Here's another little clip. This physician is working at BLOCKBUSTER for health insurance. Oy.
Why me?
Don't sit there in the back of the room!
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Wow. Yes. I found both videos sort of heart wrenching. I feel lucky to enjoy my work, but it takes everything I can muster to keep the soul-sucking system from taking away my focus from the patient and their problem.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
It's not the work! It's everything except the still-often magic encounter with the patient and the thoughtful minutes (when I can get them) after the encounter when the plate of spaghetti kind of sorts itself out and a plan wanders out of the mist and off the plate....and how many metaphors can I mix? Oh, poo.
ReplyDeleteOne of the comments that she made really got to me - the "I don't like my work why should you like yours?" attitude she had encountered. Hm. Well, I don't like my work everyday, either. And I have a job that has an impact on public health, so yeah, if I don't like what I do and I get tired and miss something, it could get ugly. But not directly.
ReplyDeleteConversely, if my doctor is exhausted and misses something, I could die. There's no QC between my doctor and me, really. If my doctor misses something acute, and I go home and die - that's a whole lot different than someone packing my eggs at the bottom of my grocery bag. I don't want my doctor to be exhausted and burned out. Call me crazy, but I can't see why anyone would be okay with that.
Looking forward to receiving my copy of the video. And also kind of dreading it.
My word verification, by the way, is "worse"- no kidding.
Well, I can't put words into the mouth of the interviewee in the movie. It really isn't the work, as I noted above, if by "work" you mean the hands-on, face-to-face patient care, and the behind-the-scenes coordination. I love looking things up, putting problems together, talking to pharmacists, physical therapists, other physicians about patient care. A social worker who has time to talk to me is awesome. I love talking about patients with other physicians. I love figuring out what rashes are. I love it. But the paperwork? The "chart care" that gets you paid but has nothing to do with the patient but with the patient's insurer? The lawyer you feel like you have looking over your shoulder? The forms about forms you have to fill out, then another form to note that you had the form about the form completed? (I'm not joking--so much for paperless.) The crap calls to insurance companies; the overhead it takes to get paid; malpractice bills....It's miserable and soul-sucking. Maybe round patient problems fit continually into the square holes of insurance requirements, disability paperwork, prior authorization forms, prescription pads, lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my. The endless impediments to direct patient care are enough to set my brain on fire. But maybe I'll jsut have enough donut instead!
ReplyDeleteThanks, as always, for stopping by KC. Hope all is well with you!