It's so frustrating when doctors don't communicate. Especially when the primary care doctor is the one left in the dark since that doctor is supposed to be the one who knows the most and puts al the pieces together.

I don't know if the things I do will help you....

First, anytime I go for any test (blood, imaging studies, etc...) I tell the facility that is doing the testing to send a copy of the results to my PCP. I also ask the doctor who is ordering the testing to write "CC to Doctor X" on the order (doctor X is the primary care doctor).

This helps to make sure that the PCP gets the copies of the results, and if the PCP does not get a copy it gives him the authority/permission to request a copy from the facility without me having to sign medical release forms.


Second, anytime I see my specialists I ask them at the end of the visit "When will Doctor X receive a copy of the notes/chart from this visit?" It's a subtle way to remind them to remember to send my primary care doctor the notes.


Third, whenever I see a new specialist, I make sure that I sign the medical release form thing to make sure that they have permission to send chart notes and info to my primary care doctor. The HIPAA laws made it more difficult for doctors to talk to each other about a patient without the patients permission, so I always make sure that the signed permission/release form is part of the paperwork I fill out when I see a new specialist.


Fourth, I take my own notes when I see a specialist. Name of the doctor, type of specialty, date of visit, reason for visit, results of visit, any changes in doagnosis or medication or treatment, etc... My notes are very brief and it takes less than 5 minutes to write them when I get home from seeing a doctor. I keep all these notes in one place (I use my DayPlanner that I use as a symptoms/pain/medical journal).

When I see my PCP I bring these notes with me and make sure that the PCP is up to date on everything that has happened since the last time I was there.


The last thing I do is that every year I send a medical release form to every doctor, hospital, testing facility, etc.. that I have seen in the past year and I request that they send me a full and complete copy of my chart for the past year. I usually do this in October because my birthday is in October and it's easy to remember.

This past October, I sent my release at the end of October and the release asked for copies of everything that occured from September 2005 to the present. I ask for the overlap just to make sure that I am getting everything.

I keep these copies in my filing cabinet at home, and if a see a new doctor that needs past information or if one of my current docors is missing information I go to Kinkos or Staples and make copies to give to them, but I always keep a complete copy for myself. I have to pay a "copying fee" every year to each doctor for each page that they copy, and then I have to pay for postage or go to pick it up myself - but it's not a lot of money and it's worth it to make sure that I have a full copy of everything.


I hope that helps.

Take care,
Liz