Monday, August 27, 2018

Phone calls

I'm with a patient. Mary interrupts me to say there's another doctor on hold, who needs to talk to me.


Dr. Grumpy: "This is Dr. Grumpy."

Dr. Call: "Hi, we have a mutual patient, Mrs. Memory."

Dr. Grumpy: "Hang on, let me pull up her chart... Okay. It looks like I haven't seen her since 2014."

Dr. Call: "Okay, you need to pull her driver's license. I don't think she's safe to drive."

Dr. Grumpy: "I really can't do that after 4 years without seeing her. Why don't you have her family call Mary to bring her in? I can see her tomorrow morning at..."

Dr. Call: "That's ridiculous. She needs to have her license cancelled today. Immediately."

Dr. Grumpy: "Why don't you call the state DMV? You can do it, too."

Dr. Call: "I'm very busy! I don't have time to do things like that! This is your problem!"

Dr. Grumpy: "I..."

Dr. Call: "Okay, since you don't seem to be able to, I'll take care of it. What is the DMV phone number?"

Dr. Grumpy: "I don't know it off the top of my head, but you can..."

Dr. Call: "I'll just have my staff do it. You're not very helpful."

She hung up.
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14 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 27, 2018 at 9:56 AM

    I think this doctor needs a neurological evaluation!

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  2. bobbieAugust 27, 2018 at 10:28 AM

    Diff. DX ~ head up ass

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  3. AnonymousAugust 27, 2018 at 10:42 AM

    Apparently there is a hierarchy order in this doctor's opinion, and she reigns over your peasant practice.

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  4. MooseAugust 27, 2018 at 11:47 AM

    Entitlement. Someone needs a (verbal) smack upside the head.

    OK, *maybe* verbal.

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  5. Loren PechtelAugust 27, 2018 at 1:13 PM

    Could this be that he doesn't want to be blamed by the patient for pulling her license?

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  6. John WoolmanAugust 27, 2018 at 1:32 PM

    One might almost think that your colleague doesn't want to do anything that would lead to her losing a patient...

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  7. gloriapAugust 27, 2018 at 3:44 PM

    Doctor Entitled. See, it's not just the patients.

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  8. AnonymousAugust 27, 2018 at 5:20 PM


    She expected you to telepathically understand that she was really politely requesting your assistance whilst she was away, far away on an imaginary place in her mind? Too bad, Dr G, you had to keep bringing her back to the reality of people, people with memory issues, people in bureaucratic organizations, people that deal in reality, just people in general. She couldn't wave that magic wand and command and go onto the next pleasant thought of where she was this weekend. Oh the humanity. She so wanted to be somewhere else on a Monday.

    None of that verbal smacking. She needed a bucket of cold water. Really cold water.

    Or, maybe, it was just that she didn't get up in time for breakfast, her stomach was growling for hours, and she didn't have time to fix a lunch, there's nothing in the machine downstairs, and she could hear the bagel cart down the street. Dang. It passed her by.

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  9. SuzanAugust 28, 2018 at 6:09 AM

    I think as some would say, "How rude!".

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  10. ndenunzAugust 28, 2018 at 12:06 PM

    What gets me is how does the Doctor come to the conclusion that you are even remotely involved with the patient after not seeing her for four years?

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  11. Mad JackAugust 28, 2018 at 3:39 PM

    Dr. Call may not be a medical doctor at all, but may be an angry relative or neighbor who is trying for a little pay back.

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  12. AnonymousAugust 28, 2018 at 4:47 PM

    Maybe she should try calling the patient's pediatrician.

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  13. Loren PechtelAugust 29, 2018 at 4:34 PM

    @Mad Jack Or it could be a concerned family member who realizes they shouldn't be on the road.

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  14. AnonymousAugust 30, 2018 at 2:21 AM

    And this is why you should never ding the doctor's car in the parking lot.

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So wadda you think?