Given my place of employment, I am well aware that our health care system does not always run as smoothly as possible. I know that there is lots of room for improvement. But it's one thing to know that intellectually and a different thing entirely to experience it first-hand.
A few months ago I began to have some persistent shoulder pain. Apparently it's not that uncommon with breast cancer patients. GIven the surgery that I had in that area, things are probably kind of tight. I'm also pretty sure I've been holding myself unnaturally at times. I was so worried about someone bumping into my chest that I was unconsciously hunching in at times. So here we are now - stubborn shoulder pain that makes it difficult for me to have full range of motion. For example, I can't really put a coat on normally anymore. I have to use my right arm to help pull my left sleeve up. It's kind of ridiculous. I'm also having trouble sleeping through the night, as the pain often wakes me up. In short, these days I feel like I have all the vibrancy of a 90 year old.
After some prompting from my colleague (who is a physiotherapist by background) I was convinced to go see a PT about my pain. M has been very helpful. He did an assessment and diagnosed the issue. He gave me exercises to do and when those didn't resolve the issue, he recommended that I have a cortisone injection so I can minimize my discomfort and give my body a chance to heal.
And that is where the saga begins. M sent a referral to Dr. D, my family doctor. I hadn't heard anything for a few weeks, but had an appointment for my annual physical scheduled. At the physical I asked about the referral. Dr. D let me know that she wouldn't do the injection but would refer me to the Sports Medicine Clinic. (Note: The clinic does do injections for cosmetic fillers and Botox, so I thought it was a little ironic the wouldn't do an injection for an actual medical need. But whatever - I was just happy to keep the process moving along.)
I hadn't heard anything after a few weeks so I emailed M and let him know that Dr. D had agreed to send the referral to the Sports Medicine Clinic. He checked in with them and they hadn't received the referral. As it turned out, I had a follow up appointment with Dr. D scheduled in the next couple weeks. (Some of my test results came back "abnormal". Although they were nothing major, I was having some wonderful panic attacks as I waited to find out the results.) At that appointment, I asked about the referral. The response I got was that it looked like it had sent from their end, so they didn't know why the clinic hadn't received it. Dr. D said she re-sent it and (I'm paraphrasing here but this was the gist) she sure hoped it would arrive this time. *dusts hands of problem*
And that was it. No concern for the fact that they apparently send out referrals that don't go anywhere. No curiosity about why the referral hadn't been received. Did they send it to the right number? Was there a glitch in their system? Should they not be even slightly remorseful that a patient was in needless pain? Did they not feel any obligation to make sure this next one actually made it to the clinic as intended?
This is not the first time a referral of mine has gone missing. My "urgent" MRI was lost in the system. (Same thing - it looked like they sent it but no one received it.) Had I not followed up, God only knows what my prognosis might have been.
Most of the time, when things in our health care system go wrong, it is because our processes fail in our overly complex system. It is not because the people working in the system don't care and aren't trying their best. Most people want to prevent errors. They want to fix mistakes. They want to make sure that patients receive the best care possible. But not, it would seem, my clinic. My clinic seems content to rely on the vigilance of their patients to make sure that care is delivered as needed. And that is completely unacceptable. But what is even more unacceptable is the fact that I'm willing to accept that kind of care. I think it might be time to find a new clinic that not only makes referrals but actually cares what happens to them once they hit send.
A few months ago I began to have some persistent shoulder pain. Apparently it's not that uncommon with breast cancer patients. GIven the surgery that I had in that area, things are probably kind of tight. I'm also pretty sure I've been holding myself unnaturally at times. I was so worried about someone bumping into my chest that I was unconsciously hunching in at times. So here we are now - stubborn shoulder pain that makes it difficult for me to have full range of motion. For example, I can't really put a coat on normally anymore. I have to use my right arm to help pull my left sleeve up. It's kind of ridiculous. I'm also having trouble sleeping through the night, as the pain often wakes me up. In short, these days I feel like I have all the vibrancy of a 90 year old.
After some prompting from my colleague (who is a physiotherapist by background) I was convinced to go see a PT about my pain. M has been very helpful. He did an assessment and diagnosed the issue. He gave me exercises to do and when those didn't resolve the issue, he recommended that I have a cortisone injection so I can minimize my discomfort and give my body a chance to heal.
And that is where the saga begins. M sent a referral to Dr. D, my family doctor. I hadn't heard anything for a few weeks, but had an appointment for my annual physical scheduled. At the physical I asked about the referral. Dr. D let me know that she wouldn't do the injection but would refer me to the Sports Medicine Clinic. (Note: The clinic does do injections for cosmetic fillers and Botox, so I thought it was a little ironic the wouldn't do an injection for an actual medical need. But whatever - I was just happy to keep the process moving along.)
I hadn't heard anything after a few weeks so I emailed M and let him know that Dr. D had agreed to send the referral to the Sports Medicine Clinic. He checked in with them and they hadn't received the referral. As it turned out, I had a follow up appointment with Dr. D scheduled in the next couple weeks. (Some of my test results came back "abnormal". Although they were nothing major, I was having some wonderful panic attacks as I waited to find out the results.) At that appointment, I asked about the referral. The response I got was that it looked like it had sent from their end, so they didn't know why the clinic hadn't received it. Dr. D said she re-sent it and (I'm paraphrasing here but this was the gist) she sure hoped it would arrive this time. *dusts hands of problem*
And that was it. No concern for the fact that they apparently send out referrals that don't go anywhere. No curiosity about why the referral hadn't been received. Did they send it to the right number? Was there a glitch in their system? Should they not be even slightly remorseful that a patient was in needless pain? Did they not feel any obligation to make sure this next one actually made it to the clinic as intended?
This is not the first time a referral of mine has gone missing. My "urgent" MRI was lost in the system. (Same thing - it looked like they sent it but no one received it.) Had I not followed up, God only knows what my prognosis might have been.
Most of the time, when things in our health care system go wrong, it is because our processes fail in our overly complex system. It is not because the people working in the system don't care and aren't trying their best. Most people want to prevent errors. They want to fix mistakes. They want to make sure that patients receive the best care possible. But not, it would seem, my clinic. My clinic seems content to rely on the vigilance of their patients to make sure that care is delivered as needed. And that is completely unacceptable. But what is even more unacceptable is the fact that I'm willing to accept that kind of care. I think it might be time to find a new clinic that not only makes referrals but actually cares what happens to them once they hit send.