Can a Dr just delete medical records?

[SherryDupo]

That's basically it. My doctors office deleted all of my lab results from last week's blood test. I took a screen shot of the results and now today they are gone. Called the office they have no record of me having blood work done. All of this was for pregnancy and now absolutely NO record of me being pregnant..even the urine test says neg now. Is that legal? I mean obviously they charged my insurance so I'm sure I'll get a bill for it.

 

[x__amour]

I have no idea of legalities but it's not uncommon. I've had records that were "lost" multiple times. Definitely speak to your office about what happened.

 

[jd83]

It's possible they resulted the wrong patient, and then had to go back and correct it. If that's the case, there should be case notes that explain that being why results were changed. I work in a lab, and that's happened on multiple occasions, but there are always explanations required if results need to be changed for any reason. If its the doctors office itself showing the mistake, you can always check with the lab too. Ask what lab they use, and ask that the lab be double checked for the results if the office itself has made a mistake that is now not showing your results.

ETA: most entry error mistakes are caught right away, fixed, documented, and called to the physician and would have been fixed before ever being reported to a patient. An error happening a week or so later, where it could have affected patient care, is definitely not common though, so I'd certainly be seeking further answers from both the physicians office and the lab to find out what's going on, and why.