Of course, we had Dr Harold Shipman:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Shipman

Who murdered between 250 and 459 patients.

Every procedure was re-written, and the Medical Profession took years to recover.

Dave.

Hi Everyone,

I started this thread over a year ago and want to thank everyone that has posted a response or even just took the time to read it.

From doctor visit to doctor visit, my overall opinion of doctors in general changes and I get perplexed at my own vacillating feelings.

Many of you already know that I currently have 8 physicians and am VERY particular about whom I trust to be my physician and am NOT satisfied to see just "any" doctor. My choice of health coverage is based upon the freedom to choose my physician whenever possible.

My GP or PCP or whatever we call our primary (non-specialist) physician has been in practice for over 35 years and I have been his patient for about the same amount of time. That is not to say that I have not seen "other" GP's when insurance dictated it. (There were short bouts of time when my insurance of the time did not allow me to see him.)

This physician is the reason I am alive today. He literally saved my life in November of 1990. I am writing tonight because of two recent incidents, two different doctors, that indicate my vacillation of feelings about doctors.

One doctor, a specialist, has been pushing me to have surgery. His diagnosis is not in question. It was previously established by other physicians in the same specialty. At my last visit, I was told that I need yet another surgery BEFORE the surgery that was previously discussed and it was promptly scheduled as being an urgent matter. Well, the surgery was to be performed last week but I cancelled it. The reason, ???, many but the primary reason was the surgery listed on the consent form did not coincide with the procedure the physician described to me. How do I know this? Well, I looked it up online and discovered that the procedure on the consent form was for a different diagnosis and problem than what I have and online information stated for MY condition, a procedure that sounded like the one described to me. Was this a clerical mistake? Did they just put the wrong procedure on the consent form? Is it just poor communication between physician and patient? Well, enough questions for me to put on the brakes and re-think my consent. To add to my confusion, the physician also casually muttered that the condition for the other surgery that he had been pushing was not severe enough yet for insurance to provide coverage. WHAT ???

OK, to incident number 2. Back to my GP. With all the new regs by the govt., the electronic charting, the need to justify any and all testing, etc., I "feel" like he has gone from being a super diagnostician to being a "paint by the numbers" physician. I could be very wrong but the feeling I now get in the exam room is that his primary concern is interacting with the laptop computer and the software check boxes than with ME, the patient. This is totally out of character for the man and physician I have known for 35 years.

I realize that physicians are now required to justify any and all testing and need to put down a "code" to substantiate their actions, but those codes in your medical record can be very misleading. If those electronic medical records are to make treating you better, then how can all those misleading codes make it better?

I now have "codes" in my medical record that indicate that I have conditions and illnesses that I do NOT have but were checked to rule out based upon symptoms exhibited. I sure hope my life will not be dependent upon a mis-leading and erroneous electronic medical record.

I know there are some "benefits" to an electronic medical record. 1) legibility 2) accessibility 3) can't think of a third one at the moment.

Disadvantages: Too numerous to mention. Encourages paint by the numbers, putting all of us into boxes and one size fits all. Codes used to get reimbursed by insurance are not equal and indicative of TRUE symptoms and conditions.

OK, I have rambled but just expressing my feelings tonight. Recently had erroneous lab results which now make me doubt the validity of some of the other labs that were assumed to be correct. The labs that were inconsistent with my symptoms and health were repeated and that is why we know the first results were erroneous but ALL of the labs were NOT repeated, only the ones that were suspect.

To conclude, I may feel different tomorrow or the next day but for the moment, I have serious doubts about a lot in the medical profession and its current practices. I have always been a proponent of second opinions but even that seems inadequate today.

Electronic Medical Records

A few more thoughts about electronic records.

Lack of privacy/ease of theft With a paper chart, someone had to have access to the physician's office and file storage area in order to see your file. Difficult to steal it. Being electronically stored, anyone can access your records if they have the know how and they don't have to leave their home.

Error Prone Easy to post information into the wrong patient's record. With a paper chart, usually the ONLY chart in the exam room with the physician and patient is the one that belongs to THAT patient. With a laptop computer, ALL patients records are in the room with you (the patient) and your physician.

I will give you two personal experiences. In June, I am sitting in the exam room with my doctor. His cell phone rang concerning another patient, he switched screens from MY record to the other patient. Did he remember to change back to ME when the phone call was concluded or did my information get typed into someone else's file?

A few years ago, with a doctor I no longer see (because of this), I was in the exam room and was asked how a certain medication was doing? I said I am not taking that medication. He looked back at the computer screen and said, Yes, Dr. Z prescribed that for you 2 months ago. I responded, I have never seen Dr. Z. Who is he? He replied with "He is the gastroenterologist you are seeing for your gastric reflux." I responded with, "Who's chart or file or you looking at? I have never had gastric reflux, I have never seen Dr. Z, I have never taken the medication you mentioned. Do you have me confused with someone else?" He stated my name, my date of birth, my clinic number, etc. I said Yes, that is correct but nothing else you have mentioned is ME. The response was, "I guess I must have made a mistake when I was cutting and pasting."

This was NOT the first time I had very erroneous information in MY electronic chart at that clinic. I never returned after discovering the numerous errors.

Word of advice and caution: Get copies of your medical records every so often just to be sure your record is reliable.

Oh boy. You'd better fire him as your doctor. Too many mistakes could cost you your life.

I know this, I almost was killed by doctors. I just quit a whole clinic. They prescribed 17 medications to take all at the same time. Which I didn't because just 3 of them incapacitated me for a short time until I stopped. They all went into the drug bin at the police station. And I paid for all of them. Might as well have put cash in there.

Now I only take ONE, and then only when I can feel my BP is up and I am fine.

I second the need to check your records. I too had to work to get a diagnosis removed that I did not have. With the new regs they actually only have 30 days to amend a chart. After that they can only add a change in the notes. This is insane and greatly detrimental to the patient.

I also found it interesting the comments about diagnosis coding being required to do any work up. I just had a conversation with a doctor friend the other day in which they were complaining bitterly about this very thing. That particular doctor was incensed that a diagnosis code was necessary to order a rule out diagnostic exam which potentially leaves the patient with a false medical history. They were concerned that patients may over time be charged more for insurance or have trouble getting life insurance, etc. because they have to many "diagnoses" in their records, many of which aren't even accurate. We don't have the doctors to thank for this one. It is a problem of regulations and insurance which is driving many doctors as nuts as the patients. Something's gotta give!

Reading this thread and thinking over my long life, I've had a few good doctors and some who did more harm than good. A recent hip replacement performed by a top notch surgeon has left me with too many complications I struggle with daily.

Doctors TODAY are overwhelmed with regulations, more tests for this and that, more tests again. It's ongoing. They have to be overwhelmed and trapped in their professions. I'd bet many would love to leave their professions but they are so invested in so many ways. So much has changed with the modern medicine world since 70's-80's...and then there is the growing population worldwide.

I do so much of my own healing with all the resources from the alternative world. I see my integrative MD once a year usually, that visit is coming up for labs etc and a check in. She prescribes a couple meds for thyroid and BP and I have to check in with her to keep active with these meds. She can't cure my issues, no one can...So I work to manage it all with help from other health friends etc.