I need another MRI. I had the doctor use the place I go for all my MRIs, thinking that it would be the easiest. Boy was I wrong. I am part of a larger healthcare system, so that’s where the orders were sent. For a solid 5 working days I didn’t hear anything from them. Then I got an email that told me to go online and make an appointment. When I did, I got a message that said I couldn’t make the appointment online, I had to call. But they were closed, so I had to wait.
I called the next day.
The lady I talked to said that the place I always go wasn’t available, but gave me some other choices. One couldn’t get me in for about 30 days. As I am in pain and need this MRI to help diagnose the issue, I don’t want to wait that long. So she gets me in at another location but she is not sure they have the appropriate machine. But she books it anyway. I don’t have a lot of confidence at this point. She can’t get me in there for about 10 working days. When I question her about that, she tells me it takes my insurance that long to okay the charge. I thought they were working on the insurance and that’s why it took them a week to contact me. But no! They were going to start that process now that they talked to me. I booked it.
I called the doctor’s office, hoping they knew of somewhere I could get in sooner. They found me another place that was still close to home; I booked it for the next morning. I got a phone call from them about 9:30 that night. They told me the MRI machine at that place was broken, and they had no idea how long it would be until it would be fixed. They said I could wait and see if it got fixed the next week, but they had no idea if it would be. If I waited for the close location there was still a chance that the machine wouldn’t be fixed soon. I took an appointment at another location – further away – for the next day, because I just want to get it done.
I got scheduled for the MRI, so I had to complete a bunch of paperwork on their Patient Portal – no problem, right? It’s typical BS from a healthcare provider. Like always, they ask questions and expect you to fit into their little boxes, allowing you no leeway to put in that you really want to say.
I am a female, so of course they want to know when I first got my period. I am 65 years old…I don’t know the answer to this. I can guess, and I did, but there isn’t a way to say “around this age” or “I am guessing.” I wonder if I am the only old lady out there who doesn’t remember this. As I recall, it wasn’t traumatic. If it had been, maybe I would remember it.
Another thing they want to know is all the drugs/supplements I am taking. My experience with this question is that it is not worth taking the time to answer, as whoever reads it (if anyone actually does) doesn’t know what most of the things I take are. I take only 3 prescriptions, but lots of supplements. On this particular form I put in my 3 prescriptions, and Supplements. I was supposed to put in the dosage too, so I just put Varies by Supplement. I know this could be important, and I plan to bring a total list with me to the appointment, but I doubt they will read it anyway.
There wasn’t a place to put in anything else, so the fact that I have a major disease would not have fit on their form. I did manage to put it in there somewhere, but I doubt whether anyone will read it.
I know that I sound defeated; to be honest, that’s how I feel. I feel like all of these questions are asked, but nobody pays attention to the answers. I do my best, but it takes so long and seems to be for nothing.
Not to mention that the Patient Portal is not good. They supposedly have little icons you can click for more information. The first one I clicked gave me information about how lone the Password had to be, and what it had to include. That was good. Unfortunately every subsequent one I clicked did not take me to any further information. In fact, it just refreshed the page. I don’t know if it was a bug or just stupid programming.
I got to one point where I tried to save the page, and it gave me an error message. I tried it again several times, and it said “Call this number is it continues to happen.” So I called. It sounded like call center (maybe in India). I couldn’t understand half of what was being said, and he obviously couldn’t understand me either. He kept repeating things back to me but it was not what I said. I finally said this isn’t going to work; thanks for trying. I went back into the program, backed up a few pages, then continued and it worked. Go figure.
All in all, I am very frustrated and not impressed. Hopefully the MRI will be a good diagnostic tool – wish me luck!
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