Opposite

Sometimes the opposite of what you think you want is best for you. We all have our wishes and then we have reality. Many times we do not know what is best for us until it becomes real. For the past year when I have hired new staff, the policy was to scrutinize the person's background, both personal and professional, and if they had no medical office experience, they would not be considered. Last year the interview process changed from only me to me and then a panel of doctors. No one was good enough. If they were hired, then they were put under so much pressure that they left within a short time. Recently when we needed a new staff member, I put my foot down. There would be no more multiple interviews. I would be the sole person responsible to hire and I would hire whomever I felt was best on my gut instinct. This is how I always hired and the staff stayed for years. Last week, I interviewed a nice girl. She had no medical background. She was personable and I hired her on the spot. She is on time, takes notes and is learning quickly. Lo and behold, the "panel" of doctors love her. I did the opposite of what they wanted and it turned out to be as good as expected.

Sorority

I was going to write about a totally different topic this morning until I saw an article on the internet. It was about the Democratic women wearing white at the State of the Union Address. It reminded me of a bunch of giggling sorority girls planning what to wear at the Fall dance. I could picture Nancy Pelosi sitting in her room, in pj's, calling her friends in a round robin call. "Let's all wear white to the dance!!"  The other girls would be in hair rollers, like in "Bye, Bye, Birdie". Don't they remember what happened the last time they wore white pant suits? They spent the next week crying and trying to become a Canadian residents. Now that I am thinking about it, how come none of the celebrities that vowed to go to Canada went there? Another bunch of whining babies. It seems so childish to color coordinate clothes at their ages. It looks ridiculous and gives them no credibility. It makes them seem like little girls who have no way to express themselves unless it is through fashion. Maybe if they spent more time trying to negotiate a deal rather than plan their wardrobe, we could come up with a compromise.

Date Range

Yesterday a patient called and told me that he had called his insurance company to see if his claims were paid and got the run around. He asked if I could call for him and I said I gladly would. After being rerouted twice, I got to the proper department. I asked the girl for the status of the claims and was told that the claims from 10/3/18 through 10/24/18 were pending medical records, but the claims from 10/10/18 through 12/19/18 were being processed for payment. I asked her which was the correct info. Were they pending or processed? She gave me the same answer about the date ranges. I told her that the dates overlapped, so what was pending and what was processed. Again, she gave me the same answer. Now I had to baby step her through the call. If the 10/10, 10/17 and 10/24 dates were in the 10/3 through 10/24 grouping and also in the 10/10 through 12/19 grouping, what was the definitive status of those dates. Are they pending or are they processed. She had no idea what I was saying. Now I asked her to write down the dates. Look at them. They appear in each group. It was like "Who's on first, What's on second and I Don't Know is on third." After 10 minutes of repetition she finally got it. The date of 10/10 was the only one processed. All others were pending. I hung up the phone, informed the patient and took two Excedrins.

Fast Track To Heaven

Sometimes I wonder if there is a fast track to heaven. If there is, I think that there might be a seat reserved for me. If there is not, I have let a lot of people slide on things that should have been addressed. As I get older, I pick and choose arguments. I do a quick evaluation of whether or not a situation matters enough to me to point it out to the offending party. I weigh the pros and cons and try to figure out what the bottom line will be before I act. In most cases it is just not worth it, so I choose to ignore it and not make waves. I hope my decisions will be rewarded because if not, there are a bunch of people who really need to be straightened out that weren't.

Surprise

Last night my sister had a surprise 65th birthday party. Just writing the number 65 seems weird. To me she is still 25. She does not look nor act her age. My brother in law put a lot of thought and effort into making this celebration and all of his hard work paid off. She was totally surprised when she walked into the room. The guest list was all of the people that were special in her life. She has many friends and if everyone was invited we would have needed a large hall, so just the special few were there. The food was great and the dessert was delicious. The best part was seeing my father sitting next to her. My mother was there in spirit.

Not Enough Time

As usual, I picked up my father from dialysis yesterday. Some Fridays he seems peppy and others he seems sad. Yesterday was a bit of a sad day. He wanted Chinese food so we headed to the take out and were planning to eat there. When we entered the store it was freezing, so we took the food to go. He is not a fussy eater but he did not like the food. The soup was too thick (which it was). The chow fun tasted very salty (which it was). He finished his food and we went into the living room to read. This is the regular routine. He took his power nap and when he got up he started to cry. He said he missed my mother and that he did not have enough time with her. That statement made me feel both happy and sad. To be with someone for almost 67 years and think that it was not enough time, is a testament of his love for her. That made me happy. To be with someone for almost 67 years and miss them so much, is also a testament of his love for her. That made me sad. I do not think that he realizes that when he speaks about his wife, he is also speaking about my mother. If he is hurting then so am I.

Hit The Save Button

Yesterday I went to an ENT specialist. After months of congestion, I decided that I needed a specialist. I called on Monday and was told that the first opening was Thursday at 3pm. They said that I had not been there since 2013 and I gave them my updated insurance information. I arrived at 2:30pm and when I signed in, the receptionist looked at me oddly. She asked if I had an appointment. I said that I had a 3pm. She said that it was not in her schedule. I recounted my conversation from Monday and she said that the insurance was updated but no appointment was there. I looked at her very calmly and said that if the insurance was changed and I knew that the office opened at 3pm, it was not my error but theirs. She was a very nice woman and told me not to be concerned as I would be seen at 3pm just as I had been told. She handled a bad situation very well. At 3pm I was promptly taken. I must commend the receptionist for knowing how to handle herself and making me feel that the office was well run.