Has anybody ever had missing health records and if so did you find them?

Question:

I recently discovered that some of my health records are missing. The hospital were I had tests ie xrays etc where done at a hospital that was demolished about 4 years after. I cannot find them at present and have very severe health concerns to deal with. Any advice on this would be most appreciative.

Answers:
Most hospital results are passed to your GP, at least in the form of a summary, so he should have them.

I used to work at a doctor's office and if I remember correctly, they are required to keep the records for 5 years and then they are destroyed (usually burned). It sounds like you may be right at the edge of that time period, if it hasn't passed already. Contact your state's board of medical examiners. Tell them the facility where the records were and tell them you need to know where the records are being stored. If they still exist, they are in a storage shed somewhere, and you should be able to track them down. But if it's been over 5 years I'm afraid you are out of luck. For the future, I recommend always keeping a copy of your records. The doctors offices will usually charge to give you the copies, but it is well worth it if you have a problem come up later. Good luck. I'm sorry you are sick and hope you can get better soon.

Has anybody ever had missing health records and if so did you find them?

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