Exposed: Hudson Valley Doctors, Dentists and Barbers Dark Secret

A curious peek at my personal medical file has uncovered a deep, dark secret that many Hudson Valley health professionals are hiding.

I was at the dentist for my six-month cleaning when curiosity got the best of me. After being treated by the hygienist, I was left alone in the room to wait for a visit from the dentist. I suddenly noticed that my medical file was left open on the computer. Not able to see without my glasses on, I snapped a picture of the screen with my phone because I was curious what it said.

When I got home I was floored to find out what was written in my file under "personal notes".

Deep Dark Secret Uncovered

I really like my dentist. He's very personable and always seems happy to catch up with what's going on in my life. Unfortunately, I think it may be an act.

When I looked at my file, I noticed a note among all of the medical information about my gums and teeth that was written by the oral hygienist. The note included information that the hygienist got while questioning me during my cleaning.

After making chitchat and asking me what was new I told the hygienist that my son was starting school this week. She inquired about what grade he was going into and what school he was attending. I assumed she was making small talk, but what she was really doing was digging for information to put in my file.

After the cleaning, the hygienist went to the computer and input what I thought was information about my teeth. It turns out that she was also apparently updating a "cheat sheet" for the dentist. When he came into the room, the dentist went to the computer to check my file which contained the personal info and then proceeded to "remember" that my son was entering middle school.

Common Practice Confirmed by More Than Just Dentists

It turns out that taking personal notes about clients isn't only something that dentists do. After an on-air discussion of my experience, we received phone calls from doctors' offices, insurance salesmen, optometrists and even beauty salons all over the Hudson Valley who admitted that they do the same thing.

I personally don't blame them for doing it. In fact, I think it's genius. It's impossible to remember details about every customer or patient, and being able to quickly refer to these notes to seem more personable is brilliant.

In retrospect, I should have realized that this was going on, but I wrongly just assumed that I was so interesting and memorable that all of these people actually cared about me and my life.

"Secret" Practice No Longer Effective

Unfortunately, now that I know the secret I've become completely disillusioned. Of course, my veterinarian doesn't really want to know about my trip to Niagara Falls, my eye doctor doesn't care about my job and the barber doesn't really remember what grade my son is in.

While it's all smoke and mirrors, I guess I appreciate the effort they've all gone through to at least make me think that I'm somewhat special.