I had the pleasure of accompanying this prestigious group on one of
their outings last year, and although the conversation was lively, the
behavior childlike, and the experience unforgettable for a variety of
reasons, the thought that remained in my head for the longest time
afterward had naught to do with any of the ROMEOs but with another guest
Dennis had invited along.
This guest (whose name I do not recall) worked for his father. His
father, however, does not own a local business; he owns a corporation
that sends out efficiency experts to hospitals and clinics all over the
country in order to inform them how they might better be spending their
time and money. Efficiency experts?
Yeah, that's what popped into my head too. But here's what amazed me. This was someone who is maybe a year or two older than me, and he seemed somehow already completely wrapped up in the idea that the more money health care can make, the better. It's supposed to take decades of cynicism and greed to acquire a view like that, and yet, here it was.
At the time, I did in fact challenge the idea that health care needed to
make more money, but I quickly realized that it was neither the place
nor the time for such a discussion. I won't argue against many
institutions being generally wasteful, but I feel it is money that more
often than not is the cause of such inefficiency. For example: It used
to be the expectation that doctors did more than just the required
prodding, probing, and punctures of a typical check-up; there was an
understanding that they were to both care for and care about their
patients. A relationship is required for the latter.
One of the examples provided to me by this efficiency expert was
increasing the amount of patients seen by doctors within a given period
of time. It's pretty hard to develop a relationship with a patient that
you've seen for under ten minutes. By taking more time to know and
understand the situation in which a patient is set, money is ultimately
saved, because a greater understanding produces a better diagnosis.
(Also, if you've developed a relationship with a patient and they
consider you a friend, they're not going to want to sue you if something
should go wrong.)
If we are to go into a doctor's office and see them for only the amount
of time necessary for them to glance at a chart, reaffirm what's already
been written down by a nurse, and maybe (maybe) a little small
talk, then we might as well not be there at all. Web M.D. can do just as
good a job if the patient isn't really being utilized as a context.
Sure, there are all the tests they can run at a hospital, but a lot of
those wouldn't be necessary if they just took the time to actually be a
doctor. Besides, who really needs a doctor to order a test? You want to
streamline health care? Send in a vial of blood to be done by a lab
without a doctor ever glancing at it. The hypochondriac in all of us
will love it. They'll be able to tell us everything that could be
potentially wrong with us for just a small fee.
Now for a little honesty; this is all really just an entry venting
frustration for the now weeks-long process of getting all of Amanda's
paperwork together to send in to the Peace Corps. Anything you can think
of on a pretty standard piece of paperwork that a doctor could mess up
has happened. Five boxes to date and initial? Just do three or four of
them; the others probably aren't important. Did the vision test? No need
to write down the results. OK, fine, I do have to write them down? I
know, I'll flip which eye needed which prescription. And it goes on and
on. The last struggle has been the most absurd of all though.
In addition to the usual physical scheduled with a family practice
doctor, Amanda and I both had to have several different specialized
doctors for areas where general doctors don't have the expertise for a
given area (teeth, eyes, vaginas, et cetera), and that's all cool. That
much makes sense. What doesn't make sense is having to make a separate
trip back for every single one to have your primary care physician sign
off on the results. What makes even less sense is when one of the
specialists refuses to fill out and sign a sheet because it requires the
signature of your physician, and your physician won't fill it out or
sign it because they're not comfortable doing the work of the
specialist.
This is the situation Amanda is currently in. Two doctors, two refusals,
two weeks trying to figure out a single sheet of paper, even though all
of the information is already there. Like I said in a previous post:
You really have to want it. So, what happens when health care gets sick?
You and I get screwed. I don't think pills are going to help this one;
it's time to amputate, starting with the efficiency experts. Sorry, Bob,
Bob.
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