"But My New Doctor Doesn't Want My Records from My Previous Doctor"
We from time to time get interesting questions from clients when requesting their medical record. Their physician may have retired and they have now found a new physician that is accepting new patients. Clients have sometimes suggested that their new physician doesn't care or have any need for the historical medical record. Firstly, RASCI believes in the saying that "an informed patient is a healthy patient" and making sure that your new physician has your historical record to review is simply part of the continuity of care that we should all be concerned about and have.
Access to Medical records aims is to improve the quality of health care and reduces medical errors by making information readily available to physicians.
Canadians have been given the legal right to have access to their medical information and that legal right was given to us for a reason. This is why we developed RASCI, to be able to give us the opportunity to obtain this information for our own files. There have been instances where patients have been shocked to see the omissions (surgeries, broken limbs, important test results, etc) that existed in their medical file when they had the chance to review their medical record.
We have heard an instance where a new physician had convinced their new patient that their historical record was not needed but then only to find themselves entwined in legal and bureaucratic procedures of obtaining their full CPP benefits because they didn't have their historical medical information available anymore. Is it really worth not taking the little time to obtain information about your medical history? Shouldn't this information be in the same spot that you keep other important information such as life insurance policies, auto insurance, land deeds and so on?
Given all the reasons why one should have a copy of their own medical record on file, the question everyone should ask themselves is, does it really make sense that your new physician doesn't want a copy your medical record?