22 February 2011

Frustration

Not that I have a desire to be a primary care doctor. Not that I don't think they have a challenging job for which most folks are less than grateful.  BUT, if I have to trade 5 phone calls with your office for a simple medication refill for a scrip I've had for YEARS (which is somehow never simple from their end), you're doing something wrong. I would have given up at the first refill, despite the fact that every time I see my doctor, she touts the benefits and safety.  All because her office continually blocks my access.

Docs want to talk about how they don't have time to spend with patients any more but nobody wants to talk about why doctors are sometimes the ones providing barriers.  Our curriculum covers all sorts of stuff about patient interactions, billing, procedures, ethics, non-compliant patients, on and on, but nobody is discussing how something like this can be improved to benefit both parties.  I'm sure it costs money for the office to have a nurse sitting around doing nothing but making phone calls for this (yet I can never get through to a live person) and I know it causes the patient great aggravation to submit an electronic request for a prescription, wait 2 days, then start playing telephone tag with the office.  There has to be a way to streamline this for both parties so it doesn't take a week and 2 hours of time to authorize the use of a non-narcotic, non-addictive prescription medication.

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