Doctors catch errors in own medical records; experts say patients should check theirs, too

The recent chatter on a popular social networking site dealt with a problem often overlooked in medicine: mistakes in patients' medical charts.

The twist was the patients were doctors irked to discover gaffes in their own records and sloppy note-taking among their fellow physicians.

The frank dialogue on a doctors-only Web forum opened a window into a little discussed topic among physicians who find themselves on the other end of the stethoscope.

Take Dr. Richard Botney who swapped experiences with fellow doctors. Several years ago, Botney visited a specialist to check out a bothersome lump in his cheek. He took some medicine and the problem went …