Rant #3,109: Doctor's Orders

I participated in something yesterday that I had never done before, and after my participation, my feelings about it, and its effectiveness, are still the same.

I felt it was a waste of time beforehand, and afterwards, not only did I feel it was a waste of time, I knew it was a waste of time.

I participated in a medical video teleconference, where a doctor hooked up with me on my phone and spoke to me about medical matters.

What happened is that last week, when I went to get my allergy shots, I was alerted that I needed to speak to the doctor about my allergies and my handling of the shots.

This is not unusual, as I had done this many times before, but what was unusual was the new rule they attached to this consultation.

They told me that I would have to come in and have the meeting with the doctor on a day that I was not scheduled to get the shots, as they had to do the shots and the meeting on two separate days.

Number one, this must be a new rule, because this never happened before—I have always done the consultation and received my allergy shots on the same day; and number two, there was no way that I was going to drive back and forth all those miles twice in a month to get a doctor’s consultation that I knew, from the past, was a total waste of time.

I protested, so they said I could do it over the phone in a video teleconference, which I agreed to, and the meeting was set up for Monday at 1:30 p.m.

At nearly 2 p.m., the doctor—who I didn’t know at all—finally called, asked me what medications I take, asked me if everything was OK with the shots, and that was that.

The meeting didn’t even take one minute to complete.

Yes, as I said, it was a total waste of time.

When I have gotten the in-person consultation in the past, the doctor knew me, and kind of made it somewhat worth my while, because they took my vitals in addition to asking me about the shots, so at least I had up-to-date information on things like my blood pressure and temperature.

Doing it by video, those things obviously weren’t done, so the 45 seconds or so that I spent on the phone with this doctor was simply a going-through-the-motions thing, and what made it worse was that the doctor was over 20 minutes late with the call, further wasting my time.

I am now waiting for the bill for this nonsense, and I am sure it won’t be penny ante in cost.

My family is no stranger to such phone conferences with doctors.

My son does a straight phone conference with the doctor who gives him his medication, and that is strictly a phone meeting, no video.

We are on the phone with the doctor for a few minutes, he asks my son how he is doing, what he is participating in, if the medication works, any negative reactions, etc.

The doctor also reorders the medicine while we are on the phone and sets up the next appointment.

We have been using this doctor for years. He is now in his 80s, and since COVID, he does the monthly exams over the phone only.

So we are pretty much used to these calls each month, and while they turn out to be non-expensive, there is a cost to them, and again, the exam is not being done in person, so there is only so much the doctor can do over the phone.

So I am truly skeptical about these types of medical meetings, and while my son’s meeting is necessary—the doctor simply won’t see us in-person anymore—what I went through was a complete and total waste of time.

I mean, at least my son’s doctor calls within about five minutes of the scheduled meeting time … my guy kept me waiting more than 20 minutes for a 45-second meeting, if it was even that, and it was completely inconsequential, for lack of a better word.

Look, I know that these non-in-person medical visits are the future of medicine, but unless somehow they become something more than simply talking and nothing else, I cannot see their viability at all.

Where are the medical functions being performed here?

I could have spoken to the garbage man the same way, and gotten the same result, so what is its purpose—to hit me up for more money while freeing up the doctor to make more money on his end?

When I talk about this type of stuff, I remember the old-school doctors I had while growing up, and in particular Dr. Geller, the doctor I used from the time I was a toddler all the way through to my early 20s.

He was an old fashioned doctor, had his own practice and traveled to make house calls.

To me, he was the do-all and end-all of doctors, having such stature and presence that when he spoke, you listened, and you listened good to whatever he told you or told my mother about myself and my sister in our times of need.

Goodness, I can still hear his booming voice in my head right now.

I am sure that Dr. Geller is long gone, but if he were alive today, how would he practice medicine?

Would he also do these video teleconferences?

Would he still do house calls?

I just don’t know … maybe he left us at the right time.

The type of doctor he was is, unfortunately, a lost breed, and let me tell you, we are all much worse off because doctors like Dr. Geller simply do not exist anymore.