By Belva Mulvahil
Hello Everyone,
This is a public service announcement about medical records. This is especially for anyone entering the convent or returning to lay life but it’s just darn helpful in general.
GET YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS
KEEP YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS
Why do I say this?
Your medical records are important. Maybe you’re young and healthy. Great! You still need to know how healthy you are right now. Then in 10 years you can compare the old and new.
You may think, hey it’s the modern era! Everything is electronic. Doctors talk to each other. I am GOOD.
Well, you might be wrong.
Specialists sometimes don’t send things or share things. I have a dermatologist who still uses paper files (in 2019!) and as a result NEVER sends info to my Primary Care Physician (PCP) even though I’ve signed a release multiple times. It’s weird, but that’s the way it is.
If you move, your PCP doesn’t share things with your new provider unless you ask. Some offices will charge you a lot to get copies of your records. Maybe you won’t have the login information to the online portal. Or your doctor may have a retention and disposal policy where they destroy records after X (not very many) years.
Why does this matter?
Many people have to get a physical, etc as part of the application process to enter religious life. Let’s say you’re in the convent for 6 years, return to lay life and struggle to get on your feet. Then you find a job, move to a new town and go to the doctor again. Do you have a medical history to give the new doctor? If you entered the convent before electronic medical records were widespread, time is of the essence. Try to get those records before they are destroyed!
Also, you may have gone to the doctor while you were in religious life. Do you have those records? Probably not. You should contact that doctor / those doctors now to get your files up to date.
If you had a thyroid test done in 2008 and you called that doctor today, they might say “we’ve destroyed everything older than 2011.”
Last year in the United States there was a scare about measles. How do you know if you were vaccinated for measles? How do you know if you had the measles booster? You could only be sure if you had your medical files available to you.
I am super thankful that I just found a box in my basement with old medical records. I left it with my family when I went to the convent and it was given back to me sometime after I returned to lay life. Thank goodness!
What’s the takeaway message here?
If you’re discerning and/or preparing to leave for the religious life, find a trusted person with whom you can leave your files.
If you’ve come back to lay life, see what you have. You can’t change the past so if your records aren’t great, try to not get too sad or frustrated with yourself. If you are missing things or have gaps, try to contact those providers as soon as possible.
If you’re a superior in a religious community, please make a medical records release form part of the exit process. Please contact the community doctor and find out what he/she needs so that the sister who is leaving has her medical history.
Have you had any problems with this? Do you have any great insights or tips to share? Please leave a comment below!
Recent Comments