Thread by @RoSpodcast

New ep! Why are medical records so difficult to access, both for caregivers & patients? Two wonderful guests, @CarolynLye & @ilanayurkiewicz join @audreymdmph to talk about this today - thru #narrative lens✍️ & #research🖥️📑 lens! @HMSPrimaryCare primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/rospod/ros-bar…

.@ilanayurkiewicz looks at this issue as a caregiver & writer, and talks about her patient Michael & his partner, Leah. She tells the story about how lack of access to medical records adversely impacted Michael's care #medhum #narrativemedicine #narrative undark.org/article/medica…

.@CarolynLye looks at this issue as a researcher, and talks w us about her recent publication in @JAMANetworkOpen! She & colleagues showed staggering variability and challenges in the patient medical records request process:
jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

.@CarolynLye & colleagues performed a "secret shopper" study including 83 hospitals, calling up med records request lines & requesting info abt the process of getting records - which showed significant differences w written information about the process...
primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/rospod/ros-bar…

Also, @CarolynLye & colleagues showed significant variability in costs of obtaining records - anywhere from free to over $500 - and most hospitals were above the fed rec. of $6.50 flat fee...
primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/rospod/ros-bar…

The challenges accessing records represents yet another barrier for patients and caregivers trying to navigate our very complex medical system, and as @ilanayurkiewicz writes about so beautifully, has a human toll:
primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/rospod/ros-bar…

What have your experiences been w accessing med records, as caregivers in a clinic/hospital, or w your own or family members' medical records? How do we balance medical confidentiality & patient safety? Let us know what you think & thanks for listening! 🎧 primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/rospod/ros-bar…