Assignment 4A – Forming an Opportunity Belief

Forming an Opportunity Belief

       There is a fundamental problem with the way the healthcare providers and patients communicate in this country. Often the clinic or hospital will try to contact the patients at a point during the day that is during prime work or school hours, usually that call gets ignored because we are too busy. The message back does not let the patient know what the call is for, simply that there is an important matter that your doctor needs to discuss with you. This is where the problem gets worse, because now you have concerned patients wondering if there is something wrong with them, and as they are calling back, they are put on hold for an ungodly amount of time, to then be told by the nurse that the doctor is unavailable. The patient then must wait again for a call back, and usually they continue to call the office until they are able to get the doctor on the phone, only to be told that everything is fine. Most clinics in the U.S unless they are small private practices have an automated telephone system, where the recorded voice runs through a list of options, that are meant to facilitate communication and cut down on wait times. Although this is supposed to be easier for patients often it can be frustrating to patients, especially the elderly, that simply want to speak to a real person.    

#1: 60-year-old woman, with a pre-existing knee and hip condition

·         How often would say that you must call your medical provider?

-          Because of the recent relapse in my knee, about twice a week for appointments and what not

·         When you call do you hear a real person or a machine?

-          Oh  I always have to go through the machine first, it’s a hospital

·         How long do you estimate that you are put on hold?

-          Maybe 20 mins, the worst was I kept getting put on hold for what seemed like forever

·         What is the most frustrating part about speaking to you doctor over the phone

-          He seems to not really hear what I have to say, its just easier in person

·         Does the nurse ever tell you what the call is about?

-          Sometimes it depends, I usually know what I am calling about and then I have to tell them so that they can read my file

·         Would you feel better if the nurse told you that the call was not serious?

-          Yes, the waiting causes me so much stress

·         Would you sign a release form to have the nurse tell you about test results that came back okay or about non-serious medical information?

-          I would, it could save so much time

·         What is a way that you would feel more comfortable with contacting your doctor?

-          Maybe if I could schedule a time for them to call me

Reflection: This woman has been in an out of hospitals and specialists offices a lot in the past month because she needs to schedule different procedures for treatment, and she is more willing to wait the times on the phone, but she still finds it inconvenient and to her it seems rude the way that they speak to her

#2: 20-year-old woman, no preexisting conditions, annual check ups

·         How often would say that you must call your medical provider?

-          Once a year for my annual, and like for lab results I guess

·         When you call do you hear a real person or a machine?

-          It’s almost always a machine and a beeping machine

·         How long do you estimate that you are put on hold?

-          Is it okay to say an eternity, no but for real must be 20-30 mins sometimes in total

·         What is the most frustrating part about speaking to you doctor over the phone?

-          Probably not getting to speak to them because they are busy, so when do answer it is always rushed so I forget what I was going to ask

·         Does the nurse ever tell you what the call is about?

-          No, and if they leave a message it usually just says to call us back, we have something to tell you, which is cryptic

·         Would you feel better if the nurse told you that the call was not serious?

-          Oh, for sure, it would also not waste my time having to be on the phone with them

·         Would you sign a release form to have the nurse tell you about test results that came back okay or about non-serious medical information?

-          Where can I sign now, that would be way more efficient

·         What is a way that you would feel more comfortable with contacting your doctor?

-          If it was for something not important then maybe an email or that you respond to, something so the doctor knows that I got the information but its over the computer or even phone

Reflection: Just like myself, she has had bad experiences with talking to a doctor over the phone, she was always annoyed when she did get to speak to the doctor causing there to be a break down in communication, which leads to a bad experience and a negative view on the medical field.  

#3: 27-year-old man, without a preexisting condition

·         How often would say that you must call your medical provider?

-          This may sound bad but I wait until they have to call me, because I am not on top of when I need to go for a visit

·         When you call do you hear a real person or a machine?

-          At that point when they call me it’s a person

·         How long do you estimate that you are put on hold?

-          It’s weird even though they call me to tell me something they will sometimes but me on hold for the doctor

·         What is the most frustrating part about speaking to you doctor over the phone?

-          I don’t understand what he say, yeah I just hear him out and go thanks but have no idea what just happened

·         Does the nurse ever tell you what the call is about?

-          The nurse kinda will say something broad but that’s about it

·         Would you feel better if the nurse told you that the call was not serious?

-          Yeah, I guess so, again I wait until the last possible moment so they kinda annoyed with me

·         Would you sign a release form to have the nurse tell you about test results that came back okay or about non-serious medical information?

-          Yeah that would be good, for them to, probably make it easier to talk to me

·         What is a way that you would feel more comfortable with contacting your doctor?

-          Maybe if they shot me text, like when you must reply yes to those automated texts

Reflection: Even though he has a more laid-back approach to contacting his doctor, he still knows that the process is unnecessary and causes more confusion that clearing up things to set him at ease.  

Summary:

There is an idea there, the opportunity to change the communication methods is possible. I do think there are certain groups that this would benefit more than others and I am not sure if major hospitals or clinics would be so willing to take to this new type of technology, because of the way that HIPPA laws work, there would be a lot of initial hesitation and trails needed to run to ensure the usefulness of the program and that the privacy of the patient is secure. The need for it is out there because when you can order a pizza in 5 minutes but take 30 minutes just to find out if your lab results came back negative, there is a serious problem.