Most of you know that about a month ago my 94 yo mother fell and broke her right femur and her right wrist. Because of her age they put her under anesthesia once and as briefly as possible so one doctor operated on her femur and simulataneously a different doctor operated on her wrist.

Today we had a wrist doctor appointment. The EMS of the local town picked her up in a wheel chair van and drove her over (Medicare does NOT cover this BTW). Her appt was at 10:45. I was with her until noon and the medical assistant told me it would at least be another hour until the doctor saw her. The EMS lady is wonderful and volunteered to stay with her. I had to leave as I had a 12:30 College Skills class. I got back to her Rehab Facility at 2:15, and she had just arrived back. The doctor took about 3 hours to see a 94 yo woman sitting with oxygen in a wheel chair with a fractured femur and wrist.

The good news is he removed a pin and put on a smaller cast which in now BRIGHT PINK instead of subtle blue. We also have to go back next Thursday.

YIKES, Kath ~ that is really inexcusable ... without a very solid reason ~ did anyone bother apologizing or explaining the extended wait?

Sooz

I left before the doctor was even there. Lynn (lovely woman) waited with Mother. Mother knew they took out a pin and it didn't hurt. The doctor's note didn't say much other than healing in progress. This guy didn't have much personality last week so I doubt he developed one and was nice to Mother.

When she returned to the Rehab facility, Mother's aide was very kind to her getting her out of clothing and into jammies when she got back. She said that Mother waited too long with that doctor, was way too tired and should be excused from therapy today. She rested awhile. Then the PT and OT therapists did her therapy in the bed. (If you miss three therapies medicare stops paying and you go home). They told Hubby that she is really doing remarkably well.

We all felt better.

I have had to wait about 30 minutes past a scheduled appointment once, but the receptionist explained why.

When I worked for a GP, we always, always spoke to the people in the waiting room if there was a delay of any magnitude. Sometimes the doctor was chatting up a drug rep who "just dropped by", so we had to make up excuses. I was always amazed at how the doc dropped everything to make time for them. And amazed that they would "drop by " without some sort of heads up or appointment. Then again,the doc was getting some sort of perk/money for pushing their favorite new drug as they sat chatting about golf or his cattle farm while patients waited.

For a doctor to make any ill, elderly patient wait is inexcusable!

Glad to hear she is doing well!!!

Someone told me once that America has the best health care system in the whole world.
I'm still giggling.

Sometimes doctors get caught-up in things that put them way behind. The nurse at the doctor I see now always explains and, if it is going to be a long wait, will reschedule you if you want. It's pretty hard to get mad at a guy when he's up at the hospital sewing limbs on someone rather than looking at my stubbed toe.

I did have one doctor though where you routinely had to wait an hour or two to see him and his nurse said nothing. I finally confronted her and it turned out he was deliberately scheduling three people for the same time slot. The idea was one likely wouldn't show-up and the others wouldn't take the whole fifteen minute period. It was a great plan from his point of view but not from his patient's. When I discovered that little game I promptly found another doctor.

Instead of overbookking, my doctor charges if you don't show up and haven't called to cancel. That way, he's not out money and they can take last minute appointments for semi-emergencies.

The guy yesterday double booked. He had two patients scheduled every 15 minutes. The GPs here bill after 2 missed appointments without 24 hours notice. It's irritating as heck.

If you have senior care specialists in your area, they are worth it. Medicare pays. Instead of taking your 90 something patient to the GP and wait, Nurse Practitioners come to your home monthly and if you need them (a cold or UTI) you call and they come. They send the phlebotomists to the home to draw for the INR levels and CBCs etc. They make referrals to podiatrists, PT, OT. They helped me out a lot.

That sure seems like a very long and unnecessary wait. I am sorry to hear this about your mother and I do hope she has a speedy and successful recovery. Positive thoughts coming her way.

Could you rephrase that in English, please?

Which part wasn't English? LOL!!!

The wrist guy had two people scheduled for each 15 minute interval. The general practitioners (primary care doctors) will bill you if you miss their appointments without 24 hours notice.

Nurse practitioners are not doctors but have Masters degrees and prescribe medicines. Many doctors use nurse practitioners in their services to do the more routine things. Most very old patients have heart conditions (Congestive heart failure or Atrial Fibrillation or Atrial Flutter) for which they are put on blood thinners. They are routinely tested to make sure their blood viscosity is clinical (INR between 2 and 3). They check my mother's every two weeks which is common. They also do routine bloodwork (CBC) on a quarterly basis. PT is Physical Therapy and OT is Occupational Therapy.

Therapy dogs visited the nursing home/rehab facility today; a greyhound, a schnauzer, a black lab and some other dog visited the patients at my mother's Convalescent Center today.

Mother told me she liked the black one, but her roommate liked the greyhound who was a rescue dog. She felt sorry for his racing life. It's a nice program for the seniors and the dogs alike.

We went back to the wrist surgeon today and he removed the last pin. He said,

Mother's healing was phenomenal!!!!!!!

So she's discharged from the wrist surgeon and she can do weight bearing therapy as tolerated with her right wrist.

Next week, the femur surgeon......

That's GREAT news, Kath! ~ tell your mother she's earned a ~

Sooz

They also do routine bloodwork (CBC) on a quarterly basis.

Really?
I thought it stood for the Canadian Broadcorping Castration.