Can you read my doctor's handwriting?
Real entries from a genuine GP record.
What can you see?
12 March 1993
| Transcription | |
|---|---|
| (L) eye sore today | Left eye sore today |
| vision ✓ | Vision normal |
| O/E conjunctivitis | On examination: conjunctivitis |
| Chloramphenicol eye drops [?...?] | Chloramphenicol (antibiotic) eye drops prescribed |
Did you get that one? Mostly?
Standard childhood stuff, nothing to worry about.
This next one is going to hurt...
13 to 19 February 1996
| Transcription | |
|---|---|
| Lacn to face | Laceration (cut) to face |
| 2 x 4:0 Selin | Sutured (stitched up) with 2 stitches using 4.0 grade thread |
| Under LA. [?] [?lig?]. [?] | Under local anaesthetic, with ligature. |
| Los 6/7 | Suture removal in 6 days |
| 2 sutures removed from eye brow. C.C. | Two stitches removed from eyebrow (at the follow-up visit). [Initials?] |
This is a strong childhood memory: I bumped heads with another kid whilst playing boisterously, got some awesome stitches in my eyebrow, and had them removed later by a nurse.
I still have the scar.
Wait, is that month written in Roman Numerals...?
Some time in the 90s...
| Transcription | |
|---|---|
| Spot corner of L eye a [?den?] | A spot in the corner of the left eye, and then something we cannot read (a duration, perhaps?) |
| 1cm - [?Panels?] [?filled?] two | About 1cm in size - [illegible] |
| [?sides?] [?...?], [clearly?] [=?] [?...?] | Possibly "two sides... clearly", then illegible |
| See [SO?] | See [unknown]. |
Answers on the back of a postcard for this one... Even the most powerful handwriting transcription models can't read the mind of the doctor that wrote this.
We mark up the text that can't be read, so you can see the gaps.
We end where we begun...
11 May 1988
| Transcription | |
|---|---|
| X F.T.N.D. 8lb 8oz. Manual Removal | Full term normal delivery. Baby weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces. The placenta was removed manually. |
| URTI Saline N.D. | Upper respiratory tract infection (cold). Saline nasal drops. |
| Breast fed. 11lb 5½. | Baby is breastfed. Weighed 11 pounds 5½ ounces (one-month check). |
This is an early handwritten entry in my GP record, recorded shortly after my birth. Kudos to my mum and the professionals that helped bring me safely into this world.
Every record has a starting line. Chronicle Health will help you find yours.
These are four entries out of forty years. The whole record is published too, redacted and complete, next to the Chronicle Pack built from it: read a real record, start to finish→
