Yesterday was one of those "When it rains, it pours" kind of days. Just tons of people, lots of insurance problems, lots of prescribing issues. ... At the risk of sounding unprofessional, I really felt like most doctors and nurses I spoke with yesterday took an extra dose of stupid pills. (One might wonder why anyone would take a dose of stupid pills at all, but I assure you... they Must do it because it's the only thing that can explain some stuff!)
With the age of electronic prescribing, where some propronents felt it would "eliminate errors", I disagree! One instance from yesterday... one patient was e-prescribed about 10 different medications. Of those 10 medications, I had to call the office on 6 of them to clarify something. I certainly don't mind reaching out to the doctor's, but I do get really annoyed when I have to clarify THAT much. It would be MUCH more efficient for me to speak directly to the nurse so that I can ask the necessary questions right away (like directions!).
Another instance, one patient, one provider, 2 creams. The creams have different directions, but have 1 overlapping ingredient... so I go ask the patient. "What did the doctor tell you they were prescribing? How did they tell you to use the medication?" (Boy, wouldn't my consultation prof be proud!?) Of course, she was expecting one tube of cream, not both... and she wasn't expecting the part that was in both options. So I called the provider. What was the answer I got? "Oh. Did they both go through? I meant for this one to go through." Okay!?! Well, if you do the SAME process for both drugs, isn't it logical to think that would mean either BOTH Rx's would have transmitted so she should have called to cancel one of them? or that NEITHER Rx would have transmitted and she should have called to provide the order? Perhaps I am being silly.
I could share many, many more stories from yesterday, but I am going to switch gears a bit...
At 9pm last night, I was MORE than ready to leave. I begin my roughly 35 to 40 minute drive home. I hear this Horrible sound coming from the back of the car... wonderful! I pulled over less than 1 mile from work to discover an extremely flat tire! I was SO NOT impressed... I called my knight to rescue me. He called his parents to see if they could watch the girls then tried to change the tire. After much effort and very stubborn lug nuts, we decided to call AAA. The tow truck driver that came to our rescue was extremely nice and efficient.
Back on the road again about 11pm... after a quick stop for gas, we continue the drive home. A few minutes down the road from the gas station, I see tons and TONS of flashing lights. At first I am wondering what kind of accident has happened to cause such response, but then I realize it appears to be some kind of police blockade. GREAT! Now what is keeping me from home... Oh, a sobriety check-point. This will be interesting. The policeman asks for my license and registration. I pull my license out of my pocket (not sure why I had it there rather than my wallet, but it was handy).
Here is how our conversation goes:
Cop: "Where are you headed tonight?"
Me: "Home. New Hartford."
Cop: "Where are you coming from?"
Me: "Work in Little Falls"
Cop: "Oh? You are just getting off?"
Me:
Cop: "Oh, you had a flat tire?" As he shifts his flash light to check my driver side, rear tire.
Me: "Not on this one. My husband is being chivalrous and driving the car. He's behind me."
Cop: "Oh okay... have a good night."
then Greg pulls up next and:
Cop: "You're the husband?"
Greg: "yep"
Cop: "Go ahead."
Cop to other cops: "He's okay. Let him go."
So at 11:50pm, I finally made it home from what proved to be a stressful, yucky day.
But by the time, Greg had gotten to Litte Falls, I was able to laugh about the situation.
In case anyone was curious, it is not full moon time either! Ikes! :)
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