My medical records are "online" with Kaiser -- and that's good. The computerization has been becoming more intensive over the past few months. Last visit (earier this month) to my primary, she could access lab results, look at pharmacy records, even make my next appointment herself while in the exam room with me. Flat screen panel and keyboard suspended in midair right next to the exam table.
One of the things I've noticed over the years while reviewing medical records for medical malpractice is that there are certain cases which I call "clusterf***s." The patient has a lot of things wrong at once, there are several doctors, nobody coordinates - they are all from different companies so they may not even know each other. The radiologist works for a radiology corporation, the chest surgeon works for a chest surgery corporation, the heart surgeon works for a cardiology corporation, etc.
And the doctors all have horrible handwriting, that's a funny joke but it's unfortunately true.
And the pharmacy records are all on paper, and the lab results get put in the back of the binder and the binder is at the nurses' station, not beside the bed. Nobody knows anything other than what they are tasked to know.
It's not malpractice per se, it's just a clusterf***.
When you compare health care to, say, Fedex, you can keep track of a package across country better than you can keep track of your lab results. That's insane.
Further, as a lawyer, I can tell you that there is no such thing as medical privacy. Your health care records are fair game in any kind of personal injury case and any kind of domestic case. The records can be handed out in response to a subpoena, there are special companies who make the copies, that's what they do, but the people who work for them just copy everything, they can't be trusted not to copy things like HIV tests and mental health records.
Then it gets sent to lawyers and maybe put into court files, and even if sealed, the court clerk probably won't pay attention if someone opens the seal.
Some places are better than others about this but still, I would assume that anything your doctor knows is not private.
Plus, the doctor's employees gossip. I have had situations where a doctor's employee called a friend to tell them that so-and-so was HIV positive or had a STD. |
