The veterans here all say to do this. I just found out why. I was nosing through my daughter's chart at her pediatrician's office the other day, and saw a letter in there from her cardiologist saying that her left pulmonary artery stent wasn't allowing sufficient blood flow--dated last August. No one had mentioned it to me! I asked her cardiologist, and sure enough, she needs a scan to determine whether or not the stent needs dilating. This would have been missed if I hadn't been poking through the records, which the nurse left out by mistake (once a nurse called me "nosy" for doing that! Nosy!). My daughter could have sustained permanent lung damage.

I am furious. I am boiling mad. No more! I will not trust this system any more. If they could let something so big slip by, what other things are falling through the holes?

So, please tell me: how do I request records? I know I can ask for copies of everything there is so far, but how do I request on-going records as they happen? Do I stop by the desk on the way out and ask for any new records each time? Or call the office a week after each appointment? I'm not sure how to go about this. Thank you.

Abby