I was recently in my hometown of New Martinsville visiting my dad, a retired family physician. When I arrived he had waiting for me a copy of one of my grandfather's medical records from the 1930s. My grandfather, Dr. Albert Coffield, practiced rural medicine in Wetzel County, West Virginia from 1911 until his death in 1936.
My dad was a doctor who practiced out of his house on Coffield Ridge in Wetzel County. After my dad died in 1936 our mother sold the household furnishing and his office equipment. I was 12 years old when he died and my older brother was a first year student at West Virginia University. Since my mother wasn't employed she decided to move us to Morgantown where the University was so that my older brother could continue his college education. As a way to continue the family income she rented rooms to college students - many who came to the University from Wetzel County. Included in the sale of the household and office furnishing was a wooden credenza with metal alphabetized slides. Behind some of the slides were some old medical records that were left in the credenza. Thirty years later a lady who was a patient of mine brought the wooden credenza to me and told me that she had bought the credenza at the auction of my family's household items in 1936. She told me that she thought I would appreciate having it. Here are photos of the medical record of a patient from 1934. The medical record format is simple yet complete. It contains all the important demographic and clinical information - including the patient statement, habits, family history, past history, physician examination and diagnosis. On the back is additional space for notes and a drawing of the internal organs that I suspect was meant to be used with the patient for education and instruction. It even has a built in billing record section that even the change:healthcare crowd would love.
What can these photos tell us about the current health care reform debate. Compare these photos of a medical record from 1934 to those that cost .73 cents today. Could today's physician and his or her patient get meaningful use out of this record?Imagine being a three-year-old little boy getting your hand mangled in an accident. Imagine it’s the late 1930s to early 1940s and the closest doctor is nearly 10 miles away. Imagine a rural county doctor performs nothing less than a miracle to save your life.
Pdf) The History Of The Patient Record And The Paper Record
After my first presentation on the Hunt murders at the West Texas Historical Association in 2009 various people started contacting me out of the blue. Some were legitimate – some not. My research skills took on becoming a detective in finding out who was telling me the truth vs. the oddballs.
One of those people who I’ve written into the Hunt book was that little boy named Jim. He contacted me to help him discover answers to questions he longed asked but had no answers for regarding his childhood accident.
It was side story I decided I needed to tell in the Hunt story because it gave a small window in time on the surgical skills of Dr. Roy Hunt. While I’ve not found concrete evidence thus far on Jim’s accident to help him answer those specific questions (no I’ve not given up) the early medical record keeping discoveries along the way have been interesting.
Description Of The Parts Of A Swedish Medical Record From 1943. A 6...
My general doctor told me during my initial period of gathering this Hunt research that in those early days between 1900 – 1960s at most all the patient records were either kept on index cards or in small booklets. Doctors’ back then did not write extensive notes and there were not patient charts like they are today. In visiting a small, regional museum one of these patient booklets was discovered by my friend, Willa and I during a photographic endeavor.
The long, narrow book had yellowed pages along some of its edges and was remarkably not brittle. The handwriting had not faded. Turning the pages of this 1929 record book and seeing medical history pop from it was exciting. One date, in particular, Willa looked for was October 29, 1929 – the day of Black Tuesday. Remarkably no doctor notes were made on that day.
Doctor’s handwriting was as bad back then as it is today. Hard to decipher and even harder to read. Most comments were just squiggly lines throughout the book. A majority of the notes were brief as their small lines permitted. Most of the prognoses in this book were listed as “good.”
Medical Records: When Access Can Be Refused
Unlike our medical records of today that now are all computerized it’s amazing to have documents like this to look back on a simpler time for doctors. When quick notes were all they needed.
Unlike our medical records of today that now are all computerized it’s amazing to have documents like this to look back on a simpler time for doctors. When quick notes were all they needed.
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