Do you have multiple health care professionals with whom you work? While I am healthy overall, I find that I am juggling physical therapy, nutrition, and various medical appointments. Of course I have a calendar, but it seems pertinent to keep track of who I have seen, when, and the resulting action.
For example, I have been experiencing increasing lower back pain. So much so that my doctor ordered an x-ray and then an MRI. Looking back at my records, I was reminded that I had an x-ray and MRI on my back two years ago. I was thinking it would make sense to get a comparative analysis of the two, to see if my situation has worsened or remained the same. My doctor had not recognized the history.
I have always said that you need to take control of your own health. We live in a world where we expect doctors to know our issues and take care of us. We sometimes fail to remember they have other patients – many other patients. And doctors are human. They can miss findings or simply are too busy to scan past entries in our charts. To be honest, I don’t even remember everything I have had tested, poked, or prodded.
I started keeping a file for each “issue”. I list the date, the attending physician or medical professional, the purpose, and the result. I have found this history helpful when reviewing treatment.
Many years ago, 1996 to be precise, congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The primary purpose was to give patients access to their health records and allow patients to have control of who sees their health information. Standards were set for security and privacy. One provision, which has yet to be implemented by all facilities, was to develop a standard for reporting to offer better care for the patient. That is, each provider would use a system that could be available to other providers. Some of the bigger health care systems have enabled that feature, usually through a patient portal. Yet we still have a long way to go.
Such a system would be a challenge to implement, but in my humble opinion it could advance health care significantly. Health care providers could have the “whole picture” of a patient’s health. I am hopeful that such a system will be devised in my grandchildren’s lifetime.
Meanwhile, I will keep my lists and drag them to the doctor’s office in the off-chance that I get more than ten minutes with her.
Silver Sage Sisters 