Lessons learned part 2

I wear many hats as a business owner. It seems like the doctor hat is only worn about half the time, because even if I'm "in clinics" or "on the floor", I spend time between appointments in my office doing paperwork, paying bills, etc. (Or lately, staring off into space or scouring the internet). I actually shouldn't be in the office between appointments as much as I am, because in doing so I break one of my new cardinal rules about making people wait. Sometimes I just want to finish up what I'm doing on the computer before starting an appointment, but that's not right, is it? I want to get better at making my patients and clients my priority. One time (many years ago), I had to wait in the exam room for a doctor for a very very long time. I finally went out to the hallway to find out what the deal was and the nurse actually told me that the doc didn't know he had an appointment waiting and had been playing on the computer for the last 30 minutes! Aaargh! If you're going to make me wait, please don't tell me THAT'S the reason. Tell me he was saving a life or something.

Anyway, this morning I wore my lumberjack hat. Well, sort of. There is a large tree branch that has been lying in the front of the clinic building all winter. It's time to get it out of there. So I gassed up the chainsaw and came to work wearing my grubby clothes. Unfortunately, I couldn't actually get the chainsaw to work, and then it started to rain, so instead I spent the morning working on a Powerpoint staff presentation (in my grubby clothes). At least I'm getting things done. I am slowly working my way back to being a productive person. I pretty much took off the last month my life. Between my vacation and medical appointments and my mind warp, I dropped the ball on a lot of things. For example, I am one of the church youth group leaders, and I haven't done anything with the youth group for months. I am supposed to help out my sons' soccer team and I begged off that lately. I used to volunteer in my kids' classrooms on Mondays, but my free day has lately been filled with doctor appointments. I even skipped a meeting last week, using my surgery as an excuse, but it was actually because I just couldn't bring myself to go.

Keeping busy has helped, as has exercising. Because the weather has been relatively nice, I've been able to run or rollerblade almost every morning this week. Being outdoors is key to one's mental health, as has been shown in numerous studies. We need the bright light from the sun to re-set our biological clocks. Or something like that.

So, I promised to list some things that physicians and their staff can learn from vets. I will interject here by saying that not all vets do all of these things. And there are some physician's offices that do all of these things. Here goes:

Send reminder cards! My current family practice not only still uses paper charts, but doesn't send out any reminders for wellness appointments. It's a no-brainer - it can generate income and save lives. You should send out a reminder for a check-up every year, and add in things like cholesterol level, mammogram, etc. based on the patient's age. I don't know where we vets would be without reminder cards. And add in email reminders while you're at it. Oh, and don't make me fill out the address portion on my own reminder card to be sent out next year. That's just tacky and makes me think you don't even want to make the effort.

Be available. Sometimes I just want to talk to the doctor. I may have a question that requires a conversation rather than just a quick answer. Don't have the staff be so protective of the doc. Yes, 90% of the questions can be answered by a nurse, but some just can't, and I don't want to have to play this telephone merry-go-round game that actually wastes more time than if I was able to talk to the doctor in the first place. Most phone calls at my vet clinic are fielded by the front desk staff or a technician, but if someone really wants to talk to the vet, my associate or I will either get on the phone or call them back.

Have someone in the office call to check on all sick patients 1-2 days after their visit. Our clients really appreciate that, and it only takes a minute. Most of the time the person isn't even home, but they like that someone from the vet's office took the time to make sure everything was ok.

Make sure that there is a variety of magazines in the exam rooms and waiting areas. And they need to be current. There's nothing worse than sitting in an exam room for 45 minutes with nothing to read but a 2009 edition of Popular Mechanics. And while you're at it, have coffee and water available for the wait. (I love the Piper Center for that! And they bring it to you! And in a real coffee cup!)

Don't be such a specialist! I can treat a variety of ailments in several different species. Why can't you, a surgeon, make sure I don't have a heart murmur? Why does a patient have to have several different doctor appointments all over town for one problem? OK, I get it. It is standard procedure. But still... Although I happily refer complicated cases (when the owner will allow me to), I don't think my clients would appreciate going to the U of MN for an orthopedic consult, then having to bring their pet back to me for a pre-op physical before the U of MN surgeon can do the surgery. I am saying this now because I finally scheduled my elbow surgery (for June 23) and I have to have another pre-op physical - my third in three months. I love my family practioners, I do. But I am sure they're getting tired of seeing me!

Boy, this post is starting to look like a rant against physicians. It's not, really. I just think that the system could be fixed. Just a little.

What else? I called the path lab yesterday and told them to send all of my breast tissue slides to Vanderbilt University. I should have their final diagnosis in a week or so. I cancelled my first oncology and radiation appointments. It was awkward - Would you like to re-schedule? No, um, it turns out I don't have cancer after all. Bye! This saga will probably be over completely after I meet with the pathologists on May 23. Wait, after the final path report comes back, I do plan on meeting with a different oncologist. Then we'll be done until my breast exam this fall.

I am beginning to wonder if this blog is helping me or hurting me. I suspect it is doing a little of both. I may take a break from it for awhile. Or I may keep on blogging, but just change the theme. I'll play it by ear, I guess. So you may or may not hear from me tomorrow. But if you do, I probably won't be talking about cancer. I'm sure we'll all be glad for that.