Don’t Make Assumptions — Especially About Your Medical Records

The ugly truth about healthcare data in Canada (and why self-advocacy matters)

You’ve heard the saying: “Don’t assume — it makes an ass out of u and me.” In the Canadian healthcare system, this isn’t just a clever line — it’s a public service announcement.

Far too many of us assume our medical information flows smoothly between hospitals, walk-in clinics, specialists, family doctors, and labs. That there's one big magical database connecting everything.

Spoiler alert: There isn’t.

Instead, imagine your health records like puzzle pieces scattered across a dozen drawers — each with a different lock, key, and filing system (and yes, one of them might still be a fax machine from 1997).

Let’s Be Clear: This Isn’t About Blame

Our healthcare system is full of people who care deeply — doctors, nurses, admin staff, techs, pharmacists — people who show up every day to help, to heal, and to hold it together.

They want what we all want: safe, seamless, coordinated care. But they’re working in a system that was built for a different era — one that’s been patched together over time, under pressure, with duct tape and determination.

And they’re frustrated too. They deal with the same communication breakdowns, duplicated work, and missing information that we do — except it’s happening dozens of times a day.

An Allegory for the Anxious Age

Picture this: You’re on a rollercoaster, blindfolded. You think the seatbelt is secure — because someone, somewhere, probably checked it, right? Only halfway through the ride, when you're upside down and clinging to your dignity, do you realize: no one double-checked.

That’s what it’s like to assume your medical info made it to the right place.

The Problem with Interoperability

Interoperability — the ability for different health systems to share and understand data — is still more theory than practice in Canada.

Different hospitals, clinics, and provinces use different software systems. Some don’t talk to each other at all. It’s possible to get a scan in one city and your doctor in another never hears about it. Or to leave the ER with instructions that never reach your family physician.

Wait — Isn’t This Just Plug-and-Play?

You’d be forgiven for thinking interoperability is just a matter of connecting some wires or clicking “share.” Like syncing your phone to Bluetooth.

It’s not.

Healthcare data systems are more like a room full of people speaking different languages — some in Morse code, others in hieroglyphics, and one guy’s yelling through a tin can on a string.

Creating true interoperability means aligning technologies, formats, privacy laws, provincial policies, funding streams, and deeply entrenched habits — all at once.

It’s hard. But that doesn’t mean we stop asking for it.

Here’s the Good News: You Can Take Charge

Enter the concept of internal locus of control — the belief that you can influence your own outcomes, even when the system around you is imperfect.

You may not be able to fix interoperability overnight, but you can:

• Keep a personal folder (digital or physical) with key diagnoses, medications, and test results

• Ask for copies of your reports and discharge summaries

• Check in with your care providers to confirm what they’ve received (or haven’t)

• Speak up when something feels off

This isn’t about doing the system’s job. It’s about protecting your health within it — and helping others do the same.

The Ugly Truth > The Pretty Lie

I’m not here to sugar-coat. I’m here because I care.

Because nothing breaks my heart like hearing, “I thought someone else had it handled.” We need a system that handles it. We need interoperability, coordination, and care that doesn’t depend on luck or follow-up phone calls.

But until that system exists, we need to become part of the safety net.

Ask the questions. Keep the receipts. Advocate — kindly, firmly, persistently — for yourself and your loved ones.

Because when patients and providers work together, even in a broken system, we create something powerful: care with clarity, dignity, and trust.