Originally Posted by Hopeless

Dear Always Believe,

Thanks so much for your post. Loved the story of your daughter's tonsils. That is such a perfect example in showing the erroneous charting that is flooding our files today.

I was at the hospital today for pre-op. During the anesthesia interview, prior to seeing the anesthesiologist, I was asked a million and one questions about the same things that were asked of me on Wednesday of this week and in the computer. Forget all the redundancy, I just want to know why they type something different than what we say? Why ask us if you are going to type whatever you want to any way?

Don't get me wrong. I understand if they are "translating" the patient's lay terminology into medical jargon.

I was asked today, when I injected a particular drug. I said at 1 PM everyday. Guess what was typed into the computer? Med taken after lunch.

Did I say anything about lunch? NO. I think MY answer was MUCH more accurate and informative than what was typed. After lunch could be anytime. After lunch could vary from one day to another. After lunch may indicate that it was NOT regimented.

My answer was I take it at 1 PM everyday. End of discussion. Everyday at 1 PM. It does not matter if I had lunch or not. Or if I had lunch at 11 AM or at 3 PM. I inject the medicine at 1 PM every day. This is the time my doctor and I have agreed upon and it is to be adhered to strictly. This is also how the medication should be used. The drug company does not say, take whenever you eat lunch. It says take every 24 hours.

And guess what? It is a medicine that is suppose to be administered at the SAME time every day. That is exactly what I do. I use the med at the exact same time every day. At 1 PM every day. Why was that not what was entered?

Another med, an oral med, I said I take after my last meal in the evening. What was typed? Taken at bedtime.

Another oral med is a 24 hour medication that I take at the same time every evening. What was typed? Patient does not take medicine as directed. It is to be taken with meals but patient takes at bedtime.

That was NOT what I said and I KNOW how this med is to be taken. It does NOT need to be taken with meals. My doctor and pharmacist have stated that it does NOT need to be taken with meals. The packaging from the drug company states that it does NOT need to be taken with meals.

However, there is a similar medicine, that IS to be taken with meals but I could not tolerate it many years ago and was changed to the one I take that does NOT necessitate being taken with meals. Maybe the person doing the typing thought I was too stupid to know anything about my meds and they thought they would put the "correct" information into the system. The problem with THAT is the typist is wrong and not aware of some drugs. I believe most people take the drug that I could not tolerate and that was the drug the typist assumed I was taking. They did not READ the name of the drug or did not realize they are not the same thing.

I have NO idea of how many other things were entered differently than my response. The only reason I knew of the ones I mentioned was I saw a print out of that part of the interview.