HealthCampDC Part Two - Something I forgot

Looking over tweets from Friday #HealthCampDC08, I completely forgot about a conversation one of the campers started regarding a blood test he wanted his MD to run for him. It was part of a two year check-up that he had self-prescribed. It was a young MD, who stated that she needed to put a note in his chart that said he was very sexually active to get approval from his insurance. That is not such a great note to have in your permanent file.

The MD was trying to be helpful, and get the test passed, however it was the wrong way to do it. One of the MDs at HealthCampDC stated that “... physicians aren't trained to know where those codes go (DRGs)… we get paid for diagnoses”.

This brought up the question: What is in your file, and will this prevent you from getting insurance down the line?

Do you know what is in your file? Has some doctor made a note that was an incorrect or "fake" diagnosis, yet needed to address an issue for a test?

I have been thinking about writing a post about a recent trip to the emergency room - not the point - but when I was there, I got a chest X-ray to make sure everything was hunky-dory. The technician called a few days later and said the hospital sent me a letter suggesting I get a follow-up X-ray three month later because they found an abnormal "shadow". It probably wasn't anything, but they had to protect themselves in case it was lung cancer.

Of course my wife freaked out, and made me go to our PCP. My MD found nothing to support me getting a chest X-ray and said that my insurance would probably not pay for it. It has been three weeks and I haven't heard anything yet regarding approval.

Point being, what if she put something in my chart that hinted at lung cancer. I did smoke on and off for 12 years (only a few cigs a day) but would this effect me getting health insurance in the future?

Again: Do you know what is in your file? You can request it once a year to check on it and make sure there isn't any false or incorrect information.