Richdale

You may not realize just how easy it is for somebody to get their hands on your medical records. Before you become the victim of fraud or have to suffer through some other problem as a result of this, take control of the situation. Here are some tips for taking control of your medical records once and for all.

1. Be aware of what you sign. Signing the general waivers that are supplied to you by your doctor’s office may not do the very best to ensure your medical records. If you aren’t comfortable with something in the document or if you wish for a different method to be used, cross something out or write in your own terms. You have to be in the driver’s seat on this one.
2. Be careful of participating in health fairs. Any public health events that ask for your medical information usually use different guidelines when it comes to protecting your medical records. Be careful of these and do your best if you do participate not to release too much information.
3. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. If you feel that personnel or policies in your doctor’s office aren’t being followed properly, talk to your doctor about your concerns. Part of their job is to protect their patients and that includes how your medical records are handled.
4. Keep your own medical records. It’s important for you to take control of the entire process, and that means maintaining your own medical records. Ask for copies of all lab work or tests, and keep them in your home under your care to ensure that you know exactly what is going on and maintain your own records of it.
5. Ask for old records to be destroyed. If you switch doctor’s offices or move, it’s not uncommon to ask your previous doctor to destroy your old medical records. This should be common practice if you tell a doctor’s office that you are switching, but it’s always best to double check and be sure that it actually happens so your records aren’t just hanging out there.
6. Limit the number of doctors you see. The more doctors you see, the more likelihood that your medical records can be exposed. If you have to see a specialist that’s one thing, but do your best to stick with a couple of core doctors and keep your records under control in this capacity.
7. Find out about your doctor’s office disposal methods. You may think that most doctors’ offices take all of the necessary steps to shred old documents or to throw out any test results in an appropriate way, but don’t just assume that. Ask how they dispose of old records or tools used so that you don’t risk any of your information getting out and into the wrong hands.

Protecting your medical records has become increasingly important, and you are partially responsible for this on your own. If you take the outlined steps and follow along the path of your medical records, you have a far less likely chance of your information getting into the wrong hands.

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