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Posted 4/11/2010 5:32 PM (GMT 0)
It is very important to keep a file of any and all test results.  I learned the hard way that it is very hard to go back and try to get them.  Many, many times you will see things that the doctor never bothered to tell you.  There are a lot of states that have a "right to know" law which allows us to get our results.  There are times that I even get copies of their notes.  Honest, some day you will be glad.
Posted 4/12/2010 4:43 AM (GMT 0)
another thing to add, I dont know about other states but in oklahoma they only keep records for 5 years and you cant get them after that. I also learned that the hard way. I never thought about getting them until I had to file for disability and i had no proof of some of the things i was diagnosed with so i could not use them when filing.
Posted 4/12/2010 5:15 AM (GMT 0)
These is worrisome stuff and thank you so very much for posting this. Sure gives all of us something to consider. With your permission I'd like to post this information in the Chronic Pain forum.

Hugs,
Chutzie
Posted 4/12/2010 12:23 PM (GMT 0)
You most certainly can!!  We all have to stick together and pass along whatever we find out.  It is soooo much easier to get results ASAP otherwise the Dr's office or labs are great for giving the runaround
Posted 4/12/2010 12:35 PM (GMT 0)

I was just wondering about records and test results...I changed doctors about five years ago.  I walked into my old doctors office and said I was moving and wanted my records.  Fine, the receptionist said.  That will be $75.  Aslo told me she could not give them to me directly...she would have to send them to my new doctor.  Does that sound legal???

Donna

Posted 4/12/2010 12:49 PM (GMT 0)
I am not sure about where you live but here in Pa some docs pull that crap but the fact is, those files are yours, you paid for them.  It is normal for them to charge tho.  I would be a pest and insist on picking them up, but that is just me.
Posted 4/12/2010 1:45 PM (GMT 0)
I don't know if it's because of all my health issues but each of my docs is really great at giving me access to my records. Infact, most of them request results, from any tests I have, get copied to me. This way I have a copy for a doc that doesn't. And I always take my records to all my doc appts.
Posted 4/12/2010 2:36 PM (GMT 0)
Donna, I should amend my statement.......If you get your results as you go most if not all Docs do not charge but if you request ALL records, including his notes, at one time they do charge.

Nomad, that is great that your docs automaticaly get you a copy!! I forgot to add that some docs are using storage on the internet and test results are right there. My friends doc uses this system and she just prints her results as they come up.
Posted 4/13/2010 3:31 AM (GMT 0)
Vestabula,
in oklahoma they do not charge to have records sent to another doctor, but they do charge if you want your records for your own personal records. We have the right to ask for our records
Posted 4/13/2010 11:50 AM (GMT 0)
I had a situation years ago where they did an mri of my shoulder. The doc said it was a lypoma. Well, I asked for the results and she gave them to me. I discovered it was a "presumed" lypoma. And found out it was setting on a nerve. I went to a surgeon. He wouldn't touch it, but refered me to another sugreon who would. He thought it was a sarcoma and wanted to go in imediately. So when he went in he found it was hyperplasia. Which is normal cells, but in a mass. By going in, he took the pressure off of the nerve. I was in so much pain before that. I was glad I got my records and read them myself. Even though there wasn't anything urgent, it did make my shoulder feel a whole lot better. So I would recommend getting copies of everything as it goes on. Then they don't charge you.

Hugs, Karen
Posted 4/13/2010 1:03 PM (GMT 0)
Here is a great site I found with info. about your right to access your medical records:

http://medicalrecordrights.georgetown.edu/records.html
Posted 4/13/2010 4:42 PM (GMT 0)
'A couple of days ago i called to ask for some records and was told they put them in storage after 3 yrs, would not help at all. Why store them? Why not destroy them if we can't get them after 3 yrs? I think it would be ok to store them electronically and make them available to all your drs, but then again kind of dangerous. I sure wish i had those records though, I was younger and did not realize then that they may not have told me everything so I decided to try to get it. I know better now........
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