I usually have my annual physical in early October. Normally, I would call about a month ahead of time to schedule it. But several years ago I was warned that I would need to book my appointment two months in advance. Otherwise, my normally early October appointment would become an abnormally early November appointment.
Ok, fine. So that's what I've been doing for at least several years now. That's also what I've been doing when it comes to scheduling Sam's annual appointment. Sam's appointment is supposed to be in March and though he goes to the same practice as I do, he sees a different physician.
This year, I set my usual reminder in early August to call and make my appointment for early October and when I finally got through to the nice scheduling person, I was told the earliest appointment I could get was in late December - four and a half months out. I asked if I could I be put on a list if there are any cancellations. No, I was told, they don't do that kind of thing. The best I could, according to the nice scheduling person, was to call every day and see if there had been any cancellations. This is just the kind of B.S. response someone gives you when they know you're not happy and they want to get rid of you and make you someone else's problem.
Normally I wouldn't care about the later date but this year I had a few, likely minor, concerns. Waiting two months to cover them with the doctor didn't matter much to me but I wasn't crazy about waiting four and a half months.
But I waited and finally had my appointment in late December and now, as a result, I am again waiting - this time for additional tests. (Nothing to be concerned about. Just a P.I.A.)
Also as a result of my annual appointment, I was once again emailed a link to a questionnaire following up on my visit, because they "care about my opinion". I ignored it, just like I always do. These things never address what my complaint is. Instead, they ask multiple questions along the lines of, "Were the chairs comfortable?" I wasted enough time already. I didn't need to waste more.
But anyway, back to the scheduling...
Back when I discovered my doctor was scheduled so far out, I figured I better make a note to call four months ahead to make an appointment for Sam's March checkup - which is what I did - or rather, what I attempted to do.
Four and a half months before Sam's tentative appointment, I called - and once I finally got through, this time to a different scheduling person, I was (eventually) told that his doctor was not scheduling that far in advance. I was told I needed to call back in a month.
A month later, I made another call and it was the same thing. I feel like I may have even called another time after that but I'm no longer sure. It's all becoming a blur.
At this point, we're starting to get down to the wire. We're about two months away from when Sam would normally have his appointment and as I've learned, two months is no longer an adequate amount of leadtime - at least it's not if you want to see my physician. So yesterday afternoon, for the third (or maybe fourth?) time, I called again.
After hearing all the prerecorded announcements and getting through the automated menu, I waited on hold. And I waited on hold. And I waited on hold. For over thirty-five minutes. Finally, I gave up. I figured I would try again today.
After hanging up, I went to my emailed questionnaire and as I expected, it asked me questions about everything except what my complaint was. Luckily, there was a spot for comments at the end.
It's hard to remember word for word what I wrote, especially since I was in a blind rage, but it was something along the lines of: Everyone was great. Everything was great - but you're scheduling is "AWFUL" (note the all caps). I recounted, in a more abbreviated fashion than I have here, all of the above. I ended my commentary with a remark about how the most discouraging thing about all of this was that I was now wasting even more time by filling out this questionnaire, knowing it would make absolutely no difference.
This morning, I called again. This time, like all the other times, I was met with a litany of prerecorded messages. But unlike all of the previous times, there was now an additional announcement. This one said:
"...Due to a recent surge of COVID-19 in our community, we're experiencing high call volume and apologize for any extended hold time you may experience. At this time... if you are calling to schedule an adult wellness visit, or routine appointment - for example, a physical ... we are unable to assist you at this time, and will resume scheduling after February 14th. We realize this scheduling update may be an inconvenience..."
What am I to make of this? I don't mean the message itself - that's certainly understandable. What I mean is, what am I to make of the fact that they now have this message up there, a message which wasn't there yesterday?
I would like to think that someone, likely the CEO of my doctor's practice, diligently read my questionnaire late last night and as a result, called an urgent all-hands-on-deck meeting to address this urgent situation. and that, after the initial panic over the fact that they might have an unhappy patient, it was decided that this new message should be recorded "ASAP". I also like to think that all of this happened around 3:30 this morning. That makes me feel better.
More than likely though, it was probably the fact that every other patient was also complaining and they finally got sick of listening to it.
It would have been nice if they put this message up a couple of weeks ago. I would have given up way back then. But it also would have been nice if they had booked Sam's appointment months ago. Maybe by the time this latest wave is over, if it's ever over, Sam would have a chance to eventually see his doctor. And these people wouldn't have to talk to me. At least, not for another year.
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