Getting through to the doctor is top health obstacle

I have a chronic shoulder problem. It started when I was a youth and my shoulder was badly dislocated. Over the years, there has been severe degeneration, blossoming osteoarthritis and who knows what else.

Lately I’ve been in chronic pain. The shoulder seems to be shifting out of joint with even the smallest degree of exertion (reaching for a coffee cup, for example).

I suspect that over the years I’ve compounded the original problem with soft tissue tears, and that perhaps something finally has torn loose completely.

I called an orthopedic surgeon and made an appointment. I had to wait a month, but that’s OK — I’d waited years before acting.

By chance, the day before my appointment, I ran into a physician (I’ll call him Bob), and we began talking about my shoulder and my upcoming appointment.

He asked who I was going to see, and I told him. He said, “Good man, but are you sure you don’t want to see someone who specializes in shoulders?”

I was delighted with Bob’s guidance and agreed I wanted to see the shoulder specialist he was recommending. But, then, the thought occurred to me that the chronic pain I was experiencing had pushed me to the brink, and I couldn’t imagine another month of pain and sleeplessness before seeing someone else.

I expressed this, and Bob generously offered to make an appointment for me with this new guy, and he was certain he could get me in right away. Bob said, “Call me at the office tomorrow morning, and I’ll take care of it.” In response, and without thinking, I blurted out, “Will I be able to get through your staff?”

I normally wouldn’t say such a thing, but if I were going to cancel my impending appointment with the first doc in favor of this new one, and given my level of discomfort, I wanted to be absolutely certain this new arrangement was going to fly and fly immediately. Besides, like everyone else, I’ve had my share of head-banging experiences with a doctor’s office staff.

Bob flashed me a highly surprised look and said, “Of course you’ll get through … no problem.” That was good enough for me, so the next morning I confidently canceled my first appointment, then put in a call to Bob’s office.

The nurse who answered told me, Bob was busy. So, I began to tell her my story, but got only a few sentences out before she put me on hold. I waited quite a while.

The nurse came back on and addressed me as if I were a new caller. I gently reminded her who I was and started into my story again. She was not pleased — tone of voice tells a lot.

I explained how Bob was going to make an appointment for me in order to get me in right away, and I began to provide the reasons why. Before I could finish, she cut me off with, “We can’t do that. You are not one of our patients, and we have no information on you.”

At this point, it was clear that I was never going to get to talk to Bob, so I asked the nurse if she would please be so kind as to give Bob my message.

To be certain that I could make any appointment that Bob might make for me (if somehow my message miraculously got through). I had the distinct impression the nurse didn’t write down any of my conflict times.

Despite some long, anxious moments, everything worked out just fine. Bob got involved and came though like a champ. I got my appointment right away, and the shoulder doc is wonderful.

Barriers to Communication

When I reflect on this experience, it reinforces the fact that lack of communication is a huge barrier in our health care system. It’s no one’s fault; it’s the nature of the beast.

One of the gripes I hear from patients is that they have what they believe is a simple question that only their doctor can answer, but they can’t get through and must make an appointment that is weeks away, just to get the information they need.

Is there anything that can be done to improve this situation? I think there is, and I’ll discuss that in future columns.