Well, not quite, but close. Very very close.
You may remember my disgruntlement with the people who work at the mental health clinic where D goes. Not particularly with the clinicians, because he did have a wonderful therapist (the sweet young German/Swiss/Austrian guy) there until this past October and his psychiatrist has been competent if not dazzling in his brilliance, but with the support staff and how the whole place is run. It's next to impossible to get anyone to call you back and when they don't do their job (which is frequently), it's never "I'm sorry" but rather than a whole catalogue of excuses. When you're constantly screwing up, at least admitting it is the least you can do, y'know?
Well, D's psychiatrist has left or changed his affiliation with them, as part, I guess, of the huge change in management that happened this fall (hence his therapist leaving in October). Me n' CVS have been trying to get his refills called in since last Wednesday, without any response. I called his case manager (the wonderful L) last Thursday and she called over there too, leaving messages with everyone she could think of, telling them he needed refills ASAP and an appointment with the new doctor. As of Friday afternoon, still no call back to me, the pharmacy, or to L. I call L again this morning, freaking out (politely) because now we're on his last day of meds. She has her supervisor call over there, and finally someone responds, says they haven't got a doctor in today (!) but they'll call in the refills tomorrow and someone will call me tomorrow with an appointment in four weeks.
Pissah. Now he's got no meds for tomorrow morning, and since I have patients scheduled in the morning and am physically unable to be in two places at the same time, even if they call the refills in bright and early--which I doubt--there's no way he's getting his meds when he's supposed to tomorrow. Unless I take the day off from work, at which case maybe he'll get them sorta kinda on time.
I don't need this fucking stress, thankyouverymuch.
xoxo
4 comments:
I am soooo sorry.
I can just imagine how angering and stressful that level of incompetence must be. I mean they're dealing with people who really need help. Fucking up with people's lives is not what they're there for.
Perhaps it's worth taking the day off from work, because you'll probably be too stressed anyway, and if there are any other roadblocks at least you'll be around to deal with them.
Could one of D's other doctors perhaps call in a refill until this all gets sorted out? Or could L find someone who could do it?
If these people are so incompetent, and those you had good relationships with are no longer there, any chance of transferring to another clinic more competently run?
It's all very complex b/c of his being on the clozaril and the blood work and the forms that need to be submitted, so, no, no one else is going to write the scripts. And finding some place else local to go that deals with people on clozaril and takes MassHealth--it's not as if he can just go anywhere. But we might need to eventually try to switch if things do not settle down over there.
And it's easy for you to say I should just take a day off :-)
My next ploy is to call CVS and beg them for a day's supply of drugs till the refills get called in. That may or may not work, depending on which pharmacist is working.
"And it's easy for you to say I should just take a day off :-)"
Yeah, I know. :p
Your job really requires you actually be there... and you have patients depending on you, just as D's depending on his providers.
It just sucks that you have to continuously deal with that level of incompetence. It's not as if it's no big deal, like delaying a refill of Lipitor. They should know that and either do the job right every time or have emergency procedures in place when something gets screwed up like this. Cause the consequences are pretty significant.
I don't have to imagine: I take half a pharmacy a day. If one stops some of them suddenly (as when people like this fuck up) the results are always ugly and often fatal. I've come right to the line two or three times now, always for bullshit like this, and I just don't know what is wrong with these people.
What drives me nuts is first that these time-servers don't care and second, that they have more power over the process than the clinicians.
I hope you get the meds. This shit should not happen. Online hugs aren't worth much but you have mine.
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