Thursday, October 3, 2019

The world's greatest healthcare system


Found an email inviting me to "Check-in online and save time!"

Was it a belated note from Delta Airlines from my trip last week?  No, it was from the orthopedic clinic, for my appointment.  "Why pre-register?" it asked, and replied that it would save time and give me more time to talk about my health.  (Not sure how that's going to work -- are they going to give me ten more minutes with the actual healthcare provider because I've obediently done my paperwork online?)

And what kind of paperwork are we talking about?  I just filled in a boatload of forms two weeks ago.

But I figured what the heck, and proceeded to check in.

Hmmm -- in order to verify who I am, I had to choose from six possible street addresses, one of them mine.  (This is kind of like proving that I'm not a robot by finding all the photos of bicycles...)

Having passed that test, I had to get a security code.  This required me to choose which phone I wanted to use, type in that number again, then pick up the phone to receive my code.  I typed that in on the next screen.

That got me to a slew of pages where I got to verify that everything I had told them two weeks ago was still true.  No, I still am not allergic to chicken.  Yes, I still use the Kroger pharmacy.  Etc.

But look at all the time I'm saving, doing it at home instead of in the office.

So tell me, why do I still have to arrive 15 minutes before my appointment time????



4 comments:

  1. I'm pretty sure our docs do ask us to do this yet. Mostly we are just asked to confirm our appointment.

    But I WILL say that the questions medicare asks when we get to the doc's office are absurd. Does our government actually have people that review these forms for any asinine purpose. When our docs start asking us to sign in on line I will click delete. Not gonna do it.
    xx, Carol

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  2. the important item is number three...... having just been through some surgery.... so glad I am mostly health.....

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  3. I agree that some of this pre-registration is frustrating. But on the brighter side, we have a portal where everything is stored so I can read lab reports, request Rx refills, make appt., send message, etc. I like this part.

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  4. I’ll tell you why you have to arrive 15 minutes early. Because they still ask you all the same questions when you get there!
    ps...this not Jim....still trying to work out blog bugs

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