The Nittany Turkey

Primarily about Penn State football, this is a tale told by idiots, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Home I’m Going to Get a Postcard!

I’m Going to Get a Postcard!

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Apparently, the blood test episode I’ve chronicled in this thread, in which my results have been held hostage for 24 days, is coming to a close. I was ready to call Ted Koppel and see if he wanted to start another Nightline: American’s Blood Held Hostage. I received a call this morning from the Human Being at the soon-to-be ex-doc’s practice that went something like this:

Me: Hello.

HB: Good morning. This is Sherry at Dr. D’s office. I just wanted to tell you that she did send a card out to you yesterday. Dr. D looked at your test results and said that they were within normal limits. He said he’d discuss them with you at your next appointment.

Me: [snicker] Which is—

HB: [pre-emptively] October 12. Okay?

Me: Yeah, right.

So, I’m thinking, what are the chances that I’ll actually have that meeting in October? Pretty slim, given this treatment. And what if I get acutely sick in the meanwhile? Will I test this organization that has already shown how disorganized and unconcerned it can be by requesting an appointment or will I just throw up my hands and head for the ER?

The way this was handled raises trust issues. Do I trust the practice? Hell, no, when I have to chase them for weeks to get simple results that should have been available in a few days at most. Do I trust the doctor? If his group practice is a reflection of his philosophy, hell, no! While I hope that it is true that the test results were good, should I believe the postcard that says so, or must I look at the lab tests myself to be certain I’m not being lied to? Should I wait four-plus months to see them, or should I haul my ass over there and pick them up?

The big issue: is this practice more concerned with profitability than with patients?

The bright, shining hope is that there is a physician, who is the husband of a friend of a friend, who is fed up with the way patients are treated and wants to do something about it. He plans to open a practice in September, after getting some legal issues squared away. If he succeeds, he’ll get my business and I won’t have to deal with these idiots again.

Comments

  1. preston douglas says

    How ironic! The new doctor, who doesn’t even have the practice up yet, will be able to see you before your current physician!

    Pretty incredible.

Trackbacks

  1. […] Has anybody been following my primary health care travails? If so, you’ll recall that in my most recent post in the thread I was informed once again that I was going to get a postcard describing the results of my blood test. You’ll further recall that at the time of that last post, a week ago, I had already spoken with the physician’s office three times via telephone, in my attempt to glean the results of the May 17 tests. At that point, it was already 23 days since the blood was drawn. […]

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