What an Interesting Health Care System We Have

What an interesting health care system Kansas has in place. It is also interesting how patients are treated by the physicians too. Don't misunderstand me, I do like the health care system that is in place, however, I also know that it isn't perfect.

Today was an interesting day, but in the end turned out to be a good day. Sam went out on the town with Caleb to run a few errands while someone watched Hannah at the house. One of those errands was to gather Hannah and Caleb's medical records. For our situation it is important that we have all the information possible to make sure that nothing gets overlooked. When Sam went into the pediatrician's office to request the medical records today they told her that she couldn't have them without prior authorization from the doctor. This was quite frustrating for Sam. She wasn't able to get a copy of Hannah's medical records even after she signed several HIPAA forms authorizing the release of Hannah's records to all of the specialists that request them. How come it is more difficult for a mother to get access to her child's records than it is for a doctor. We know that there is additional information on those records that we haven't been told about, which is why we want a copy. For some reason some doctors don't tell their patients everything that they document. Is it for the safety of the patient? I don't know, that seems rather contradictory.

The other interesting thing is that once Sam gets the doctor's authorization she would have to pay for the medical records. It's a Kansas law that medical practices can charge for the labor and materials for the release of medical records. Which I guess is alright, but the only reason why they had Caleb's records from Iowa City was because Sam hand delivered them to the office. They hadn't requested them for some reason prior to his first appointment so we gave them the copy that we had gotten for free from Caleb's doctor in Iowa City. When Sam requested those same medical records she was denied. She had to get authorization from the Iowa City doctor, the same doctor that had given those records to her in the first place and those same records that Sam gave to the pediatrician here in Topeka. We got that one sorted out and they decided to give them back to us after they called Iowa City.

I would like to clarify one thing. Through this whole process Sam has been Hannah's advocate. She has been a strong willed person and very direct with the people that she has been interacting with. When she doesn't like something that has been said she will make sure that everything is understood clearly. So when I previously said that she about ripped the nurse practitioner's head off that was my perception of her sorting things out. She did great job staying calm and getting answers. She just had a very very strong tone in her voice that let the nurse know that she wasn't happy. I'm grateful that she is in charge of Hannah. She is doing a great job.

Keep praying for us. We've already seen miracles happen in Hannah's life. She has made great progress. Our next hurdle is this Friday. We are going to Kansas City to see the cardiologist. They will be placing a catheter in her body to take a video of her heart and do other things while they are in there.