This doc wants bloodwork and so does that doc, but the appointments aren’t on the same day, so you end up with 2 sticks instead of one. Then, the first doc needs more blood and another test, and a third doc insists you need another test, but at a different facility from the first one, so you end up criscrossing the city…on a hot, blazingly sunny day…at lunch time…and you’re running out of gas, to boot. The following day, one doc orders two tests, but your insurance won’t cover both if they’re done on the same day, so you have to schedule in another visit to accommodate the billing system.

Sometimes, we might have one doc appointment a month. Other times, we have multiple appointments and by the end of the month, our arms are sore, our patience is depleted, and we want to sleep until, well, the next appointment all-too-soon!

Irk!

The more chronic conditions one has, the more complicated it can be to get the care, tests, and information we need to managing the whole picture effectively. (Notice, I didn’t say, “Efficiently?”, for in many cases, efficiency is nonexistent!)

Is there anything we can do to streamline such situations? Sometimes…

One tremendous blessing for me is to have held onto the same, key members of my medical team. Communication is so much easier if I see the same doctor visit after visit, and that they know and respect each other makes communication easier between them, too. I’ve often met with one doc and gotten his orders for bloodwork, then gone to another doc who will draw the blood and added the first doc’s orders to the second, so that there’s only one needle stick.

Understanding the tests and what is or is not covered (and how) by insurance – ahead of time! – makes “day of” problems less likely to occur, and it also means that you, the patient, will be more knowlegable about what is being ordered and why.

Good organization also helps, both on the patient’s part and on the doc’s part. So, when you go to the doc appointment, you have a list of questions, meds, and symptoms, at the ready – and you share this with all of your doctors so they, too, know what’s going on and what your concerns are.

Yes, often there can seem to be too many moving parts to managing our care. But with some patience and advanced planning, we can help things move more smoothly!

Blessings for the day,

Maureen