Ok, y’all! I’m about to rant, so look out!

What is happening to our medical system? I have to tell you, I’m beyond mad, in fact, if I don’t calm down, I’m gonna have a stroke one of these days. I have just returned from waiting for a lab appointment that should have taken fifteen minutes, yet after waiting for nearly an hour in an almost empty waiting room, I got angry and stormed out. This, on the heels of yesterday’s disappointment with a different lab, waiting over an hour for my 86 year old dad to get called back for his labs, I just can’t take it anymore. This makes no sense!

I’ve spent half my life in this very industry, I know how it’s supposed to work. The system is definitely broken! There is no reason why a patient should have to wait an hour for lab work. Fifteen minutes is about what is normal, as the technician readies the paperwork and assembles the necessary tubes, labels, and equipment. When I worked at the cancer center, we drew nearly 100 people a day!! We had a great team, and an efficient process, why aren’t they doing it that way everywhere? We had a data entry clerk fill out the paperwork, then we called the patient back into the lab, drew the bloodwork, labeled the tubes, and sent them on their way. Fifteen minutes per patient all day long!

At Quest, where I was with my dad yesterday, I had an order in my hand, but no appointment. This was due to their system not allowing me to speak to a live person on the phone to make an appointment. When I called, the robot asked for some mysterious code that supposedly should have been on the order form. No code. I called the main hub of Quest, hoping to speak to a real person, yet no, no one is there to answer the phone, only an automated system. We went in, sign in at the kiosk and was told our wait would be 23 minutes. After 45, I knew he was going to be late for his appointment to have an Echo at his cardiologist office, so I called and they had to reschedule it. Thank goodness it was later the same day.

Do these people think we don’t have a life, that we aren’t busy and can’t spend hours waiting in a crowded (or not) waiting room all day for a test that should take fifteen minutes??? Grrrr! 🤬This is inexcusable! We are just supposed to take it in stride and say, “that’s just how it is” and move on! No! I wish I still worked in the medical field so I could fix this mess!

Today, I went in at 8:30am, fasting, and waited for my name to be called. This was part of my well check and they initially told me I could come in last Saturday morning, but that didn’t work with my schedule, so I went in today. Shouldn’t have been a problem, and like I said, the waiting room had about 4 people in it. All of them went back before me, and 50 minutes later, I was storming out the door, so mad I could scream. We’re they punishing me for not coming in Saturday? Are they lazy or just inefficient? I just don’t understand! In the fifty minutes I waited, I saw three people come out with the telltale wrap around their arms, indicating they’d had lab tests. The rest of the people had regular dr. appointments. Why was I still waiting. I told myself if they call one more person ahead of me, I’m out! And they did! So I left, with no word to anyone, I was so mad! On top of everything, my beautiful sandals with their beaded starfish tops, broke as I was leaving Waffle House where I went to feed my fat and hopefully calm down. I guess storming out like I did was more than they could take!

Am I being unreasonable here? As a medical professional myself, I don’t think so. I think the system is broken. The one place that always delivers to my satisfaction is Labcorp. I never have to wait over fifteen minutes there. Of course, I only go there twice a year, when my kidney specialist requires labs two weeks before my appointment. I have a standing order, true, but everyone in there gets served the same way, in the same time frame, and that’s how it’s supposed to work! Why can’t all labs work the same way?

Ok, my blood pressure is up again just writing this post. I should go do something relaxing, or take some CBD to calm myself. I’ll talk to y’all again, when I’m in a better frame of mind. Peace out, y’all have a good day! 😁