"Making notes in the outpatient clinics"

Two weeks ago I went to two outpatient clinics. One was a routine appointment, the other an emergency. I have a chronic illness and attend outpatients at least once a month.

I was seen by the nurse in the first clinic. This was great as I wanted to meet her. She’s been really helpful on the phone. She agreed to do two things for me: to send me a letter and to ring me up with blood results. She made a note of this on a paper towel. I offered her some paper but she refused, saying she’d definitely remember if she wrote it on a paper towel. She didn’t remember. I spoke to her on the phone yesterday and she still hadn’t remembered. 

Later that day, I had an emergency appointment at another outpatient clinic. It was quiet and I was seen promptly by the nurse. She asked me what the problem was and made notes on a small scrap of paper. Then she asked me about my history, which is complicated and involves a lot of appointments at the clinic, and others at the hospital. I asked her if she could see my records and she said she could, but still wrote down my brief summary. She did various screening assessments and wrote the results on the same piece of paper. Then I waited for the doctor. He had read my records and did not make any notes on paper, but typed them into my records on the computer. He did not have the small piece of paper from the nurse.

I do not understand why qualified nurses do not use my computer records to record results and other notes. I do not understand why they don’t have notebooks or diaries if they want to keep quick reminders. I do not like repeating my history but I really do not like seeing a health professional write it down on a scrappy piece of paper. I worry about what happens to the pieces of paper, or even worse, paper towel. I do not feel confident that the nurse will pass important information on.