Thursday, August 29, 2013

The limits of amateurism and the sublime but criminal incompetence of inertial "health care" medical bureaucracy.

When asked how to pronounce Joe Btfsplk's last name, cartoonist Al Capp demonstrated this sound by closing his lips, leaving his tongue sticking out, and then blowing out air, which is colloquially called a 'raspberry' or Bronx cheer. "How else would you pronounce it?"
The A/C huffed it again yesterday. Like before, the outside unit just doesn't kick on. Experts on way today. The contractors to finish the inner work on the bay window also didn't show yesterday, but are going to be here today. We can all swelter together. In the meantime, I've been trying to get an appointment with the company that provided my first pair of diabetic shoes for a replacement pair for over a week as the old ones are disintegrating faster than the gorilla glue can hold them together. But before I could even get an appointment, I had to provide signed statements of my willingness for them to check my medical records as well as a prescription. That was easy, as the wound doctor was happy to provide one. Rx in hand, I drove straight from the doc's to the Biotech Limb and Brace Company and did my part. And waited, and waited. Checking every day, I was told by the Biotech people said they were waiting on the insurance-required medical records to be forwarded by my wound doc and my primary care physician. So, every day, or twice a day, I would follow up with the doctors' offices asking them to get the documents to Biotech. The wound doc's office was right on top of it, but the primary doc's bureaucracy just couldn't be motivated. Finally yesterday, sweltering with the A/C out anyway and frustrated at the non-appearance of the contractors, I blew up. When told by the primary doc's records people that they were waiting (as they had been for a week) for a specially-designated contractor to come copy my medical records before they could forward them to Biotech, I said: "Look, do you mean to tell me that the simple copying of records -- the custody and maintenance of which is YOUR ENTIRE JOB THAT YOU ARE PAID TO DO BY DR. (REDACTED) -- is so beyond your own competence that you cannot do it without the hiring of an outside contractor?!?!? Do you perhaps need instruction in the operation of xerox machines? Can you not hit the print button on a computer screen? Are you really admitting to me that not only are you are that stupid, but that Dr. (Redacted) is PAYING you to be that stupid? I'll tell you what, how about I come down there, find Dr. (Redacted)and ask him directly why it is that he is paying you to get nothing accomplished to the detriment of his own patients?"
Or words to that effect.
The answer? When I call Biotech to find out if that was enough to motivate the forwarding of the required documents, I am told that I have indeed motivated the primary doc's bureaucracy, but only to the extent that it has been agreed that they (Biotech) cannot give me an appointment because I have not been seen by my primary doc in his office (although he has visited me, and billed me, for visits when I was in the hospital) for more than six months, hence this is proof that he is not responsible for my diabetic treatment. She asked, Who is responsible for my diabetic treatment?
I did not curse. I am proud of that. In the long and detailed denunciation of medical bureaucracy that followed, I did not curse. Long story short (too late), I decided that the wound care doc was now "responsible for my diabetic treatment," and they gave the required written assurances to Biotech. I have an appointment for Friday morning. It would have been today, but I have to be home (sweltering) for the various contractors to do their professional best.
Joe, is that you hiding in the bushes?

6 comments:

SWIFT said...

I use to jump through the hoops to get special shoes. No more. Depending on the style of boot or shoe, I buy them in one or two sizes larger, fit them with gel packs and comfort inserts, until I get a perfect fit. My fit, by the way, is just as good, if not better than, the special shoes I use to get. Plus, I get to choose my own style of boot and my blood pressure thanks me.(Anger management) The paper pushers can bite my ass.

Anonymous said...

Capacitor on your AC unit. Open up the outside unit. Cut all the power to it and check the big shiney coke can with the wires plugged into it. It will be rusted but check the bottom of it. It should be flat. If its bulgging out its most likey the cause. 30.00 part and a simple plug and play.


Grenadier1 (replaced cap's on both my units over the last two years)

Anonymous said...

" because I have not been seen by my primary doc in his office (although he has visited me, and billed me, for visits when I was in the hospital) for more than six months, hence this is proof that he is not responsible for my diabetic treatment"

I had a mastectomy some 25 years ago. Have to have a falsie. Normally covered by our insurance, but to have insurance cover it, I have to have a prescription - yearly (as if I could somehow spring a new one!). Called the doctor I had been using to ask for a prescription, and the answer was that I hadn't had a complete physical for over a year, therefore the doctor didn't consider me a patient, and wouldn't write me a prescription.

Now I pay my own way, and I haven't seen that doctor again. I _do_ understand the need for physicals for medications...but for a prosthetic breast???

Anonymous said...

Mike,
Just think how much better things will be when (If??) we transition to Obumma care. Add a couple more layers of bureaucracy will surely make things better.

catfish said...

That primary care Dr needs flogged and then put in the stocks for a week! Reminds me of the time my Birth Mother was in the hospital for a stroke and 1 of her Dr.'s stopped by to check on her. Just said hi, didn't even look at her chart. (He didn't need to be there, he wasn't involved in anyway what so ever with this problem.) Then billed her for that visit! She told him to stuff that bill where the sun doesn't shine! She never did pay it. lol

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on refraining from cursing when dealing with recalcitrant "healthcare" workers. I can empathize. I have a serious illness and require a drug from a specialty pharmacy which was sold to another pharmacy. The new pharmacy refused to honor the existing prescription. It took over a week to get that straightened out. I've been having problems scheduling the tests my specialist wants, since his schedulers are incompetent. A receptionist and a medical assistant at my primary care doctor's office have been jerking me around for weeks about prescription refills. They didn't want to renew a blood thinner I take and I finally yelled "I could die without this drug!" I made a big stink about it. When I finally got in to see my PCP today, the medical assistant no longer worked for that practice. There have been other totally unnecessary roadblocks set up by low level "healthcare" workers that I won't bore you with.

I also had to fill out Obamacare questionnaires today at the doctor visit. Sample questions: Do you smoke? Me: No. Do you drink? Well, I didn't before all this healthcare bureaucracy took effect. Are you depressed? No, but I will need anger management if the bureaucracy keeps up. Okay, I didn't actually say the last two, but I considered it. No questions about guns. Yet.

Hang in there, Mike. The only way to get healthcare these days is to persist.