How do you find medical records from long ago?

[bvdr]

I just need some ideas here. Back in 1962 I had radiation treatments to my chest and I am trying to find the medical records to obtain more information. I would like to know about the amount of rads and what, if any, shielding was used. I don't remember many details. The doctors involved are no longer living and the facility has been gone for more than 35 years. Has anyone else had success in locating records from the distant past? Is there a place that old records go when a place is closed and how long are records kept?

 

[Mary]

I don't know Betty, but I would sure be interested in finding out. My dad was my doctor, and I don't really think he kept official records. He died when I was 18, and the partner he practiced with has been dead for 25 years.

As a youngster, I was exposed to many x-rays, and I think perhaps I had endocarditis as a young child. I remember a pediatrician being brought in from Chicago to see me, but I haven't a clue what was, or wasn't determined. To top it all off, I never asked my mother these questions before she died. My best bet would be to see if the hospital records still exist somewhere, but since it was closed in 1960 I don't know where to look.

 

[bvdr]

Mary, you are in about the same position that I'm in. Even if I locate the records I don't know what quality the information would be. The time was just different then. Your dad was your doctor and I doubt he would have written much down. In our household, when one of us were sick my parents would get a big multi-dose vial of Pennicilin from our neighborhood doctor and we were all given injections. We hated it! I think I'm the one who finally broke the syringe giving a shot to a doll I had. I tried getting some information from my mom after I found out about my rheumatic heart disease. Her dementia was too advanced for her to remember anything at all.

Maybe Marty remembers how exact records were back then. I know we x-rayed our feet a whole lot at the shoe store we passed on the way home from school. He had a machine out there that you could stand on and see how your feet fit in your shoes. The danger from too much radiation was just not understood.

 

[Mary]

Mary, you are in about the same position that I'm in. Even if I locate the records I don't know what quality the information would be. The time was just different then. Your dad was your doctor and I doubt he would have written much down. In our household, when one of us were sick my parents would get a big multi-dose vial of Pennicilin from our neighborhood doctor and we were all given injections. We hated it! I think I'm the one who finally broke the syringe giving a shot to a doll I had. I tried getting some information from my mom after I found out about my rheumatic heart disease. Her dementia was too advanced for her to remember anything at all.

Maybe Marty remembers how exact records were back then. I know we x-rayed our feet a whole lot at the shoe store we passed on the way home from school. He had a machine out there that you could stand on and see how your feet fit in your shoes. The danger from too much radiation was just not understood.

I didn't do the feet x-rays (our town wasn't big enough for a shoe store, LOL!) but I think I had TB x-rays everytime I turned around. Especially since they were probably free!

 

[catwoman]

Betty:

Good luck!

I tried to get some medical records back in 1976 or so, when I was 26. I had been having some medical problems and this was when news about DES (diethylstilbesterol) babies came out. My mother had problems when pregnant w/ me and was given some Rx.
By 1976, the OB/GYN who delivered me in Milwaukee Wis. was deceased, the hospital had merged with another, etc. I did write the new hospital, only to be told, "Sorry, records not available."

 

[brd]

I'm interested too

I'm interested too

Hi BVDR and Mary! I had radiation to my thoracic duct in 1964 and I too would love to find my records .....how many rads and how long. The hosp in Boston where I had therapy has also been closed for a long time. In fact I don't think medical records are required to be kept more than seven years so I think it might be a dead end even if the hosp were not defunct.

For me it's been 42 years and I have not had surgery yet!

I did the shoe box thing too. A lot! Who knew?????

Barbara

 

[ILoVeNY25]

Hi Betty, I don't know how every place is and how it was, but I know now working in the medical field that when our charts start taking over the office, they get alphabetically stuck in boxes and someone goes down to a medical records storage center. We're lucky enough to be near a big hospital, that's probably the only reason we get to use the storage.
I had to find a lot of my medical records when I started my lawsuit against my pediatrician. I honestly don't think I could have even gotten my eyeballs on these records without my lawyers help. Good Luck with your search!!