Just curious to how many of you regularly get a copy of your medical records after each visit? I learned a lesson the hard way and request a copy after each visit so that I can review it for accuracy. This goes not only for back doctors, but family doctors and everyone else!
After I found a HUGE grieveous error that a Physician's Asst. made in my chart (from the first office I went to after the accident) I started requesting records from other doctors, even if unrelated. You would be really surprised by the sloppy errors that are made!
I had an appt. with a foot doctor. Glad I asked to review my chart at the time I checked out. He wrote in my "history" that I had previous back surgery in 2000(BEFORE the car accident--which I DID NOT) and that I was on some medication I had never heard of. I was pretty livid--these records were being subpeoned for the lawyers. I demanded an amendment to the record (and got it) but they acted annoyed--like I was over reacting. I won't go back to them.
The office that read my scan after the discogram wrote the wrong name of the ordering doctor down and the wrong disc that tested positive! When my doctor read the report with me for the first time, he was pretty p.o.ed. He said, "these people can't get anything right!"
I've found other inconsistencies as well but won't bog you down with the details. Just keep this in mind.
Offices can charge you a fee but so far, only one of my doctors has (incidently the one who made the HUGE error with the Phy. Asst) and it could be money well spent, depending upon your circumstances. I wish I had not been so naive and trusting about doctors and requested to see my records sooner with the Physician Asst. problem. By the time I saw the record and error, they claimed they "could not remember what was said" and refused to amend it.
