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I was having a whinge a while back about how patients don't get copies of their test results.I got a copy of an MRI report recently only after going through a process with the medical records department. (after I wasn't contacted about the results and was curious to see the report)
I wanted to ask a couple of questions about the report so I made an appointment with the doctor who ordered it (doctor was working in the same hospital I had MRI done).
I saw the orthoptist, who after spending some time reading my file, asked me if I'd had the MRI. I said yes and said I had some questions and waved my copy of the report at her. So she takes the report and goes to photocopy it and attaches it to her handwritten notes for the doctor.
So... it is pretty clear that my MRI report never got sent to the doctor at all, nor could the doctor or any of his team have accessed the report even if they took the initiative to chase it up (very unlikely!) even though this is all within the same hospital! Just when I think my expectations couldn't possibly get any lower, something manages to surprise me... what on earth is the point of doing tests that no-one ever looks at. It makes me so mad that these doctors seemingly have zero checks and balances in place to ensure that test results are reviewed by the referring doctor (let alone systems to ensure patients are actually contacted if need be), yet they deny us access to our records so that we can be proactive in questioning doctors if there is something that might be significant.
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