By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – You have less access to your medical records than you may think, and State Rep. Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) says he wants to change that.

“What we’re addressing here is the ability of a patient or their representative to know that the record that they’re looking at accurately reflects the diagnosis and treatment that they receive,” Caulkins told a statehouse news conference.

“What we hope to accomplish here is to give the patients the opportunity – or the comfort of knowing – that what they are seeing in their medical record is the most current and up-to-date version.”

Caulkins said his constituents brought him their concerns. One of them is Patty Krueger, who said, “I am a mother who was affected by changes in my child’s medical records, who, I can tell you without giving great detail, has affected his everyday care to this day. By having changes to any medical record, such as a diagnosis, this prevents all of his treating physicians from knowing how to accurately treat him.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]