STILL CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN OF MEDICAL BUREAUCRACY

As I hear from more and more of you, our experience with the medical profession this past month is more the norm, than the exception. Wow, when did this system get so messed up, when there is more worry about paperwork than treating the actual patient? I fear those who are not as feisty or stubborn as I am, would find themselves broken souls trying to deal with these people. The one thing I always did in all my years in law enforcement and dealing with the public, was to treat them, as I would have treated one of my family members. I suspect that philosophy has been lost, at least with the medical community I have dealt with so far.

I had a melt down on Friday afternoon, when I called the doctor in Fresno to inquire as to an appointment for a consultation, since they had not called me as they had said they would. While in the middle of the conversation the phone call was disconnected. I recalled, got the answering machine saying their office was closed and felt as though I was at my lowest and wondered if we would ever get back to the life we once had. Then at 5:30pm they called to say that they could squeeze Craig in on August 30! Oh great, we have another 12 days to wait to have yet another doctor tell us that he needs treatment, then have to wait, Lord knows how long, to actually get the treatment. But hey, at least we are making some progress.

So this morning, I contacted the insurance company regarding at least getting some physical therapy started. They informed me that they had already faxed the authorization for it to the doctor in Selma. With that I started my calling and leaving my messages on their answering machine to see about scheduling some appointments. As of yet, they have not returned my phone calls and I suspect they don't want to have to deal with me. As I was just getting ready to post this entry, we received a phone call scheduling Craig's first physical therapy for tomorrow at 12:45pm. Hallelujah! We are making some progress.