Medical records vent - UPDATE!

[Icehouse]

I just need to vent a bit. First, I am having some problems that warrant a biopsy and further studies. My doctor has referred me to another doctor. I have been trying since Monday to get an appointment. I finally get someone on the phone today with half a brain who explains they are waiting on my medical records to be faxed. I call my doctor's office. They were faxed yesterday. I call back to the other doctor's office. Sorry, no one is in the office till next Tuesday (it's Thursday) except the front desk and we don't know where else to look.

I'm scared about the possibility of what could be wrong with me and I'm dancing the tango trying to get my medical records faxed somewhere. Why is this hard? I've worked in doctor's offices. It isn't a hard concept. Pull the records, fax them to the doctor's office, put the records back in the chart, file the chart.

Let's pray the tests go better than the faxing...
Tammy

[slewis]

Tammy, I will be praying for good test results for you. Sorry for the confusion in the drs. offices that you've had to deal with and I know exactly how frustrating it is for you.
Sandy

[rogue]

Tammy, call your doctor and explain the problem, and ask if you can pick up a copy of the records and bring them with you for your appointment. Then call the "FRONT DESK" and tell them you will have a copy of the documents with you so lets make that appointment first thing Tuesday.
Hope this helps.
Bob

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Tammy

First, good luck with the tests, we will all be sending forth good thoughts.

Next, I can totally relate to your frustration, I am having FAX troubles too, have been since January. GRRRRRRRR

Now, I am having the "our insurance company does not recognize you as a insured member", even tho they paid a benefit just last week.

Stress is something that sets me off, and my health too, and not in a good way. This does produce stress, eh??

Rogue's suggestion has some merit, I would hope!

Chin up lady, if you can beat the frozen black tank, this is surmountable too.

[Okie Guy]

Tammy there is nothing worse than the waiting game. With mom it was a very fast process. They did an exam on a Wednesday, Specialist/X-ray/ultrasound Thursday and Biopsy Friday. Then they scheduled her for surgery a week later.
I say this in hopes their not being worried is a good sign for you.
Cowboy Prayers headed your way!
Phil

[eeoski]

Another alternative you might see if they can email the files to you, you print 'em, and carry them or fax them from your computer to that "front desk" person. Darn that Murphy anyway! He just needs to take a vacation and not gum up the works!

Prayers coming your way!

Robin

[Waynem]

Tammy,
DW went to "old medical facility," and asked for med records to be sent to new med facility. We were in P'Cola and had to return home, some 600 miles, for her to get retested. They had not received the records. while she was being retested, I went and picked the records up. Lo and behold, the old records show that what they say has been there for a very long time and is benign. Cost me some lost time, and DW some very frustrating days until retest.

As I told her, and as I do for my personal records, is demand they give me a copy for my personal use. Once done I can make an extra copy and give it to my new, old or soon to be doctor. It has worked every time. The records are "your" records, not theirs and you have every right to a copy of them. It does facility handling time when you git-r-dun yourself.

The are so afraid of the HEPA that they forget we are all human beings and need things done on our schedule, not their schedule.

[D and M On The Road]

Icehouse....I have worked in Medical Records Administration for the last 21 years, and am still working at it.

My suggestions to you vary on what to do as I don't know the location of either MD to your location.

According to federal law, medical records are about you, but they are owned by the facility. By law, you are entitled to a copy and they may charge you a "nominal" fee for them. They also have up to 14 days from the date of your written HIPAA compliant authorization to mail or fax them out. Some facilities also charge you to give a copy to other medical facilities, some don't.

1)..If the facility that has the records are close by, call them and ask if you can come get a copy to "hand-carry" to the specialist. Tell them the specialist is requesting you to arrive with the records in your hand ASAP and that they won't make your appointment without them. Tell them you will sign a HIPAA compliant release when you arrive to pick them up.

2)..If the facility that has the records is long distance from you and there is a type of business in your town that will receive faxes for a small charge, call the facility that has the records and give them the phone number of that fax and see if they can fax those records. Don't tell them it's a business. If needed, they can fax you a HIPAA compliant authorization form for you to fill out and fax back so they can then fax the records. Find out when they will fax and go to that business and stand there while your records are coming in so the store personnel don't stand there and read them.

3)..Go to the facility that has the records and stand there until you get your records. Be nice.... resort to tears if needed. (it always works).

4).. Go to the new facility and tell them the trouble you are having and see if they will help you obtain the records. They new facility can call the old facility and tell a "white lie" and say you are there NOW for your appointment and the doctor is asking for them. The new facility can have you fill out a HIPAA compliant authorization and they can fax it to the old facility. I've done this before to help patients and it works most of the time.

If I knew more about your situation, maybe I could help you with other ideas.

Good luck.... I hope anything I have added helps.

Margee.

[Icehouse]

Thank y'all for the best wishes and the ideas. Later this afternoon, I spoke to the medical records department at the hospital/dr. office here in Seward and they did fax my records yesterday. The doctor's office in Anchorage is basically closed until next Tuesday and they don't know if the records girl has already distributed them - since she's off on vacation from today till Tuesday. When I called the front desk at the Anchorage doctor's office back they said they will check with the records girl on Tuesday and if they don't have the records, they will call the hospital here. Doesn't really matter, none of the docs in that practice are going to be back until Tuesday either. I too am praying that the lack of excitement by the doctors is a good sign for me. My doctor was reassuring yesterday when we spoke, so that has calmed me down a little.
Tammy

[D and M On The Road]

One thing that I didn't say that I think is very important is that a medical facility can shred your records 7 years from the last date of service.

If there are any medical records you would like to have, buy them now. Contact each and every facility that you had medical care at and see what their protocol is for obtaining them. Even if you had records sent from one facility to another, the newer facility can keep the part of the incoming records that they think is pertinent to your care and then shred the rest.

I tell almost every patient that I come into contact with about this.

If you belong to Kaiser Permanente, each location has their own Medical Records Department and you must sign a HIPAA compliant release for each facility to either obtain the records or have them sent to another facility.

Where I work, we are currently in the process of checking files and will be sending the 1990 to 2001 inactive files to a company that specializes in destroying medical records.

Tell your kids about this so that they might get their records and the records of their kids. Especially immunizations.

Once the records are gone.... they are g o n e .

[ols1932]

Tammy,
Please don't let the anxiety get to you. There are some things we just don't have any control over except prayer. We'll be praying with you and for you for a good outcome on the tests. We're both great believers in prayer and what it can and will do for you. Just remember where the ultimate healing comes from.

Orv & Marge

[toolmanroy]

I work as a medical transcriptionist and I can tell you that you cannot e-mail medical records unless they are encoded, though I believe faxing is a bigger violation of HIPAA but no one will go there. You cannot believe how much HIPAA has slowed down the already slow process of sending records. And just FYI some of confidential medical records end up in India where people who cannot even speak English are doing medical transcription, but that is another story and the bottom line is getting your medical records is not as easy as it used to be.

[Icehouse]

I had my biopsy last Friday and it came back negative. No Cancer! Thank y'all for your prayers. I appreciate it! And I have a new doctor on board that I adore! Whew! I am going to enjoy my weekend. That's 2 cancer scares in 1 month. That's enough.
Tammy

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

WAHOOOOOOOOOOOO

and do enjoy the weekend.!!

[Wayne and Carolyn Mathews]

Margee and Nancy were SO right with all their advice, not that they or you need my validation! HIPPA certainly has slowed the process of record access, but sometimes you get the added frustrations caused by real people who may or may not know how to direct the flow between one office to another, or may not feel the patient's need for urgency.

Anyway, you have the answer you hoped and prayed for, I'm sure , even though the process was too slow for anyone facing the "What If?" situation you faced. I've been there and done that myself--ironically, in Alaska, at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage--and had to wait nearly 2 weeks for the biopsy results, because at that time, years and years ago, the biopsies were sent to Walter Reed for examination. Waiting for the results was pure agony, especially since I was pregnant with our first child and didn't know what I might be facing. (The results were devastating, but here I am, alive and well after defying the odds, and none the worse for wear!)

Gal, you have climbed the mountain several times with all your trials and tribulations, black water tank to biopsy, etc. Now GO HAVE FUN!!!! We were so glad your good news in the last chapter of this latest adventure.

Carolyn

[eeoski]

Tammy,

Wheww! I am so glad for the good news!

OBTW - Have you and Bernie nailed down the dates you'll be coming to Florida? PM me and let me know.

Robin

[Imp]

Tammy, so glad the news is awesome.. after my last ordeal, I need to get my medical records for travelling with. Will they put them on a USB disc if I supply it? or do I have to scan papers and do it myself?

[Icehouse]

It would depend. If your medical records are all paper, I doubt they would do it. To be honest with you, I'd rather do it myself. That way, I would have the paper records (in storage), but if something ever happened to the disc, I'd have them. Good luck!

[D and M On The Road]

IMP... I always urge patients to buy a copy of their medical records when traveling or relocating. Each facility has their own way of giving you the records. You have to ask and see what their means of reproduction are. Our facility is EMR (electronic medical record) but we still print the records out on paper.

One concern of having your medical records on disc is that not all facilities can open a disc, it depends upon what program is used to create it. It's taken our facility a few days to open some incoming medical records discs and some discs we've never been able to open.

Thinking ahead of whether a facility needs to see your prior records ASAP to treat you properly, paper maybe be the best way. I would scan the records myself electronically and also keep a paper copy. That way I'd have the paper copy at my fingertips to give to a facility if I needed treatment and the means to make myself more copies when I handed out the paper copy.

The final caution.... medical records are allowed to be destroyed 7 years after the last day of service. There are some variables in there, but if your medical records are important to you, contact your previous medical providers see if they still have your records and inquire how to buy them and the cost.

Have fun in your travels.....

[snfexpress]

Congrats, Tammy.

We, too, have various medical issues and we have our records scanned into a pdf format and is on a USB stick on my key chain. Just the medical stuff is on the stick - no personally identifying information other than our respective names.