Medical Waiting

 I’ve been trying to get an appointment with my PCP as a follow-up to my ER Visit. He’s on vacation this week so I’m waiting to hear back when they can fit me in with him after he returns and before he retires this September.

I know many people will think all this waiting is Covid-related/Staffing Shortage-related but most of it isn’t. It’s just the way the system is built – or I should say how the system is failing.

I’ve dealt with these lengthy delays while being the Full-Time Caregiver to my Mom from 2006-2014 (in various States we have lived in and are currently living in – and several places we were travelling in.)

I dealt with these lengthy delays for myself from 2014-Present Day.

In 2016 – years before Covid – I had to wait 5 months to get an appointment at a Doctor I needed to see. I’ve been waiting 4 months for an appointment to see a new Specialist tomorrow (so it’s 1 month sooner than pre-Covid.)

I’ve noticed that the Caregiver or in my present case – the Patient – has to really fight long and hard with Receptionists, Administrators, Nurses, Technicians, PAs, Doctors, etc. if you want any chance of getting the treatment you need and deserve.

Once you finally get seen then you have to be really up on your game to make sure every single person you deal with knows and understands what is going on with you and what your Medical History is – apparently spending a minute reading a chart is too complicated for some.

I have yet to have a Doctor (whether for my Mom or Myself) who is like the TV shows and willing to spend hours or days trying to figure things out. If it’s not an easy fix they always pass the buck to someone else and you have to re-explain everything to the new person.

And if you can’t explain things Yourself or have a Caregiver to then you are basically screwed. When my Mom was in the ICU and unable to speak I had to leave for a few hours to drive to the Airport and pick-up my Dad who was arriving from either Iraq or Afghanistan.

 I made sure to tell all the Hospital Staff and even made sure there wasn’t going to be a Shift Change while I was away – there wasn’t – and yet when I got back hours later with my Dad my Mom, who still couldn’t speak, but could write a little and make some noises, told me they expected her to walk to the bathroom herself and answer their questions  - even though she was physically unable to move or speak. I really let all the ICU Staff have it and they could have cared less – and she was their only Patient.

To make things even better you then get huge Medical Bills – including paying for random Medical Staff that go see you and don’t even treat you. So you not only have to constantly fight for Yourself from the very first minute to the very last, but then you get charged Thousands of Dollars for the privilege.

Now, I wait to see if I can get to see my PCP (whom I’ve had for 13 years and followed to 2 different Medical Offices.)