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Highlands Today

Keeping Up With Medical Needs Is A Pain

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By Raleigh Whiteman | Highlands Today

Published: January 18, 2008

Within our relatively small Lake Placid area, we have literally exploded with an overabundance of seniors who require help from the relatively small number of physicians, that for whatever reason, have not left the area for the more populated area of the state where they could likely make even more money than they can ever expect to make here.

We have all experienced the very long wait to see our doctor, even after making an appointment and receiving a very specific time to come in. We arrive and there will be a couple dozen of others who are sick or requiring some form of medical science.

There have been a few times that I have needed immediate help for a very serious or painful condition, and after getting an appointment somewhat quickly, have found myself not talking to the doctor but one of his or her physicians assistants. These doctors-in-training are so far very proficient and appear very well qualified to solve the immediate problem and can prescribe medicines that clear up whatever is wrong.

Prescription Refills

I am sure there are many of you who, as I do, have prescriptions that are lifelong in order to stabilize certain deficiencies the body requires in order to live. Keeping the strength of the prescription in correct dosage to balance the body's need is just like putting in a new asphalt roadway, that new road will forever require constant maintenance from those who put the road in.

We are led to believe the dosage adjustment will require constant maintenance in the form of blood tests. After the blood test, we are required to return for a visit to the doctor and another hour or two wait to find out if we can continue with what we are taking or to get a stronger dose and then take it to a druggist to fill.

In using a mail order prescription provider, the time that it takes to fill can become very complicated and we must depend upon the doctor's office staff to either call the prescription in to the druggist or to fax the prescription order to the provider of the drug.

Now, it is up to the staff in our doctors' office. How busy they are and we can depend upon them to get the job done. I can talk from personal experience that this part of the equation is in need of repair. I now need to get to my doctors' office and personally ask his staff to give me a temporary 30-day prescription to use at our new druggist and another 90-day written prescription renewable three times in order to send it myself to the mail order company I use.

Automation Failures

For renewals it's now necessary to talk to an answering machine and leave the information on a recording and rely on the call to be followed up. It doesn't always work, as it should.

I am really tired of having to go to my doctors' office for renewing my prescription, especially when it could be called or faxed in. It could greatly decrease the waiting time for others to see him. I also question the need to get a quarterly blood test to validate the dosage. These blood tests are very expensive and if it were not for insurance, many could not afford to do so.

Raleigh Whiteman, of Lake Placid, is a contributing writer to Highlands Today. You can reach him on the Internet at rwwhiteman@comcast.net

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