Medical Records unavailable 😱
Recently my Rheumatologist closed & Now I can't get Any of my Records from the last 20+ Year's. I'm totally heartbroken to lose my Great Dr. Kahn (who's kept me alive and out of a wheelchair) I don't know all the details but his practice was bought out and then Completely Closed apparently without paying for their medical records cloud account. The Only thing I could get was my last blood work. Big problem now as insurance is demanding I pretty much go back to square one. So Now My really good new Dr. Has given me Methotrexate & folic acid which I'm pretty positive made me Deathly ill & aside from that I'm very afraid to repeat any Meds that obviously didn't work for one reason or another. I've been trying for months to get my records from Athena & EHR Next Gen but keep coming up empty-handed. I'm about to go get an attorney as I just can't believe that this could be Legal. I can't go back to my Many insurance companies (No idea who I had or how many companies I even had) my pharmacy can give me something like a couple years of the Med's I was taking but they don't go back far enough nor do they show what infusions I've been on & lastly I've been on Xeljans for years which are not listed because they were Thousands of dollars a Month with my SS Medicare so they have been always just giving me samples (further proof of Why I Loved them) has anyone else had to deal with anything like this or have any advice for Not having to withstand yet another round of poison I know my body doesn't do well with? Thank you so much in advance for any help.
I'm sorry you are going through this. Good doctors leaving is never easy, and this has happened to me a few times already with various medical providers. There must be a way for you to access your medical records, without needing a cloud account. I've never heard of any office not being able to provide records to patients prior to closing. Did they send a notice about this or a due date of when you need to request your records by? You may want to contact the office to try getting the details. If this is a private practice may be more difficult, but if he/she worked through a hospital it can be easier. Legal help could be a great option. I personally don't know much about this but maybe one of my other team members knows a bit more than I do. -Effie, team member 
wow. That just doesn’t seem right! My only idea is to try calling your State Board of Medicine for advice. Jo 
Wow,
! This is a challenging situation to be in. I hope you can get this sorted out soon. It’s a tough situation, but hopefully, with persistence and some help, you’ll be able to recover the information you need to continue your care safely. Good luck, and please keep us updated on your progress! Warmly, Latoya (Team Member) I have been in touch with the parent company who promptly Resent me my last 2 blood work (that I already have) and Nothing else. I emailed them several times since trying to find out how to get what I need but they haven't responded. I just can't imagine how this can be Legal. But the biggest lesson is that I Now never walk out of any Drs without All my latest test results & Note everything. We must protect ourselves. Sure wish I'd kept a log all these years.
Unfortunately this is a lesson I learned all too well over the years. I have just tons of paperwork sitting around my house in case I ever need it. Fun fact: doctors often put things into your medical records that you don't even realize like, "bad at keeping appointments" (even though I was disabled), and "doesn't wait for medicine to reach full efficacy." It's a pain, and yet another thing to keep track of, but it's necessary, unfortunately. We have to be our own advocates. Keep on keepin' on, DPM
