He’s No Dr. Quinn
I usually like to share a newsworthy item or intriguing tidbit on our staff blog, but today I'm in the mood for some personal griping.
Despite my daily immersion in health care at the office, I've had limited experience with hospitals outside of work. My immediate family has a generally clean bill of health, so when my mom had surgery two weeks ago, it was a big deal.
As timing would have it, I was researching my upcoming article on hospital-acquired conditions as my mom prepared for her procedure; anything that could go wrong on the operating table or in that (hopefully) hygienic hospital bed, I knew about it. Naturally, I used this newfound knowledge to designate myself as patient safety adviser, reminding my mom to check that medical staffers wash their hands and to please, please, please make sure they mark the correct hip. Fortunately, the surgery went well and my mom was up and about--OK, shuffling down the hall--within 24 hours.
But recovery hasn't been all hunky-dory. My mom's had some complications--let's just say the physical therapist called it "not so common"--and lackluster concern from her surgeon isn't helping. Sure, the doctor was great before the procedure, but he apparently becomes the invisible man post-op; my mom never saw him in the recovery room and instead of stopping by the waiting room to give my sister the thumbs up, he called the waiting room's phone extension. Last week, after a host of frustrations including a 10-hour stint in the ED, my mom tried to contact her surgeon only to find out he was out of town--apparently to Siberia because it took more than 48 hours to get a hold of him. His reassuring, patient-centric, post-op advice? As relayed by the nurse: take any problems up with your PCP.
I know, I know--surgeons can't always be in the office, and maybe his advice is just standard procedure, but with everyone from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to private insurers to President Obama calling for higher quality of care, it's disheartening to have a doc that just doesn't give a darn. We're not asking for a personal visit; a simple phone call would have sufficed. When you boil it down, it's the little things that make a difference in patient care; sometimes all we need is a compassionate word or nice pat on the hand to know everything will be all right.