MY ANNUAL VISIT to a doctor took place yesterday. I gave the receptionist my name but, before I could take a seat, she wanted to see my insurance card. She had a copy of it in my file already, but I didn’t mention that. This was their procedure. “And did you bring a current list of your meds?” she asked. “It hasn’t changed,” I told her. “You have it in my file.” This was not what she wanted to hear. “We require all patients to bring in a list of their meds when they have an appointment.” Bureaucrats aren’t all government employees, it appears. Procedure takes precedence over common sense. Petty requirements, perhaps hammered out years before, become ritual to be dogmatically followed, irrespective of the circumstances or the original rationale for it. I wrote out my four meds and handed it to her, receiving a satisfied, smug smile in return. A rule had been followed, the entrenched procedure had held, the need to re-consider its utility avoided. Nothing is more imperative to a functionary than her function.
Hi Henry i also had a dr. apptmt. yesterday , first the covid screening in the vestibule then on to be checked in and after giving my name and birth date i was handed a printout of my meds including the eye drops needed for my upcoming cataract surgery which suprised me that they had them in my file, so then its the waiting game and then go thru the same evaluation as my annual in april.
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Hello HenryM.
It is interesting to hear thar you have an annuall medical. I tend to get a 'medical' each time I am literally at death's door. Occurrences that unfortunately are beginning to get more frequent the older I get. However, the great advantage of this approach is that when the doctor looks at my record he/she usually comments that it seems that I only go to see them when things are serious. This gives me some confidence that they are taking my (rare) visits seriously. The unfortunate side-effect, is that they usually refer me straight to the hospital for further checks - so I might just as well have presentesd myself at the hospital in the first place.
The conversation at the local surgery usually goes something like: "Why don't you come to see us more often?" to which I reply that "The doctors surgery is usually full of sick people and I am reluctant to put myself in the position of potentially catching something serious!"
End of conversation.
Best wishes
Bill
I completely understand your perspective on this, Bill. It is essentially a masculine take on personal health: avoid the doctor until a malady or health failure becomes impossible to ignore any longer. But it is a risky philosophy, as putting off medical review only means things get worse and, if eventually discovered, require more remedial attention to fix. I'm sure you've heard this before. And I'll be the first to admit that I don't always follow this sensible precept myself, being a typical guy. Getting old ain't for sissies, but getting annual check-ups doesn't make one a sissy either. Stay well.