CHEST PAIN IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM....
A 67 year-old male and his wife from Minnesota are spending the summer months in south Texas when he experiences crushing, midsternal chest pain at ten o'clock at night. They proceed to the local emergency room for assistance.
This gentleman had bypass surgery four years earlier at a hospital in Minnesota. His medical records are located in his physician's office in Minnesota and cannot be accessed this late at night.
The emergency room physician questions the elderly gentleman about him what procedures have been done. However, the patient does not know anything other than that he had bypass surgery and a heart valve replaced. Unforunately, he cannot remember which valve and what type of replacement was done. The emergency room physician orders an EKG which shows abnormalities, but it is unclear whether these changes are significant since there is no old EKG available for comparison.
The emergency room physician immediately contacts the cardiologist on call that evening and reports his findings. The cardiologist asks if any old records are available. He would like to have copies of his prior op notes so that he could know how many vessels were bypassed and what type of heart valve replacement was performed. He also would like to have a copy of an old EKG for comparison along with reports of any echocardiograms or cardiac catheterizations.
Unfortunately, these reports are unavailable because those procedures were perfomed at other hospitals and clinics.
