True, I've always been something of a pessimist. Though I always excused it with the fact that at least I was able to bring more humor out of it than most of my negative bretheren. But I never thought I would be THIS indignant when I was only 28. And yet the things I see, I can't imagine how anyone else wouldn't be either.
I just don't understand how some people can't see the insanity in their own actions, their own contradictions.
I went to my PM doctor appointment at 5pm today. There were at least 12 people waiting (which left quite enough standing). Now, this is the part where I'm conflicted. Because here's Kathy, the main receptionist and a woman who's been nothing short of gracious to me. A rock of courtesy. And yet here the receptionists were, remarking about how they hate it when it's this busy. Quickly stepping from here to there, panting as they go, getting this file, answering that call, signing in this patient. Their logic baffles me. But I suppose when your greed leads you, it blinds you to all else. That they didn't realize they were so overrun with work was due COMPLETELY to their own doing astounds me. They were chaotic SOLELY because THEY CHOSE to LITERALLY schedule 3 and 4 patients for the same time slot. Because the so-called miracle worker must have his nice cars. I overheard they seriously thought they were going to break the 70 patient mark today, a first (well, I'm assuming based on how they talked about it).
And I stood there. Patiently watching it. Summoning all my will to not burst as they complained in front of me. And why was it so crucial that I restrain myself? Because the truth is I'm utterly dependant on these people. You don't want to rock the boat now, do you? The doctor is above reproach. You don't question him, lest you risk your regimine be uprooted, throwing then YOUR life into complete chaos. They are the magic men, the wizards, the people who take all your pain away, or just even make life managable. And this way, this system, is so essential to us we dare not say what should otherwise rightly be spoken in a normal, healthy environment.
For some of you this is merely a story to read, you can't relate because you have a good two-way relationship with your doctor. And for that, and you, I am happy. But I fear to say that many of you this is all too familiar. This is wrong. We're slaves with a perpetual prescription slip around our wrists in the place of chains. You don't want to anger the master, for he's in complete control of your well being, and can send you into a world of suffering via, as we've all seen from time to time, the least reasonable thought.
Yes, Tyler there is something you can do about it. Get a different doctor!! I know what you mean how some of them make you wait sometimes for hours, I've had a few of them myself. All the docs I have now are great. They are courteous and don't make me (or any of there other patients) wait long. The doc I had before moving here was super. All I had to do was phone and even if they were booked solid he still made time for me. The doc I have now isn't as good but even she doesn't make me wait for longer than 15 minutes. The ones that are over booking, in my opinion, aren't really there for you.
I agree with twisten...find another doctor. They don't all treat patients like that and the ones that do, don't deserve you. Does this happen on most visits, the waiting and waiting? If it does, it indicates a lack of caring on his part. If it is unusual, then it is possible the doctor had a lot of extra "sick" people who needed him. Only you know the answer to that.
Carol
Also, I wouldn't blame the receptionists. They are probably not making very much money and all the extra profit made from overbooking goes only to the dr., I'm sure. The receptionists probably feel they have to do it this way just to keep their jobs.
Ok, well perhaps this is my own fault. It's obvious by most of the replies I've received to the original statement that my essential point was lost.
See, of course I'm aware of the idea of simply getting a new doctor. Although as my situation stands right now today, that's not exactly possible. Now granted, when I wrote that yesterday, I had just experienced a very full day, most of which was rather discouraging. I was sick of how just about everything on this planet runs with a false logic. And so my little essay was more of an overall look at the state of things. Sure, even I've had nice doctors. Actually both the PM docs I saw during my years in Los Angeles ran the office pretty quickly, with a near-barren waiting room and me never having to wait more than 20 minutes (though the first of those two docs wasn't very good for my well being at all, something I didn't see the full capacity of until mostly after the fact). And the second one was incredibly nice, and what I would imagine would have to be one of the least opiaphobic PM docs out there; I virtually had my pick of the litter of what I wanted to take most of the time (it was when I overheard another patient talking about Methadone that I first brought it up, and I was allowed to start on it in the blink of an eye).
Anyway, it was really more about lamenting on this life that we all have to lead. And even if you have a much better give-and-take with your doc, chances are most of you still have things you'd like to say but, well.... really can't. Because they have us. The life has us. Above all else comes that need to have everything go very smoothly. Not so much because that simply makes sense anyway and is preferrable to misery, but because anything resembling the alternative is something we don't even want to think about. Something we can't think about. I suppose I resent a little having to put myself in this position.
And surely I don't blame the receptionists themselves for the overbooking and chaos; like I said the main one at my office is one of the sweetest women I've ever met. Just what baffled me was how they seemed to have no understanding that the reason for their little interoffice circus was completely due to their boss's desire for more money and to apparently set some kind of personal record for seeing so many patients in his 'smash and grab' medical practice. They thought it just happened to be very busy.
And I wouldn't want to hear that he stockpiled folks like this in order to "help as many people as possible". If that were true he wouldn't appear as if he was doing you a favor whenever you had 'just a couple more questions', or 'wanted another 4-5 minutes to go over this or that with him'.
And in this case, I had a few minor parts of a paper for my Medicaid application that needed to be filled out by him, and while my appointment was mainly just to get a script refill, when I handed the recpt the paper, she looked at my doubtfully, saying "look at this place, he's not gonna be filling out papers and things tonight". Hmmm. Funny. Because you see, HE'S the one who wants me so very much to go to his two other specialists since he can no longer do anything to treat me, and yet can he understand that the longer it takes to have three things on a paper filled out, that's that much longer I have to wait to see his other two doctors. But I guess grandiose details like these are too much to deal with for a doctor on such a tight schedule. After all, he's got a lot of people "to help".
So for me, due to having no insurance/applying for Medicaid/still trying but not yet securing possible coverage from a soon-to-be full time job, I sadly don't have the option of seeking a new doctor.
Alright, well I had intended this to be more just about trying to clarify my original point but it seems I fell back into a personal rant again. Oh well, I won't bother to re-edit it. I just hope you maybe have a better understanding now of what I was trying to say.
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