My partner/significant other/spouse, etc has a somewhat uncommon last name. Occasionally, it'll evoke some sort of harmless comment but that's been about it over her 50-something years. She's used to it and has a good sense of humor. Her two sisters share the same surname. They experience the same sort of thing.
A year or so ago, things began to change. She began to receive emails reminding her of medical appointments she didn't have, letters from our insurance provider denying coverage for illnesses she isn't afflicted with, and the random cancellation of flight reservations.
Three weeks ago she went to her doctor for a routine visit. The doctor is affiliated with a large hospital in our area and as part of the visit, always goes over medical records with the patient. The records showed my partner to have juvenile diabetes, depression, heart disease and hepatitis. Per the records, she has also sought psychiatric help to deal with my death (I'm feeling much better, thank you).
The doctor called the IT department to have the erroneous info removed and to have the medical records flagged, as it appeared that her surname is used during training exercises. The records were tagged with a huge red banner at the top indicating my partner is a real person and under no circumstances should training information be entered into her records. She came home feeling better that the situation had been addressed.
HA.
Today, during another routine appointment with a different doctor, affiliated with the same hospital system, my beloved learned from her records that:
She has two brothers
Is prescribed Zoloft
She was born 10 years before her mother
Her grandfather is suicidal
She has a heart murmur
I did not in fact, die
All this might be funny except for her/our ongoing fear that should something happen requiring urgent medical care and she is unresponsive, and I am not around, what might happen during treatment. What might her records indicate? We are concerned that false medical information may cause her/our insurance premiums to rise, or the insurance dropped altogether.
Obviously, she could use my last name, or a hyphenated version of both, but that doesn't guarantee resolution and besides, it has been her name for all these years, and we like it. She has mailed a certified letter to the hospital administrator but we've low expectations that will accomplish much.
Any concrete ideas? Specific advice from someone with medical records experience is most welcomed.
Thanks.