DOES medical information belong to a patient or to the doctors and hospitals who provide it?

That is what Dr Ajith Damodaran wants to determine.

He has written numerous letters to the press to raise the issue but is still unsatisfied with the answers he is getting.

The 53-year-old general practitioner is frustrated with the inconsistent way in which information is given to patients.

Or worse, not given to patients at all.

He says patients often stare at him blankly when asked about their medical conditions or for reports from earlier visits to the doctor.

'Sometimes, reports are given if they (the patients) ask for them. But not everyone knows you can ask (for such data),' said Dr Ajith, who has been practising medicine since 1978.

And not everyone has the confidence to query a doctor on the medical jargon, he added.

Dr Ajith, who runs a private practice in Serangoon, recalled the recent case of an elderly lady who sought follow-up treatment from him after going for a hospital check-up.

'All I got from her was a one-page discharge summary,' he said.

'It had no details of the medical procedures done on her.'

He found out from her that she had undergone a thorough examination, but she could not give any details.

'It is a waste of time and money if I send the patient back to the hospital to repeat the procedure.

'I could have avoided all that if I had all the information in the first place.'

Without such data, doctors might have to start testing their patients all over again, resulting in a waste of time, money and resources.

Dr Ajith gaves the example of treating patients with diabetes.

He said that all too often, he sees patients that have been given summary reports with the phrase 'normal blood sugar levels' as a diagnosis.

NO HELP

And that is no help at all, he argued. 'I don't just want the word 'normal'. I want to know exact blood sugar levels, so I can estimate if he or she will get diabetes in a few years.'

He wants such information to be given to the patient, regardless of whether the patient asks for it.

Dr Ajith cited examples in the US and Australia, where some hospitals have a 'patient-held medical record' system.

This means a patient's health status - blood test results, blood pressure readings, X-rays, prescriptions, allergies - are given to the patient or the patient's family in a folder for safekeeping.

If patients are given data, in a thumbdrive, for example, it would save time and storage space, Dr Ajith said.

He felt this would be a more practical solution than hooking up medical institutions to talk to each other.

'DOCTOR-SPEAK'

And it does not matter if the information contains a lot of 'doctor-speak'.

'If the patient does not understand it, he or she can seek another doctor's help to interpret the figures.

'We are talking about lab test results or even reports from a radiology department. All it takes is for the specialist to make a photocopy for the patient, nothing more.'

Whether a hospital or clinic should charge for such data is a separate issue, he said.

Dr Ajith believes the main issue is that of empowering the patient.

'I want them to know so they can make informed decisions.'

Do you agree or disagree? Don't hesitate to let fly at Mr Let Fly via e-mail to tnp@sph.com.sg

Many ways for patients to get info

YOU want medical information?

Then ask for it, said a hospital spokesman who requested anonymity.

There are many ways in which patients can get information if they want it, he said.

'They can go to the medical records division and ask for assistance there.

'They will get what they need as long as they go through proper channels.'

It is understood that this is a common practice in most hospitals here.

For patients who have been discharged, the hospital is forthcoming in forwarding data.

'When a patient is discharged, he or she is issued a discharge summary.

'This summary will have details of the necessary information on his or her condition.'

But how about giving the information upfront, without having the patient ask for it?

The spokesman said it was not difficult for the patients to seek information.

Offering medical reports upfront could be costly and time-consuming.

And not everyone would need a second opinion in the first place, the spokesman said.

susantam@sph.com.sg

This story was first published in The New Paper on Jan 3, 2008.