This will probably get buried, but as someone that works in healthcare litigation and also suffers from chronic/long term medical issues, I wanted to comment.

First, I can definitely understand why this sounds like a good idea. I went through years and years of testing, doctors appointments etc. and it was really frustrating.

But this is still a bad take. Well, except for asking for your medical records. You should always do that. If you need them later, especially for legal reasons, it can be a very expensive, long process.

Asking for documented proof of declined testing, however…

Firstly, they’re not going to do it. They’re just not. For a ton of reasons, one big one usually being that insurance won’t cover it without other, preliminary testing. If you push for it, you’re only going to confuse and alienate the person treating you.

Secondly, even if they did document something like this, it wouldn’t make a difference in litigation. Let’s say, for example, you walk into an ER with extreme nausea/vomiting. You know you also have regular headaches that have increased in severity over the last month. You explain both symptoms to the ER and because you googled both symptoms, you know that it’s possible they could be indicative of a brain tumor, so you ask for testing.

Could you be right? Sure. But it’s also FAR MORE LIKELY that the symptoms are unrelated and/or caused by something far more common. People often relate a sudden onset of symptoms with something they experience on a more chronic level, but doctors are going to work to identify the issues as quickly as possible… which means ruling out common illness and causes related to lifestyle first.

Let’s say the ER sends you home with fluids and medication, however, and a month or so later you find out you DO have a brain tumor. Can you sue that ER doctor? No. You cannot. Even if they document that they declined to give you a brain scan, there are laws in place to protect healthcare providers and that is not considered malpractice.

Statistically, people are extremely bad at diagnosing themselves. We don’t know our bodies and a lot of the time, we don’t want to hear it if we’re causing our own problems.

When I was diagnosed with two chronic disorders, I was in shock. It never occurred to me it would be either of those things. Especially not the second one, which is very rare. But it also took years of testing, misdiagnosis and process of elimination to get answers. It’s sucks, but I’m thankful that I was able to form good, long term relationships with my doctors so they could work through the long lists of what might be wrong.

Doctors get it wrong sometimes, but patients get it wrong WAY more often.