Even though you are a weirdo, this is a very good point.  I have seen this
several times in my own bad experiences with the many doctors I have been to
in my life.  I once had a uro PA who kept saying  he examined me in his
notes (which I got later) and it was boiler plate bullshit (maybe from
anther patient, eg "his abdominal exam is benign, no CVA tenderness nor
flank masses, the liver and spleen are non palpable", etc), and he never
touched me, other to give me my regular prostate massage and check the
secretion.  IMO that is bordering on incompetence.  The sad part is if you
ever had to go to court for something for whatever reason, a judge is going
to believe the damn doctor's notes (whether typed after dictation or
handwritten by the doctor).  The medical arena is viewed as god, but it is
far from that.

They also misquote dosages and lengths of time on the dose, and when your
symptoms started, and what your symptoms were, etc.  Some of it is probably
done by the typist (eg he/she misinterprets bidaily versus tridaily, as an
example).  But what you say is very real indeed, and could potentially cause
mistakes to pursue later on in a patients treatment - da da da da.  And if
your records are forwarded to another doctor that doctor is getting
misinformation.

As an aside, I have had my blood lost in a hospital ER visit (blood was
supposed to be sent out and never made it, but yet my insurance was billed),
and once when I was an inpatient they tried to give me someone else's pills.
I have also had my catscans misread (one report conflicted with an earlier
report - try proving it).  Oh well,  I assume you are talking about the US -
imagine what it's like in some of the lesser developed countries - lol .

Pete

Open letter to Ellen Eichler, M.D.:

I felt sick, so I went to a doctor. Then I obtained copies of the medical
records, and I saw in his records, false claims about the statements I’d
made to him. So I realized what you already know: By neglecting to
maintain accurate medical-records, a doctor can cover his a.s, neglect
patients’ concerns, and end up with a fat paycheck.

In the truth’s interest, I bought a tape recorder small enough to conceal
in my pocket. I went to a prestigious doctor [Stephen Kurtz, M.D.] at a
prestigious institution [Mayo Clinic], with the tape recorder in my
pocket. I tape recorded myself telling Kurtz that my sister is in perfect
health. After the meeting, I obtained copies of the official medical
records. The official records claimed I told Kurtz my sister is dead.

I asked him if he would please correct the mistake in his medical records;
he refused. I informed his employer, offering copies of my tape
recordings, to assist their correction of the official medical records.
His boss refused.

This is just one example. Other doctors have done the same thing. In fact,
I’ve found inaccurate medical records to be the norm, not the exception.
It would be convenient if I was just being paranoid; but the tape
recordings confirm the truth.

Dr. Eicheler, your lab gave me two cups and asked me to poo in them. I
poo’d in your cups and returned them to your office. On May 1, you
admitted, you’d lost my poo and have no lab-results. You cannot even keep
track of poo that’s in your own office??

I approached you in good faith. All I hoped for was accurate medical
records, and your good intentions. That’s really asking for very little.

Your difficulty performing the most basic clerical tasks impairs you
professionally, endangering your patients and the public health. You need
to spend less time making negligent, condescending assumptions about
patients, and more time practicing the most basic clerical tasks.

(Addendum: On June 15, after I asked Dr. Eichler whether she'd billed
insurance for any stool exam, her office phoned to inform me that they had
recovered the poo that had gone missing in their office for so many
months.)