Health care cost

We've now had health care reform a la fed.  Read insurance company entitlement program in trade for sensible industry practices restrictions.  But it's something, never mind that it did little to actually reduce health care cost.

With that as background I recently had an interesting experience in health care cost. 

Round 1 started innocently enough with a prescription.  It was about to expire so I asked my doctor to renew it.  Not a problem and she uses the laptop she now caries about thanks to computerization of the hospital to issue the reorder.  Now this is meant to be simple, efficient, and, of course, save cost.  Of course, when I go to pick up the prescription two weeks later I'm told that it's expired but not to worry the pharmacy will happily contact the doctor to reorder.  Never mind that the reorder was issued two weeks prior.  Looks like this computer stuff isn't working as well as it might.  Not to worry, I'm about to see the doctor in a couple of days for a followup visit and I'll deal with it then.


Round 2 starts the following Thursday when I show up for my followup visit.  Unfortunately, the scheduling computer thinks that my appointment was for the previous day.  Never mind the appointment card that clearly says it's today.  But not to worry, the doctor has a free appointment the following day.  OK, drive home and try again tomorrow.

Round 3 starts when I arrive at the doctors office only to be asked to sign a financial responsibility document since the insurance company now says that my primary care provider is my previous doctor.  Now I've been seeing my current doctor for over two years!  Also never mind that the doctors are part of the same clinic and the clinic has a service agreement that lets me see any doctor in the clinic without a referral.  Not to worry, sign the agreement and see my current doctor who happily tries to renew the original expired prescription again.

Round 4 begins when I contact my insurance company to deal with the primary care issue.  After being subject to 4 IVR , keying in 29 digits, and spending 8 minutes of my life I get the an agent call queue.  Two minutes later I get a really nice agent who seems surprised at the issue.  Six minutes and considerable conversation later it seems that the insurance company was doing some sort of system maintenance and decided to change my PCP.  The agent is apologetic and changes it back.

Now lest you think that I'm just upset about the inconvenience of this affair, I am, consider the cost.  Round 1, my doctor, the most expensive agent in this little drama, does something but in round 3 has to do it again.  That's waste.  Also in round 1 the pharmacy does something that should never have been needed to be done to begin with.  That's also waste.  In round 2 the doctor has a no show patient, me, and non-billable time.  That's waste.  I show up the following day and talk to a clerk who has to reschedule.  More waste and inconvenience.  Then in round 3 the doctors office has to prepare a document for me to sign since the insurance company has made a mistake.  Still more waste.  Later in round 4 the insurance company waste still more of their time and mine undoing the effects of their mistake.  Yet more waste.

Common sense suggests that this version of computerized medicine is certainly NOT more efficient or less costly.   On the contrary, this experience suggests that it is much less convenient and significantly more expensive.