The Medical Records

 

One of my relatives runs an ophthalmology clinic downtown. And it so happens I used to take care of three old persons: my great aunt, my father and my mother. Old people always have medical problems, so I would take them to various kinds of hospital. Almost every week, I would be at some hospital. When they had eye problems, I would take them to the hospital our relative ran. It was a win-win situation. The hospital could profit, and I could show that I was a good caregiver.

The doctor was my relative, and the nurses and clerks treated me very well. I was a frequent visitor there for about ten years. We became very familiar with each other and engaged in small talk every time.

One day, I wanted to buy new glasses. I decided to ask for a prescription for them at the hospital. When I was in the waiting room, the clerk came to me. She looked upset.

“Now, we are looking for your medical records… but we can’t find them.”

Then my relative, the doctor, joined us. They started to argue: “Have we lost the medical records?”

“How could we do that?”

“Losing medical records could be a serious problem.”

They were upset for a while. Then we solved the mystery. They never had my medical records in the first place. I had visited the hospital many times as a caregiver. I had never visited it as a patient. I didn’t even have a hospital ID card. The clerk had assumed that they had my medical records because I was familiar.

After that, I met my relative in my capacity as a patient for the first time.

Picture by Aroaroui