Friday, August 14, 2015

Part 6: Outlet

    I don't think the technician who  asked if I'd been late for my appointment believed me when I said I had arrived early and had waited 45 minutes because he excused himself and left the room to visit the desk.  When he returned, he said he knew I hadn't arrived late, that it was a problem at the front desk which had caused him to take the 10:00 appointment ahead of mine.   He was OK about it, and so was I, and the procedure went smoothly, taking only 10 minutes or so.  Then I left to return to the line so I could check out.  I know the drill by now, and the location of the sign.
    I'm still ready to just leave for home, but when I asked the woman at checkout when I could get the results of the test, she said the policy is that I would be contacted only if the results are not as expected.  I already knew that because there it is, plain as day, printed on each appointment card:  "We will notify you of any test results that are other than what your doctor expected."  These folks don't deal in unnecessary interactions.  Now the problem is:   I don't know really what the doctor expected.  My next scheduled appointment is not until July of 2016.  And since the office has botched up my paperwork for today, how can I be sure that today's report finds its way into the proper hands:  what channel does it go through before or if it reaches the doctor?
    I asked if a patient portal was available, and was told it's in the works but is not yet working.  No surprise there.  When I mentioned the above, that my appointment time had been somehow mishandled, she asked if I would like to talk to a supervisor about it because all she herself can do  is handle check ins and outs.  At first I said no, but when she said the supervisor is right there, I agreed.  That's what supervisors are for, right?

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