As a healthcare consumer advocate I always marvel at how little knowledge - even common sense - exists among so-called "health professionals." I think I'll devote series of blogs to some of my most recent "healthcare hijinks" experiences.
I get a great deal of my healthcare at a local clinic which in the past six-months has really taken great strides to improve customer service. They are very friendly, aggressive about getting back to patients about their healthcare (they even have a new online system where you can check test results as they become available), and the improvement is noticeable. But this is more a tale of inability to think on your feet - a skill that I feel is basic to the notion of healthcare.
I had some crazy TSH readings (typical of anyone with early Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) so my endocrinologist was tweaking my meds over a series of weeks. It is common for a doctor to relay information to one of their nurses who, in turn, (keep in mind these are college graduates experienced with medications and patient care) interfaces with the patient on issues such as dosage adjustments.
Let me first preface my diatribe with the fact that the nurse I am about to take to task was friendly, courteous, and worked hard to follow up with me (I am often difficult to reach because of my crazy schedule). Maybe it was just a "bad day." Nonetheless, I was left wondering just how competent the person on the other end of the phone was.
The nurse called to say the doc wanted to up my dose of Armour thyroid from 1/2 grain to 3/4 grains twice per day and the nurse asked if I wanted a new prescription. I said we could proabably still use my current prescription but would have to renew it much earlier as I will be using a 50% bigger dose. This is where the keystone cops episode begins.
The nurse remarked, "But your prescription is for 1 grain." I explained that since my dosage changes so frequently (and because it is far cheaper to do it this way) I use 1 grain pills that I simply split into 1/2 grain doses. At that she remarked, "But the doctor wants you to take 3/4 of grain." My retort was, "Yes, but I can also split the 1/2 grain pieces into 1/4 grain pieces. I could even take three 1/2 doses three times per day (which I believe would be the superior way to take any thyroid preparation containing T3)." At that point she was completely befuddled. After a short course in remedial math (which I am still not certain she comprehended) I convinced her that 1/2 grain plus 1/4 grain equaled 3/4 grains and that three 1/2 grain doses was the same amount of medicine as two 3/4 grain doses.
Afterwards, we laughed it off and she ended with,"Well, I am really not familar Armour Thyroid". What a shame for the doctor's thyroid patients! Now, even in the "far out" world of Armour Thyroid (sarcasm intended) basic math (like 1/4 plus 1/2 equals 3/4) still holds true!
As I mentioned, perhaps it was just a bad day with a little brain fog (I guess that is scary in itself). But it made me both laugh . . . and think! Of course this is not as bad as when I went to the pharmacy with a prescription for therapeutic vitamins and walked away with a prescription for coumadin - but that's another story (i.e. always read your labels)!
Looking out for your health,
HeartHawk
Monday, August 17, 2009
More Healthcare Hijinks!
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9 comments:
Doc's earn 10% of all medication they talk patients into purchasing - she didn't have a brain fog, she simply wanted more $.
Hello, Heart Hawk!
I recently found your blog on heart disease, and I wanted to reach out. I’m the blog coordinator for EverydayHealth.com. We’re currently recruiting people to write a weekly blog post about their various health conditions and I thought you might be interested.
Everyday Health has over 25 million monthly unique visitors to their website, and there is a lot of potential exposure and traffic to come from blogging with the market leader in online health information. It’s also an excellent platform to promote education and awareness of heart disease, and any cutting edge research or advice.
Let me know if this is something that you’re interested in and might like to talk more about. I enjoyed reading some of your old posts, and I think you have a unique perspective that Everyday Health readers would love for you to share.
Thanks so much!
Lee McAlilly
Blog Coordinator, EverydayHealth.com
lmcalilly (at) waterfrontmedia (dot) com
I can't help thinking there might be a simpler explanation, based on different and unexpressed assumptions. Perhaps she thought that you were given one-grain _doses_, and that once you'd opened up 1 dose, whether you took half a grain or three quarters of a grain or a whole grain, that was the end of the dose, i.e. you can't wrap it up safely again. If that were so, then the math becomes irrelevant and the nurse's "But your prescription is for 1 grain" makes perfect sense.
Bear in mind that I know nothing about Armour Thyroid and don't know what exactly a "grain" is, nor the container(s)/wrapping(s) the medication comes in, so apologies if my comment is also nonsensical.
BTW, I hope you accept the invitation from EverydayHealth.com. For the most part, their articles lack detail to the point of being useless, though recently I think I detect a drive to offer more depth. Perhaps the invitation is part of that drive?
Rick:
Thanks for the info. The Armour comes in small pills like many medications and I use a pill splitter to divide dose. Much more cost effective!
HH
This is true. I have noticed that if not all but many doctors do such silly things.
May, be it was a bad day but it ended with laughter. So, take your medicine and control your disease.
Yea! I can't believe someone out there is telling these phonies off about a bogus product. Cheese and rice, you saved me some big $$$ by posting the message about ANGIOPRIM. Sounds to good to be true, usually is. Thanks for your research efforts.
as health clinics should have a friendly on the patient, the patient happy to visit and treatment.
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