It had been at least 7 years since the last time I dialed that number. The woman at the other end of the line picked up the phone and said hello.
"Hello. I was an inpatient in your hospital March 2002. I know it has been a long time, but would it be possible to have my medical records sent to me?"
"What is it you want?" Either the secretary did not understand my English, or no one has ever asked for their medical records back (successfully) since the founding of the hospital, in June 1985.
"I was an inpatient in your hospital in March 2002, when I was a student at the local college, and I would like my medical records from this time interval to be sent to me please."
"We can't send it to you. Unless a lawyer or a doctor requests it."
"Although they are MY records?" and because you put me on experimental drugs and other non-experimental funky drugs! And I would like to know what kind of chemical had been pumped into my body, and yes, it took me 8 years to build up enough courage to ask for my medical records back, and I need them.
I regretted that I never made a copy of the Patient's Rights from their hospital, and it is NOWHERE to be found online. ( I suppose they deleted it) I started to wonder if it was really a hospital I stayed in, or the whole experience was a huge prank from someone. But I know I did not have schizophrenia, although they thought I did.
"I have both doctor and lawyer here. What kind of document would I need to send to you in order to receive my records?"
"Where are you now?"
"Berlin, Germany."
"Well, I can fax you the application. Oh wait, you are not in US? We don't do international fax. The documents from your doctor or lawyer would have to be in English."
1200 Dollars a day for any inpatient, that covers neither international fax, nor the name of the pill they gave us.
Information is money, whoever said it the first, salute to you.
"I can give you my address if you can send the application to me. Both my doctor and lawyer speak English, and I am willing to pay for the postage." (Can you imagine? Someone speaks another language?)
"OK." She took my address and told me that it would take up to 8 weeks for her to send out the application. ( I suppose she would have hand write them, it is more personal ya know.)
I wrote to the international students' office and asked them if they would get the fax from the hospital and fax it to me. (I got a bad gut-feeling from that lady on the phone) No response. I really have to consider paying that Alumni fees every year, just in case I want a small favor as a former student, or rights to MY OWN information.
Information is money, whoever said it the first, salute to you.
I hope that secretary would find time in her busy schedule to practice Patient's Rights --- what's the worst could happen? My lawyer does speak English.
