Can you get a chronic illness removed from your medical record?

[Jaybird100]

Can you get a chronic illness removed from your medical record?

I was diagnosed with a chronic gut disorder ~ 4 years ago after a sudden emergence of symptoms. Had an endoscopy which shocked the medical team as it was all clear except a tiny patch of inflammation. They said the tiny patch might be normal but biopsied it anyway and it showed markers of the inflammation of the disease even if on the main testing (endoscopy) my result was basically normal.

I then realised my symptoms only started when I began taking a really strong probiotic at a slightly higher dose than suggested that I bought online. Once I had stopped taking it, all my symptoms went away. Doctors don’t know the underlying mechanisms of the disease so were unable to comment on the association.

Doctors believed I would need continual treatment to prevent symptoms flaring but I’ve had no issues since then and it’s been 4 years, which is very uncommon to remain fine for so long. No treatment or consultations sought since diagnosis.

Do I have grounds to ask for it to be removed from my medical records?

Thanks

Why would you ?

Why would you want it removed ? It happened and now your better.

Why would you want it removed? You had a medical matter that was investigated and resolved.

You are so sorry!

I wouldn't and I doubt doctors would be happy to do this.

You don't know what will happen in the future, your condition could flare up again and it would be necessary for doctors to understand the full medical background.

Given the doctors have been unable to comment on the association with the probiotic they are likely to treat that as coincidence and be concerned about the chance of your condition recurring.

Is there a reason you want this removed from your medical record?

your medical records need to stay a true account of what happened. if the reason you want to have it removed is due to wanting to sign up for private medical insurance and don't want this issue excluded as a pre existing condition then you will need to pay for a private endoscopy to give you the all-clear. that would consist of a note added to the previous record saying that the evidence is that the chronic condition was a misdiagnosis and the true cause was probably those prebiotics. they wouldn't expunge the whole thing, it happened.

Chronic illnesses can go into remission. Just because you have no symptoms now, doesn’t mean it won’t flare up in future.
It should only be removed if it was a clear case of misdiagnosis not because you are currently symptom free.

Is it for insurance purposes ?

Yup insurance purposes.
I demonstrated cause and effect somewhat by restarting the probiotics and seeing the same issue crop up. Stopping it again led to the symptoms going away around the time of diagnosis.

No you can't. You can challenge opinion but not factually correct investigations and even if you challenge opinion, the record would usually remain but with a note added.

No. You can make it clear that it has resolved. But your medical history is just that.

Why not look into having a note added to your records?

I'd be worried that, even if you managed to do this, the insurance company could argue that your medial records were deliberately misleading and refuse you coverage when you made a claim.

No you can't.

for insurance purposes

Yes it'd be lovely if we could all reduce our premiums by erasing or rewriting history😂

I guess the insurance people would say that you're the type of person to:

a) buy supplements online, without getting medical advice
b) take them at a higher dose than recommended

So from that perspective you are a higher insurance risk...

If they did and then you relapsed and used the insurance they could be prosecuted for fraud.

That would be fraud then. I don't recommend that you attempt to defraud an insurance company.

Least worse case scenario is that you get found out and prosecuted.

So, by this same token, folks that have had a heart attack can get it erased from their medical record because they are not having a heart attack right now. Bingo...premiums reduced.

Genius.

No, you can't. That is as it should be. You can just make clear that it appears to be in remission and is currently not an issue for you.

They won't remove it because it happened, it was given an official diagnosis and therefore it is part of your history. Who knows when it could become relevant again in the future? It stays.

An insurance premuim isn't going to be an awful for a dodgy gut that tests came back nornal is it, just get a note on your records as suggested safe any lying.

Can you imagine trying to do this with other insurance? Like car insurance?

I demonstrated cause and effect somewhat by restarting the probiotics and seeing the same issue crop up

so twice you have damaged yourself taking overdoses of unrecommended supplements which have damaged your gut. you almost certainly have made your gut more vulnerable to issues in future with this damage. of course you need to declare it and pay additional premiums due to the increased risk. it doesn't matter that the diagnosis wasn't perfect - the fact remains that you do not have a 100% healthy gut.

medical insurance companies are not charities, you play by the rules, which means paying in proportion to your risks based on your medical history and risk factors.

if you instead want payment according to what you can afford, that's "socialised medicine" or "the NHS", not medical insurance.

I know you didn’t necessarily mean to come across like this but I know of a medical underwriter and an actuary. One is employed specifically to investigate these exact situations of medical records trying to be changed and attends Court with evidence and the other is employed with a mega-salary to calculate just how high-risk you are to insure by doing what you did.

What you’re thinking of doing is illegal.

And just for the record, ‘chronic’ means lifelong.....which yours isn’t if it goes away??

Chickerboom. Chronic doesn't mean lifelong at all. In terms of illness it means persisting for a long time or recurring.

Not lifelong at all.

Acute illness....sudden onset, short lasting

Chronic illness....gradual onset, long(er) lasting