Is anyone else having problems with Advent Health controlled doctors and labs neglecting

[Baitball Blogger]

to send lab and check-up results to your other doctors who aren't in the system? It's been going on for two years. I make sure they have my other doctor's name and address, sign the paperwork, and the doctor claims she never gets the results.

[MyMission]

1. Yes

The Advent Hospital near me offers excellent health care, but it seems they are a closed system.
Tests and results done there are not easily shared with other hospitals.
Another nearby hospital, affiliated with the UNC system, has fluctuated in their care and their ratings. Neither seems to share their information with the other.

I generally choose Advent because they give better care. I've had to get copies of reports, or discs with scans to bring to other doctors.

A friend of mine was a pediatric nurse case manager. She was very scrupulous about sending reports and results to out of system practitioners. When she had a medical problem several years ago, her short term disability was denied because her information wasn't sent by the office that was supposed to handle that. She was told that it was her responsibility as the patient to make sure her records and results were sent, received, and accurate. She was livid, especially because she knew most patients don't have the ability to navigate this crazy system. The back office staff and case managers didn't want to take the extra step.

Because of her connections, she was able to find out she was denied because there was no treatment plan included by her doctor. Once they updated the report her temporary disability was approved. She ended up retiring after the ordeal.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. Since this appears to be a chronic problem, what oversight agency can we address this problem

to?

I know what they're doing. I get reminders from them that it's time for a so-and-so check-up and tell me they can recommend their own doctors. And in doing this, compound the problem that they're ignoring the real doctor of my choice.

I hope the system changes before I really get old and sick. Maybe the answer will solve itself when my Advent primary doctor retires. She wasn't on Advent when I first began to check in with her. From what I hear, she regrets the decision. Talk about bureaucracy.

[MyMission]

3. The Seventh Day Adventists run the Advent health system

Not that I'm recommending we contact the church! Lol They are the best of the 3 hospitals in my area, their ER saved my mom's life years ago after she was sent home by the closer hospital ER.
And they diagnosed a friend's heart condition that had been overlooked by our UNC group.

So I do find Advent health care to be excellent and generally don't object to using one of their practitioners, but the not sharing info with other systems is something that causes a lot of grief.
And folks that are already stressed by health concerns haven't yet been as energized to demand changes in sharing medical information. One problem is technology and the different operating systems used by different health care groups. They need to fix that!

I think there are several companies that have capitalized on this, and will store one's medical records. And there's probably an understanding that health systems remain closed, to boost these businesses and their own. Not sure how hipa plays into this, but it's there. I think we need to have easier access to our medical records too. I'm not that tech savvy, don't like my records or info on line, but my UNC health system puts it in a patient portal that I rarely access. But not everything makes it to that portal. It's information technology and protocol and practice issues.

Remember early cell phones, and how many different chargers were needed? So you'd need a specific charger for each phone. Not sure how or why they became mostly universal, but the many cell phone users certainly demanded easier options for charging. Now I actually have a charging pad, which is huge leap in technology. Who knows what's coming, or already here for medical records?

From this discussion I realize we should be responsible for our medical records, and should be more vigilant in keeping up to date. Even if we rely on a primary care MD, we should obtain records to share with them when tests and procedures are done, out of network and even within.

[carpetbagger]

4. The chances of a record actually getting faxed is maybe 60%.

Nothing to do with any particular system. I agree with the above, you're ultimately responsible for gathering and sharing your info and records. I have about 1,570 days left until I get to retire from my job in the US medical system, can't wait.