Chapter 4 - My Patient Portal
The hospital nurse asked about my medications.
I opened my patient portal.
That was where the next part surfaced.
An old orthopedic appointment appeared in the history.
Canceled.
I frowned.
“I never went to this.”
Denise looked only after I handed her the phone.
“It says you were referred after the wrist injury.”
“I was told I didn’t need a specialist.”
“By whom?”
“Graham.”
The appointment history showed:
Scheduled.
Then canceled two days later.
Canceled by proxy representative.
Proxy representative:
Graham Bennett.
My stomach turned.
Years earlier, during fertility treatment, I had given Graham proxy access because appointments became impossible to manage around work.
He could see schedules.
Messages.
Some records.
He could handle appointments.
I never revoked it.
Another canceled visit.
Physical therapy after the bathroom fall.
Proxy user:
Graham Bennett.
Another.
Primary-care follow-up after the kitchen incident.
Canceled by proxy.
Graham again.
I stared.
“He told me the clinics canceled.”
Denise asked:
“Did you ask him to cancel these?”
“No.”
Then I hesitated.
“I don’t think so.”
That phrase embarrassed me.
How could I not know?
Because marriages are built from thousands of mundane delegated choices.
Call the plumber.
Move the appointment.
Pick up prescriptions.
Confirm insurance.
Trust makes convenience possible.
It also makes misuse difficult to recognize.
Denise helped me remove Graham’s portal access.
The app asked:
Revoke proxy?
I pressed yes.
Confirm?
Yes.
May you like
A tiny button.
A major boundary.
