What'd the doctor say...erroneously?

Someone I know recently requested and received a copy of his or her medical chart for a particular doctor. This person was fuming mad (and understandably so) that the doctor had not only ignored pretty much everything he or she was told, but that the doctor had also written down out-right lies.

Now, I completely understand this frustration and anger. When a doctor fails to listen, ignores what is being said, and/or just completely makes up information, it can be difficult to get them to change what was written, and any doctors that see that medical history tend to accept it as is, since hey...it was written by another doctor. This must be absolutely infuriating.

I have only limited firsthand knowledge of how frustrating this must be. My recent experience with my gastroenterologist showed me that they made me one year younger, which I must admit I am more than willing to accept, but two pounds heavier than the scale showed. That latter one annoyed me, but it was not worth arguing to get them to change. I'll just eat more cookies to make the weight work. These were minor errors, but they were irritating enough. I cannot even fathom how angry someone would be over blatant lies.

On the other hand, I have never been more curious in my life about what a doctor has written about someone else. What was written that upset my friend as much as it did? Was it truly a bunch of lies, or was there enough truth in there to make it hurt even more? Or worse, was it completely truthful and that knowledge was enough to make this person furious because he or she is trying to deny everything that was written? Knowing this person, I strongly suspect it was indeed erroneous on the doctor's part. That does not mean I am not incredibly curious about what was written.

In the past, I have received an official doctor diagnosis of having a nervous stomach. This was back in the days before it was commonly known that food allergies could manifest through one's digestive tract. Once that was determined, my food allergies diagnosed, the offending foods avoided, my supposedly nervous stomach miraculously improved. Does this mean that those first doctors were wrong? Not necessarily. They had ruled out everything they could think of, and what was left became their diagnosis. Was it wrong judging by later standards? Yes. I almost shudder to wonder whether I have a slew of doctors who wrote down that I was a hypochondriac because I kept insisting something was not right and they kept insisting there was nothing they could find. I wonder if I would be just as upset as my friend should I ever get my hands on those old medical charts.

I feel far too nosy over this whole situation. I will accept what this person said that his or her doctor wrote down a web of lies, and hope this person finds a doctor who will listen, pay attention, and keep accurate charts. Here's hoping.