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Do you get frustrated when you go to the specialist and your records aren’t there? Do lab tests get repeated because the originals can’t be found? Do you wonder why your insurance information needs to be gathered again at each stop? If so, your experience is not unique.
It really isn’t your doctor’s fault so much as it is a systems fault.
Physicians’ practices began as single practitioner offices where handwritten medical records were brief with non standard abbreviations, often in poor handwriting. They were not intended for others to access and interpret.
The practice of medicine has evolved and become more complicated. Now the medical record is used by consultants, insurance company payers, quality improvement activities, state licensing reviewers and personal injury attorneys. To bend a cliché – “it ain’t your grandfather’s medical record.”
Paper records notoriously are not available to the consulting physician in a timely manner. This results in a lesser quality consultation and potential waste when tests are repeated.
For the rest of this article please see the seattlepi.com website here.
