Of money and medicine

Ok so there is A L O T wrong with our health care system, I think just about everyone agrees with that, but in my opinion just about all the health care initiatives, reforms, and revamps are simply going to put a very small bandage over a VERY gapping wound...it really does not matter what the gov't attempts to implement it simply will not be enough and the part of the medical community ( the VERY LARGE part) that wants to make money will find away around whatever is passed and set into motion. If medicine does not get rich on it, it will not last long...mark my words. Just like Wall Street the money pig of medicine will keep chanting "feed me"

Today I had my second experience with the medical community here in Florida. The first one was ok, not the best. My doctor is nice enough, seems to know her stuff and seems interested in her patients. Her office staff maybe not be so much. They have managed to get my birthdate wrong in their system which has brought my benefits to a screeching halt. God forbid the insurance advocate who might push through payment of a bill when the birthdate is off by a digit....oh no that can't happen! So while I deal with that I am continuing with the other things such as a follow up mammogram. The first films were taken in Arizona and the doctor reading them decided I needed additional ones for a complete evaluation...something about nodules and density - I dunno. This was one week prior to my relocation to Florida so doctor in yuma felt that Florida was advanced enough technologically speaking to continue on with the task, so that is what I decided to do.

:insert decision regretting face here:

After suffering through terminal hold, incompetent schedulers, clueless file record clerks AND supervisors, convincing them to mail the medical release form I needed to sign to get my films from Arizona, my husband faxing them back from his work... I finally got my appointment two farking days before my follow up with the doctor, I think she was hoping that I would have had my films by this time and we could go over them see if there really is cause for concern. HAH.

Now you have to understand something here, making an appointment is a touchy thing for me. The facility to which I am to go in this case is about a 30 minute drive from me. At the moment we only have one car and my husbands work is about 20 minutes in another direction, so I had to get up early, time it so that I could get him to work and still make my appointment never mind trying to figure out how to navigate the alligator ponds and sand cranes that cross the 2 lane hwy as we drive out to "nowhere" florida.

So appointment was set and I showed up, 10 minutes early even! I am busy steeling myself for the requisite boob squishing and they call my name.

TECH: "Ms. Rodriguez, do you have your films with you?"
ME: "No, you have them"
TECH: "I don't see them here"
TECH: "I can't do this today if I cant find your films"
ME: "Why?"
TECH "This is a request for additional films to complete the evaluation, I have to be able to see what I am suppose to be looking for"
ME: "you are looking for abnormalities"
TECH: "Yes ma'am I know that, but I need to see why the additional films were ordered and what area I need to concentrate on"
ME: "You need to concentrate on both boobs and look for something that might be alarming to my doctor and me, why am I telling you your job?"
TECH: Ma'am there is no reason to get short with me, I am trying to do my job"
ME: "Well ya see, I am getting short with you because I was told I could fax in my medical release - by-the-way which I did two weeks ago and that you would take care of getting my films. Now someone has apparently dropped the ball here and it wasn't me. Why was an appointment even made for me? If you need my films in hand before you can do this?!"
TECH: "It should not have been made"
ME: I know that, WHY was it made?
TECH "I don't think whomever made your appt. knows, see we have a central scheduling dept over in BFE Hernando County, and then our records dept is over in BFE Pasco County, and I am thinking that your faxed medical release might have ended up at our central warehouse in BFE BFE County."
ME: "WTF? Don't you think this is a critical piece of information that your central scheduling dept needs to know - Not making appts that cant be completed - before the patient drives herself about an hour to make the appointment?!?!"

And so it went to the point that I left frustrated and infuriated and just about fed up with the business side of medicine. There is no one to even call, it is all computerized and if your films are not in the computer, then by god they dont have them!

I get to go through this whole ridiculous fiasco again the Wed before Thanksgiving. If my films are not there by then, then I think I am going to just tell me doc to hack the puppies off they are not worth the stress.