my prior brain surgery, to which I replied, WHAT? I have never had brain surgery and also I was told after one doc appointment to continue taking 150 mg of Zoloft (which I wasn't even taking) and the Neurontin, which I also have never taken, so Yes, we need to do our checks and balances.@bazzie43

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