hoop #2

Well, we've officially jumped through medical hoop #2. Whoohooo! We'll jump into hoop #3 tomorrow, and we'll see where that one takes us. I recognize the practicality of specialists not seeing new patients without a referral, (can you imagine how swamped they'd be if anyone could just call up and come?) but there are times when it seems absolutely unnecessary. It's one of those times when I feel like we're being punished because there are people who abuse the system. Meanwhile, we can strike another item off the list of potential causes that are making life occasionally interesting in the Bryan household.

I'm also finding this whole matter of "purging" records bizarre. I can understand in the old days that doctors would probably purge their files of patients they hadn't seen in a while because they simply didn't have the space to store huge amounts of paper files. But in today's technology-filled offices, that should no longer be an excuse. Two years ago Bobby's brother was sick and called to make an appointment with his doctor. He was told he wasn't a patient at the facility. He informed them he had been going there all his life, but the lady didn't want to budge. He finally insisted she go ask the doctor. She did, the doctor agreed to see him, and she gave him a lecture about not waiting 6-8 years between visits. Today I called a specialist that Bobby has seen in the past, and he's no longer on file because he hasn't been to that office many, many years.

Meanwhile, we'll fill out forms and jump through hoops.