Has anyone had any issues of seemingly dodgy behaviour from their doctors? I would like to raise a concern about this doctors but have no idea how to!! Basically my doctor prescribed me drugs she shouldn't have when I was pregnant. I went back later for pregnancy confirmation and pap smear etc and unfortunately miscarried�@(the baby had died exactly the week that the drugs were prescribed). Unbeknownst to the doctor,‚hdidn't actually complete the course of drugs,�@‚hdiscovered I was pregnant so only took one tablet, so it is unlikley that this caused the miscarraige. However when I called the doctors today on a totally unrelated matter, they said they have no record of me even visiting them since the visit before all this. Not the fact I was pregnant, the drugs they prescribed, the results of my pap or anything...given how pedantic they are about records ...this seems very strange to me. Am I being paranoid? Any thoughts?

Sounds very dodgy to me. Not paranoid.
There must be a system of recourse, but before you start investing time & energy, what would you be looking for as a result? Damage claim? Punishment? Warn others?

Sounds cold, but you would have to be quite dedicated and resourceful to be able to have a lasting impact on any improper practice.

Just know what you are looking for before getting invested in the effort, would be my advice.

Lisa, sorry to hear about your miscarriage. Whether one pill caused it or not would require a medical opinion. I agree with Scott, very dogdy that the records have vanished. First of all, doctors are required by law to keep medical records in Japan. (I was told for 5 years) About your visit, you must have paid, right? Did you get a receipt? If you are covered by NHI, then this would also have been billed so there is a record. Did you save any of the packaging from the medication, the receipt, the instructions? Did a pharmacy fill the prescription or did you obtain the medication at the same clinic where you saw the doctor? Is it one of the well known clinics that serves the foreign community?

There is a great deal of medical malpractice in Japan. Only some of it is reported in the media.

If I were in your shoes, I certainly would pursue the matter.

Lisa, an afterthought. Don't know how far along you were when you miscarried, but did you happen to register your pregnancy with the ward office? Isn't there some documentation needed for this? Did you go to a different doctor when you miscarried? You can e-mail me privately if you prefer.

Nancy-
I'm curious what you think of my point regarding what outcome of pursuing Lisa is after.

What would be your thought on what result benefiting Lisa is possible?

Hi Lisa,

I would go to the pharmacy and use their records as to what drug you were given. Drugs that are harmful to pregnant women require a pregnancy test prior to them being dispensed to women. They typically take a urine test first and if you have a irregular cycle they require a blood test as well then the drug s are prescribed. So just for your piece of mind find out what the pharmacy gave you. It is very common to have a miscarage and nothing will heal your loss other than time and getting pregnant again. Good Luck.

Sari, some clinics I know of dispense medication, so you don't have a prescription at all. As with all medications, before a doctor prescribes them to you, they should be sure that you don't have any existing conditions that would cause an adverse reaction. So many medications cannot be taken if you are pregnant.

Scott, in answer to your question about the resulting benefit from pursuing this matter, I can only say that what's done is done, but if there is evidence of wrongdoing it should not be concealed. If taking action prevents this from happening again, then it will have been worthwhile.

I think if you call this clinic and threaten legal action perhaps your records could magically appear. They are required to keep records as well. You need to find out infact wheather this medicaiton is the cause of the miscarrage or if it was natural. You cannot go on without knowing the facts. Also, I would just for your sake have private insurance so you may research and pick recommended doctors. I don't know why anyone would go see a Dr. they didn't come highly recommended by the community and your friends. Just for your piece of mind you must find out what you took. But most Dr.s will require the pregnancy test prior to dispensing If there is any risk to a baby. I know that was my case 4 years ago. I was 2 months pregnant and didn't know due to an irregular cycle. The medications they had then were harmful and I was given both a urine an blood test. The medications they have now for my condition do not harm a baby so I am now not required to do that for my medication. If you find out the name of the Rx you can look up on the internet and determine if it was in fact what casued your miscarriage. Do keep in mind that miscarriages and be caused by the forming baby to have numerous delterious genes (fatal or numberous fatal birth defects) it can be your body's natural way or not having an unhealthy baby. Your body can proof reaed its DNA protiens and see errors and if they cannot be repaired your body may choose to have a natural abortion. It happens to many women about 30% especially with their 1st pregnacy. So I say you MUST find out what really happened and then find out if someone is at fault. Don't continue wondering and if this Dr. gave you something harmful. You MUST do something to protect the comminity so that this does NOT happen again. You will drive yourself crazy wondering. But it is better to have a miscarrage than a still born which has been one of the cases with a new friend I have met. The only thing that will heal you is to get pregant again as soon as you are healthy enough. I hope you are blessed with that soon. Take care of yourself and find a good Dr. the women say Dr. Sakamoto is good from Tokyo clinic. There is also a french women people recommend if you prefer women.

Thanks for all your comments everyone, I DIDN'T actually take the medicine they prescribed. The miscarraige was totally natural, what is weird is that my records have disappeared. ‚just wondered if anyone else had had their records messed about with. I have a dated baby scan photo from the clinic so I might just go back and put the willies up them!

It really is too unprofessional. If you have the energy, by all means call them on it. Keep asking for each person's supervisor.

Does anyone know the agency one goes to to file claims of malfeasance?

If you still have your little card with your patient number on it that they give you when you go the first time then they would look for your chart by that number. But if you have lost it, they will look by your name, and at that point there are about 10 ways your chart could appear lost (last name, first name reversal, katakana translation poor, etc.).
There is also a possibility of the chart simply having gotten lost or misfiled. It happened all the time at one office where I worked, where we had an assistant who had trouble with the alphabet (or just didn't care?) Have you gone back there in person yet?