Information please, doctor

I just finished my morning office and I have to get this off my chest:

I saw 2 elderly men, whose referring physician's letter essentially said:

"This man has multiple medical problems..."

... with no list of the problems! So, I had to find out about all the problems myself.

Also this week, I heard from a patient's family member who wondered why the patient was repeatedly asked the same questions by each physician/nurse who saw him:

"Is there no method of charting that follows patients to reduce this issue and frustration for both staff and patients?"

Bingo! Electronic health records will certainly help with this, but in the meantime, would all the referring physicians out there please help out and send your patient's past medical history details?!

We've developed a checklist for patients being referred for microhematuria. Maybe we need a checklist for all patients that says "Please include the reason for referral, patient's past medical history, list of medications and allergies". Is it really necessary to give that reminder? If I were a referring physician and received such a checklist, I think I'd be insulted. "Well, duh, of course I send along that information. I don't need to be reminded."

OK, I feel better now. On with the day.