Friday, August 28, 2009

I Hope He Didn't Have Anything Serious

Timely communication between doctors is (at least in my opinion) important for good patient care.

So yesterday, this letter from a local kidney specialist showed up on my fax machine. I can't put the whole thing up, but this is the key paragraph.

Besides what it says below, the letter itself was marked as having been dictated on July 4, 2009 (which was both a holiday and a Saturday) and was promptly transcribed on August 18, 2009, then quickly faxed to me on August 27, 2009.





I guess it's also notable that it doesn't mention which January is being referred to.
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12 comments:

  1. Scritches.comAugust 28, 2009 at 8:58 AM

    Picky, picky, picky . . . .

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 28, 2009 at 8:59 AM

    a practice group I once belonged to fired a partner who hadn't dictated a single clinic note or discharge summary for 3 years.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousAugust 28, 2009 at 9:26 AM

    Wow, talk about a delay in action

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Relonic ManAugust 28, 2009 at 10:19 AM

    Maybe now the patient's wife will finally be able to stop bringing in that pickle jar full of his urine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The Lemic ManAugust 28, 2009 at 10:21 AM

    Could be worse. He could have used Yahoo! e-mail.

    ReplyDelete
  6. mary.anne.gruen@gmail.comAugust 28, 2009 at 12:27 PM

    Better late than never. Isn't that what they say? I'm not sure I believe them. But that's what they say.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownAugust 28, 2009 at 2:02 PM

    Oops! Good thing it wasn't important.

    ReplyDelete
  8. bettyAugust 28, 2009 at 2:59 PM

    LOL; here's what I think, he kept the tape he dictated on from 7/4/09 until he gave it to be transcribed on 8/18, and then he didn't sign it until 8/27 and then it was faxed (or otherwise, he has a less than ideal transcription service if they have that long of a turn-around time)

    betty

    ReplyDelete
  9. peskypixiesAugust 28, 2009 at 8:20 PM

    Wow. Nine days processing time. Must have been quite a pile. The PCP I worked for had an average 3 day turn around (including transcription) and five when they were backed up.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousAugust 28, 2009 at 8:28 PM

    This reminds me of how hard it was to get a capsule endoscopy. The GI doctor I was seeing (who kept referring to tests he was going to do as poop tests. This didn't fill me with confidence.) kept saying that they were trying to get permission from my insurance (unbeknown to them) for about four months. In the mean time I had extreme pain and other problems.

    Two days after switching doctors my test was scheduled and discovered small bowel Crohn's.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kimbra KaschAugust 30, 2009 at 12:25 PM

    This must have been Mom's doctor 'cuz it's a perfect example of why she never trust(ed) doctors and why she would never go see one.

    And sometimes better late than never - isn't

    ReplyDelete
  12. thegooddrlauraAugust 30, 2009 at 12:39 PM

    unfknbelievable. Another reason for EMR, although Dr. Procrastination probably would find a way to put that to the side, as well.

    ReplyDelete

So wadda you think?