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| - When you're sick, you may be mentally and physically drained. Yet, you must be in top form, mentally & physically, to withstand the onslaught you must endure as a quick care patient. The first doctor ignored my comment that the cough syrup he had prescribed (promethazine-hd) did not work. I didn't have the strength to argue.
Two days later, I had to return for another visit, another copay, and another ordeal with a different doctor in hopes of coming up with a treatment for a vicious cough. My ten-hour ordeal set my recovery back a couple of days, not to mention about $150 in copays and treatments of questionable effectiveness, including a useless $35 inhaler. Physicians prescribe these treatments on the off chance they may work.
At one point I dealt with a caregiver who spoke with a heavy accent. When you're sick, you don't have the patience to say "Can you repeat that?" Your only concern is to get your drugs and back to bed.
I never did find out what she was jabbering about. During your visit, the doctor will mention things you should & shouldn't be doing. It's up to you to remember! He can't be bothered to write it down for you. Here's a tip that stuck in my mind: If the cough syrup doesn't work, drink some warm honey! Oh good God!
You MUST know your pharmacies. The CVS at Buffalo/Vegas is a small facility with limited stock. They were OUT of the prescribed drug. Deal with a large pharmacy, such as Walgreens at Buffalo/Lake Mead. You can tell by the number of shelf units and how many attendants there are. If it's a 24-hour pharmacy, that's a good indication they likely will be fully stocked.
The second cough syprup contained a narcotic. BUT, the CVS didn't have it. Not only that, it's unlawful to discuss narcotics over the phone. They are forbidden to call another pharmacy to check availability. You must visit the pharmacy in person. So, I tried the CVS 24-hour pharmacy at Cheyenne/Durango. With a dirty look, the attendant shoved the prescription back and said "We don't have this" with no further explanation. I tried to pry information out of her, such as "how soon can you get it?" but she was having none of it. "We don't have it," was all she would offer.
Back at the clinic, I told the attendant what was going on. "We can call ONE pharmacy to see if they have it." Great. "OK, which pharmacy do you want us to call?" So now I'm the pharmacy expert. I asked her to suggest one. The 24-hour Walgreens. Good thing they didn't charge me another copay.
After another lengthy wait, a staff member let me know the doctor had switched to another syrup, available at Walgreens. She'd called three branches, she said. Why would she call three?
A final sour note: This is the LAST time you can change your prescription. Her snotty tone implied I was a trouble maker.
I picked up my drugs at Walgreens. Out of curiosity, I asked about the first cough syrup, the one CVS didn't have. Yes, they had it in stock. So, Southwest Medical only had to call this pharmacy to check on the availability of the FIRST medicine. One call, that's all.
The entire ordeal consumed six hours of a rainy Saturday afternoon, including shuttling among pharmacies and the clinic. Should health care actually make you feel WORSE?
At a quick care, it's a crapshoot whether you see a competent doctor. If the attendants and "triage" folks are nice, that's icing on the cake. Their job is to move you through the process with a minimum of time-consuming compassion, insight or creativity. If they seem rude they probably are not. They're just harried.
The day of my visit there were only two doctors on duty to serve a throng of miserable sickies. The wait time shown on the screen was 158 minutes! Your care will likely cost more than it should, your treatment may be less effective than it ought to be.
Welcome to the world of 21st Century American health care. I would have been better off to just stay home in bed and wait for nature to take its course.
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