Health Care Medicare Review

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critterlover
Saint Charles, MO

how incorrect medical records can damage your life

fighting the system for all of us

FEB

2009

Health Care Medicare —

You don't very often get to see your medical records. We trust that what our doctor's tell us during our visits will become part of the package. And then we forget about it. But I can tell you from personal experience, this may well not be the case. And it can come back to hurt you. My first experience with this was when my husband applied for life insurance. He was rejected based on a statement his doctor put in his file, a statement that the underwriter acknowledged made no sense based on all the other information but we would have to get the doctor to "correct his error". We had to go see him in person and while he admitted he could have made a mistake, he wouldn't correct it. His response to the life insurance company was "at patients request, I withdraw this statement". Based on that, my husband could not obtain life insurance much less reasonably prices term life insurance. And this problem continues to haunt us even though he now has life insurance through his work...but what if we want to make a change in employment?

I later found while waiting for my doctor to enter the room for my exam that he indicated in my file that I refused any medical testing. This also was incorrect. I said I had to wait till it was economically feasible for us to do so. Again, when my life insurance comes up for renewal, this could hurt me.

With my mother, her ophthalmologist indicated that her vision was loss had been misdiagnosed by the optometrist and implied, even though he did not come out directly and say it, that great harm had been done by her not being treated sooner. The optometrist said their was nothing to worry about so, without a referral, we had a two months wait for her to be seen. The ophthalmologist followed us out of the treatment room, grabbed one of his assistance and told her to get a letter to the optometrist telling him he misdiagnosed her problem and with what she had the delay in treatment caused her permanent loss of her eyesight. When I asked for a copy of the letter sent to the optometrist, it was dated two months later and thanked the optometrist for the referral and said that his diagnosis revealed a deeper problem that was now being treated. Nothing at all like what he told me the day she was seen. I would like to file a malpractice lawsuit against the optometrist but guess what...that letter takes the option away from us.

So get copies of your files and get your doctors to correct their mistakes immediately. And if they won't, maybe it is time for the legislatures to get involved.