posted
Anyone have advice on HOW to organize medical records.............in the simplest, most logical manner?
I've totally lost control of how and where to find my scattered records in all of my piles of paperwork that I'm trying to go through.
I never really had a system (that worked!) in the first place. Plus I'm very disorganized (ADD), and have bits and pieces of labs, notes, etc. from many, many doctors.
These have been piling up over the past 15+ years, and I find myself always scrambling around trying to find WHAT info to take to WHICH doctor (when they want past history or info from whatever tests results showed, or what other doctors have said, etc.) before my 1st appt. with them.
This is for NEW doctors, or 2nd opinions, or a doctor I've been referred to see for a completely different issue, etc. Since I've had to see several other doctors recently, the lack of being able to bring them info that helps our appt. be more productive, it just makes it more confusing and frustrating.
I walk in there with stacks of folders with SOME semi-organized info, but the rest of the folders are just mixed crap! My intentions are so sincere, but I'm sure it doesn't come across that way. I want these doctors to know I truly want their help!
It's SO hard for me to even make a simple decision on what to keep and what to throw away when I start going through these piles! I end up getting so frustrated, that I just end up stacking up the piles again. That doesn't help me OR the doctors I'm going to see.
I can't make a real "medical history" until I can pull all of this together. I'm so sick of driving myself crazy with this.
I try to keep a symptom log, but they don't have time to read it and I can't even figure out a what to "chart" that out in a sensible manner. You know how vastly different your sx range on a daily basis!
I'm a fan of actually writing down what my sx were like each day, not putting a check in a column or making a graph, etc. It's too hard to even categorize the sx! Everyday is different, and I'm one of those people who has to sometimes really DESCRIBE how I was feeling. THAT can make all the difference in the world to a doctor.....or my memory!
Anyone have any advice or success stories for me? I HAVE to get this done. I consider this part of my healing process.......it's going to make things not so confusing and overwhelming (in this area of my life!) I'm determined to take charge of this NOW! I can't stand it anymore!!!!!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! terri3boys Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
For me personally, as a former patient advocate who had to read through medical records for a living......organize them chronologically. From the beginning of your illness until now.
It may not seem to make logical sense when you read through them, but another doctor will be able to follow the patterns of your illness by date.
Posts: 21 | From Connecticut | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Have you found any non-LLMD's who really CARE??? I don't take any records with me to new drs since I don't trust them anyway. They don't want to hear anything about Lyme so why bother?
I don't mean to sound so negative, but have you found a dr who wants to look at your records?
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Chronologically makes sense, but how? By doctor? What about labs/tests?
Like what about starting off by sifting through all the paperwork I can find and at least make a pile of papers for each doctor? There are SO many doctors!
Or are you saying to chronologically mix everything, like: Start with a year, then go by the date including whatever I have for the month of January 1996, and go from there...........
Then in chronological order (from day one,) put any doctor's notes, labs, etc., then mix in another doctor's info that happens to fall into the next couple of days, followed by whatever I have from another doctor the next week, etc.?
That's better than keeping files for each doctor separately, or their labs, or whatever? I'm not saying THIS is a better way, but I'm just trying to understand what you're telling me.
I see your "big picture" ----- maybe I could start by at least weeding through what I've got and separating by doctor, then organize from there?
Or, simply start separating any and everything by year, then down to month, and so forth? I'm probably making this more complicated than it needs to be, but the whole thing is so overwhelming to me.
Can you clarify it a little? Are there other options, or is this the best way?
Thank you! You have no idea how badly I want to get this taken care of. Do I keep things in binders............??
terri3boys Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
I would put all labs in one folder ... by date. All doctors' reports in one folder.. by date. ETC
???
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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Melanie Reber
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3707
posted
Hi Terri,
I finally sorted through 5 years of medical stuff. Granted, you have longer, but the approach would be the same.
I too went with the chronological order with everything. This made the most sense to me, and was easier to organize and keep organized.
I used a pink highlighter to mark all dates on everything to make them easier to read. Then placed everything in order by date. I further broke that up into years, and placed each year in its own folder.
I also used those small colored booktabs to distinguish labs from doctor notes. So for example, all testing pages were flagged with red, all doc notes with blue, all bills green, handouts yellow, etc.
As I was organizing, I pulled and copied all test results. Then placed those copies in a separate folder. This way, I don't have to go back through everything to pull copies for each new visit because I already have them separated out to copy only what I think I will need for the next visit.
As far as a medical history, that too was typed up chronologically in a table and abbreviated. Year, Place, Item, Dr., Outcome, Rx. VERY abbreviated.
I keep a similar table with all medications and OTC things taken that I add to as needed.
Symptoms are so variable and changing that I only type up a list right before I see a new doc of the most prominent ones from the last week or so.
Hope this helps to get you started.
Posts: 7052 | From Colorado | Registered: Mar 2003
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I am thorough about this. I agree do it in chronological order. I have three piles of paper:
- major diagnostic tests (MRIs, catscans, X-rays, Sleep studies, etc.).
- lab tests (blood, stool, etc.).
- doctor notes (neuro and other specialists)
That said, no doctor cares less about reading stuff in my opinion as Lymetoo said. All say "It's overwhelming."
I can't tell you how many physicians I brought well organized notes to and had them toss them to the side. Their "15 minute time limit" doesn't allow to actually read a patient's history!
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
I organized all of my records in a 4 inch , 3 ring binder and take with me in every specialist appointment.
Included 4 tabs/folders( listed by date/most recent in front)
- Scans/MRI etc - blood work - Doctor reports - symptoms charting. Keep track of your top 10 symptoms on a monthly basis.( scale of 1 to 10 ) Also, indicate for each month your appropriate treatment. When people asking me how I feel, I answer them numerically. On average, I am a 6 out of ten. It works for me and has been very useful for my LLMD
-------------------- Dx 3/2008 Pos. WB and Bart- igenex Levequin 500 mg March 2008 Amox 6000 mg - May 2008 Doxy 400 mg - June - oct Biaxin and Flagly 1000 each, oct-dec Zitro, Malarone and Flagly Jan - feb Remission for 6 months Relapse Sept 2009 zithro/flagyl Posts: 130 | From canada | Registered: Mar 2008
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Ann-OH
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 2020
posted
Organize the same way doctors do. The most recent information on top.
I put test and procedure results in a file folder that has metal clasps at the top on each side of the folder. Mine are made by Pendaflex (no ad intended) You can buy a single hole punch cheaply, or spend more for one that punches holes exactly spaced for the folder clasps.
Tests for the current year go on the right side and those for the past couple of years on the left.
I write the date on each test or procedure report on the upper right. Lots of time it is hard to locate the date on test reports, and having the date clearly seen is a big help.
It is easy to remove the reports and put them back after the doctor's office has copied them. You can even hand the folder to the doctor without dropping stuff.
It keeps you from shuffling through papers and missing important information.
I am going to go through all my past records and organize them in the same way.
are you on SSDI, ss disability insurance benefits NOW?
THEY WENT ALL RECORDS TOGETHER BY DATE, OLDEST ON BOTTOM, AND MOST CURRENT ON TOP.
DO NOT SEPARATE LABS, XRAYS, ETC. ... THEY GO IN THERE IN NUMBERICAL SEQUENCE!
my 1st ssdi claim was divided by drs. folders; when i saw my 1st file i couldn't tell what they had and didn't since theirs was totally different than mine!
my 2nd ssdi claim was by date only! i just continue putting my current results on TOP.
fyi, i now have 3 FULL DRAWERS of a 4 drawer FULL with all my medical files, 2 sssdi claims, etc.
i also have a normal size calendar i write all my drs. appts. on: did i have labs and what, xrays..what, and any RX meds prescribed...what
i pay an annual rate from clinic to get copies of all medical notes, labs, xrays, etc. when they send me notes for THOSE DATES, i check mark off that date with date received on this special calendar so i know if records are up to date on me or not!
do you have any kids old enough to NOT write on them but putting them in DATE ORDER to help you??
i don't use a 3-ring binder; i use one of those 3-5" thick ACCORDIAN files ... works for me!
good luck; let us know which method you go with. it's a good job done!
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Thank all of you for your advice on how to organize my medical files!!
I think I've been so tripped up on it because there are several different ways to approach it, and when you factor in the ADD, my problems with organization in the 1st place, and the monumental project this will be ------------ it becomes so overwhelming!
Believe me, I've had to TRY to put whatever I can in whatever order I can for all of these recent doctor visits. What I've done is already a mess again, and I don't even have all of my records that have been stashed away in piles of crap!
I know this is absolutely necessary AND it's going to be very therapeutic to get it done. I've got tons of non-related papers mixed in with some of these medical records that I swear I will actually throw away!
It will be so refreshing to get this cleaned up. It took a long time to get to this point, so I know it will take a little more time to go through it all.
I think I'll use a timer and work on it in blocks of time, or I'll end up just walking away from it because of the sheer frustration. I've got PLENTY of other things to deal with, so I'll be able to get my mind working on other things.........kids, etc.
Again, thank ALL of you for your ideas, advice and encouragement. I'll get it done.
Take care, terri3boys
p.s. Betty, yes I'm already on SSD.
Posts: 268 | From Texas | Registered: Aug 2007
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Cass A
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 11134
posted
Chronological worked for me.
As I went through them, I filled out a Word document file in table format with date, action, and then another column for any other data I wanted to include. You could use more columns, if you have other categories of things to report. I printed mine out in landscape.
Then, I kept everything in order, and could find things (test results, etc.) without undoing the order I'd put in.
By having a chronological summary, it also makes it easier to see what's still coming up, what's gone away, etc.
Best,
Cass A
Posts: 1245 | From Thousand Oaks, CA | Registered: Feb 2007
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