How do you feel about patient portal mistakes?

@katrina123. We have seen some errors in the clinic notes on our respective patient portals. The way to get these corrected is to do just what you did. Inform the person who wrote the note what information is not accurate and ask for a correction. This is how a correction should be made. The original note should not be changed. An addendum should be written with the correction. This is how it worked before everything went digital. When our charts were hard copies, no original summary notes were changed or altered in any way. An additional note was written, placed in the patient’s chart and then signed and dated. This is how an ethical clinician and practice should be operating. I think it’s more difficult in today’s digital world.

If you don’t see an addendum within another day or two I’d write to the physician again and ask about it. Hopefully it will get taken care of.

Does this help?

This drives me crazy but I try to determine which errors are urgent and which ones I can mention in an appointment. Errors in medical records are like viruses in that they infect everything that comes after the error.

Helen,
Thanks for the information.

windyshores,
In the past when the information was only for one doctor, and you could clear it up with that one doctor I would not have been so bothered but now every doctor that I have can access that information.
I totally agree with you that errors are somewhat like viruses.

Absolutely insist on changing the record. You may have to contact the practice’s administrator. This has happened to me regarding surgery I didn’t have(serious). I finally got another physician or NP to make the change in the record. Meanwhile be sure you verbally correct the record with each HCP visit until it gets changed.

I've had this happen, and did what you did by sending a message back via the portal. If it isn't acknowledged, message again. If nothing else, your message probably becomes part of your record.

Hello. I have had an overwhelming amount of mistakes made by numerous doctors and N.P.s, in my patient portal over the last 4 years. They have put in symptoms I never said I had , they have not put in important information. I would always correct these mistakes by by contacting the person in my portal. The mistakes have NEVER been corrected. So these incorrect medical records stand. All I can do is keep correcting the mistakes, and hope that my reply are in the files somewhere.

This occurred on my portal. When I saw the PA oncologist, I mentioned. She immediately went into the record. Looked back to where it may have been noted. She did not find any reference from any appointments from her I or PCP or others - so she deleted it. Just think of errors on records we do not see.

Great topic! Thank you for bringing it up as I too have had the same issues.
Will my Doctor be annoyed with me if I bring it to his/her attention?
But the reality is that 1) Later down the road a doctor may make a decision based on inaccurate information and that will harm the patient 2) Accuracy should be the goal, and this can only happen when mistakes are recognized so that one learns to be more attentive or to do things in a way that cuts down on mistakes.
A nurse navigator pulled my clinical profile to include with the notes of Tumor Board and stated I had no history of lung cancer, when they had performed my lung cancer surgery one year before. I brought that to their attention, and it was immediately corrected.

Thank you for the illustration. I will ask for an addendum in the future.

Update on the doctor's patient portal mistake.

Finally, after my second email the doctor corrected the error on my patient portal.
The doctor blamed the scribe. Not sure how my doctor felt but we all have to remember that the doctors are working for us, and we should not feel intimidated bringing up errors that are on the patient portals.