“I had shoulder surgery [and] I knew I had an adverse event when I couldn’t move half my face following a nerve block. It resolved by the next day, but I wanted to know if the reaction was due to wrong placement of the needle (physical damage) or some kind of reaction to the drug used. This would be important for me to know since I know I have to have a similar repair on the other shoulder.

The hospital would not release my full medical record. I complained to the HIM Director who advised me she could send me an abstract only (a few pages). I received that, but there was no mention of this event, and the hospital refused to release the rest.

I would have had to hire an attorney to get access to my full ambulatory surgery record. It shouldn’t come to that. It’s information I need to keep me safe.” —Patt P.