When was the last time you checked your medical records for accuracy? Have you ever checked them at all? The whisperer thinks it’s incredible that, with all the money being spent on converting to electronic medical records, innumerable mistakes are still being made that go uncorrected. In computer technology parlance, this is known as “GIGO” (garbage in, garbage out); i.e. if faulty information is entered, then the output of that information will be faulty as well. For example, I have found things in my medical records that have said that I am currently married (I have been divorced for over ten years), that I am five years older than I actually am, and that I am allergic to cats and dogs (I am not).
Granted, these are not life and death mistakes, and it’s not as if these mistakes would likely lead to an inappropriate treatment or, worse, an adverse clinical event. Nevertheless, they should not be there. Why not make it a required part of the history-taking process that patients review the information that is recorded in their charts before it gets memorialized in an electronic file that will likely never be corrected? The federal government requires that the three credit bureaus make available a free credit report at least once a year so that consumers can check to see if erroneous information is in their credit files. Why not do the same with our medical records?
Many patients have no idea as to what is written in their charts and would be horrified to read the misinformation that exists in their charts. Some of the blame belongs with patients, who should be more vigilant with their providers. But a lot of the blame belongs with providers for not taking the time to assure that they have accurately heard and recorded what their patients have told them.
What do you think? Take the poll in the right column.
Until next time, good health to you.
--TMW
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