Protecting Your Medical Records

It has now been more than 7 years since I first wrote about my concerns about our electronic medical records and it has always been my greatest hope that computers would make things better and easier for both healthcare professionals as well as patients. But, if you are like me, things have not only not improved but they seemed to have gotten progressively worse. Over the last 7 years, my primary care physician who I had from before, during and beyond my last cancer treatment has retired. Since that time, I am now with my second new general practitioner and my old records seem to be nowhere in sight despite my repeated authorizations that they be collected. And based upon my latest visit for my annual physical, I don’t hold out much hope for the future.

“This is not shared with you to scare you about anything but rather to decide what you might want to do in order to preserve and protect your very private, personal information that is now shared and accessible to people that you would never have imagined.”Barbara Jacoby

My last visit to my primary care physician’s office was what has become the new normal for me. My doctor walked in, went directly to her computer and started asking me a series of questions and was focused on inputting my responses into that computer without glancing at me even one time. The lengthy list of questions that would have been asked in the past was not included and it appeared that she was trying to just focus on the minimal amount of information needed to assess my current reason for being in her office. The time that she spent with me seemed to be little more than 5 minutes and when we were done, I left feeling like I was no longer a patient but more like a customer.

So I thought about gathering my own records. But, when faced with 3 primary care physicians, 2 different oncologists, 2 different hospitals for 5 surgeries, 1 plastic surgeon who has left the area and several different anesthesiologists and so many other various facilities where I had a whole array of medical testing done just since my first diagnosis, I decided that this wasn’t going to happen.

I understand that medical records have to be computerized and everything has to be coded in order to receive payments from insurance companies and the Federal government as well as to set up a program where electronic medical records can be shared with other doctors and hospitals. While all of this sounds so good for patient care, a closer look has already revealed many problems, just starting with the doctor’s inability to accurately provide their personal notes on a case, in words that will also get them the payments that they deserve.

And while doctors’ offices now have software programs for the intake and processing of your personal information, there are a lot of different software programs in use and those programs do not talk to one another. This means that while your primary care physician has already done an initial workup on you and needs to refer you to aspecialist, there is a very good likelihood that unless they are in the same medical network, your initial information can’t be shared. And what happens if you change doctors or medical groups? What will happen with regard to all of your current medical records that you were led to believe could just be sent to whomever you wanted? And my next, and most important, question is what if your very important medical information is not coded correctly? Will this result in improper medications being prescribed or incorrect testing being requested?

Then there is another major problem in the computers themselves. If you are reading this, you have some sort of computer right now. However, what happens when your server is not working? You can’t use the computer. That is not exactly conducive to running a business where you may need access to critical information right now and you can’t get to it. In the doctor’s office when that computer goes down, the doctor is back to taking written notes and then having to spend more time later inputting that information into the computer. And if you happen to be in the office when the computer is not working, the doctor may not have immediate access to test results, etc. in order to give you the accurate and up-to-date information that you need. How many times have you called to get test results and were told that the computer was down and that you would have to call back or someone else would have to call you back? More waiting, more lost efficiency and greater costs for double work will result.

Then there is the question of the security of the information. There is hacking of all kinds of records now. Some hackers do it just to prove that they can do it but many others do it for profit. Can you imagine the impact of such hacking of medical records if hackers were able to gain access to medical information for company executives and prominent people in the news and entertainment? How would you feel if you knew that someone had gained access to your most personal information and they were now able to do with it as they wished? You might be blackmailed or someone may set out to ruin your future with the information that they have garnered. And how do you control with whom your information is shared? What if a group of doctors are working on some research and your records are shared among that group or are shared out to a larger group for profit?

With your information now being so readily accessible, it is really time to stop and think about all of these scenarios and decide whether you are ready and willing to take chances with the most important information that represents your health and your life. And you just might want to think about the time to come when your employers will have your medical information available to them. We face the very real possibility of employers doing background checks on our medical history just like they do now for criminal history and financial responsibility now before hiring us. How would you like to be denied a promotion because of the DNA information contained in your record, the likelihood that you are to get pregnant and may need time off to have and take care of a child or even permanently leave the workplace after being trained to do a job? Or perhaps someone will make a judgement about your ability to do a job based upon your history of drug use, no matter the circumstances under which such drugs were prescribed or the adverse effects that may have resulted from your particular use. This is not shared with you to scare you about anything but rather to decide what you might want to do in order to preserve and protect your very private, personal information that is now shared and accessible to people that you would never have imagined. You just might be surprised to know that your information may have already been shared and used in ways that you never intended or wished.