A Medical Breakthrough...NO...It's Medical Breakdown

     Medical care in unfamiliar territory.   I'm not talking about a foreign land here.  I'm talking about right here in the good ole US of A where medical care is in abundance, as long as you can access it.  But I'm in the midst of a reality check for the first time in my life about just how sick one has to be, to access that care.   This is the scenario:

     The patient barely limps into the hospital emergency room, syatic pain surging from the right buttocks to the right ankle, enough to take ones breath away.   Three and a half hours later, the patient is moved to an examining room where a Physicians Assistant comes to evaluate the situation.   Sixty minutes later, the patient is told, "you definitely need an MRI but we don't do them here at the hospital (not true...they do).  You'll have to see Dr. X, the only back specialist in the area...so make an appointment with him as soon as possible."   The patient goes directly home, still in severe pain and calls for the appointment with Dr. X.    "The next available appointment (with the doctors assistant) is a week from next Tuesday."    That's ten days from now.  The patient struggles with excruciating pain for another twenty-four hours with no relief before finally calling the hospital again, and the doctor's office again to be told, "I'm sorry, a week from Tuesday is the earliest anyone can see you to even schedule an MRI."  (Still 9-days away)  Not acceptable!

     This is where the unfamiliar territory comes into the story.   Chances are, where you live and work, you have the familiarity of the surroundings. You may have family, friends, colleagues, business contacts, medical advisors, good Lord willin' a primary care physician.  But in unfamiliar territory you may as well be a sign post.   Lets face it, when any of us go to an emergency room, we're all strangers.  But when you can't get proper medical treatment unless you know someone, that's just wrong.

     This particular patient reached out to the one person he knew who had some clout in the community and within 90-minutes, yes within an hour and a half, the patient had an appointment...with the back specialist, for the following day.   Not 10-days from now, not 9-days from now.....but tomorrow...1 p.m.   All of a sudden, because of one phone call, that doctor's appointment schedule opened up like the San Andreas fault...and for that, this patient is forever grateful.

     But isn't this a sad commentary from the medical world when we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory.