Incorrect diagnosis listed on electronic medical records - Removal not happening.

[No Vested Interest]

Last edited Sun May 15, 2016, 12:57 PM - Edit history (1)

Middle-aged daughter's extensive medical records show her listed as "MRDD" - mental retardation developmentally delayed.
This is incorrect; she has a type of Asperger's and at times acts inappropriately and immaturely.
Now she has suffered a stroke which has left her with aphasia, as a result of which can add to the impression that she lacks mental acuity.
Following her stroke, I was asked to sign a paper on her behalf agreeing to a procedure. The paper listed MRDD along with her other conditions. I refused to sign until that designation was removed. A physician agreed that Asperger's was not MRDD.
I told him I wished the record to be corrected and that I be notified of its removal. The procedure went ahead, but, apparently, the correction was not made.
I am dealing with a huge medical complex of hospitals, physicians and their networks.

Now she is to be transferred to a skilled nursing facility, there to remain until and if she can safely take care of herself, the aphasia being a bigger problem than the physical disabilities now present.
The MRDD classification came up again and someone from the state (Medicare and Medicaid being involved) had to interview her for a determination. The state person asked her which high school she attended. Personnel from the hospital told him that he could not ask her open-ended questions (as she cannot reply due to aphasia - she understands questions but can only answer "yes", "no", "I don't know", maybe", etc.) As a result she has not been transferred until the state processes her application.

I'm extremely frustrated by this impasse and the fact that an error can be made virtually anonymously in diagnosis and be left indefinitely on a medical record, impacting the patient ad infinitum.
Any comments or solutions to this situation will be appreciated.

[mopinko]

1. i agree this is a problem.

my experiences are not as bad as yours, but still show how info lingers.
my daughter had a screening for a bleeding disorder almost 10 years ago, and it continues to pop up in her record as a dx.

she also still gets calls/message on my land line from walgreens, after telling them at least a dozen times not to use that number.
even tho they dont mention what the drug is, i would still know that she is constantly getting scripts held up by insurance. they have her flagged as a drug seeker. if she really was, i would be able to guess that from the phone calls.

also had a lot of trouble during my divorce when they changed my address to my ex's because he was getting the bills. they revealed his address to me, which could have gotten ugly, as i did not know the new addy at the time.

there needs to be a process to correct this stuff, and they need to get their asses kicked when they dont.

[No Vested Interest]

2. Technology is great - until it isn't accurate.

Not to mention the that time spent attempting to correct errors is time away from one's important tasks, and usually ends in frustration.

[Patterson]

3. Your US Senators help with lots of problems; see if they can help with this.