Lesson for today: Be assertive

On Tuesday night on CBC's The National, their medical panel had a discussion entitled Health care in the online world. They talked about  doctors using email, twitter, medical apps on phones and digital  medical records. May I humbly suggest that it is all well and good to use these new tools as long as we keep in mind that it is us lowly humans who must make it all work.

Recently I changed doctors. I am very pleased that my new doctor is a lovely woman whose office is within walking distance of my home. When I left after my "meet and greet" appointment on March 5 th, I signed a form consenting to the transfer of my records from my previous doctor. That doctor's office contacted me a few days later, when they received the request. They would transfer the records after I paid them $25.00.  I gave them my MasterCard number and thought that was the end of the story. (Silly me!) Knowing that such transactions frequently take time to process, I waited and made an appointment for April 28th, to get my new doctor's opinion on my ongoing knee problem.

When I walked in, I expected my new doctor would be able to access my previous records, including the MRI that was done on my knee. No such luck!  The answers to all my doctor's questions -  dates and results of my tests -  were in my hard copies which I had left at home because I had trusted that the transfer had been done. My new doc said she would have her staff double check the next morning and I was asked to call my old doc to see if they had actually sent them.

So the following morning I called the new doctor's secretary. No, they were sure they had never received them. I called the old doctor's office. Now these are the people who charged $25.00 to my MC on March 12th.  I politely enquired whether or not my records had been sent out. They sent the records out on March 13th! The secretary at the old office said she would call the new office. The records had been sent out on an encrypted disc and the password had been sent in a separate email.

After another couple of calls, the secretary at the new office confirmed that yes, they did receive the records a while back, but it was an unusual format and she had never figured it out. Now, however, she had the records and would make sure that my new doctor saw my file.

So, my lesson: Do not rely on technology. It is only as good as the people that use it. Do not assume that an electronic message or task has been done. I should have called to ensure that my records had been received.

Now my daughter Norah, who is way smarter than me, already knows this. Recently, on a Monday, a doctor told her that she would request a test at a hospital. There would be a long waiting period for the test. The next day Norah called the hospital to see if they had received the requisition from her doctor's office. No they hadn't. She called again on Wed and received the same answer. So she called her doc and was told it had been sent. On Thursday the hospital told her to get the doc to re-send the requisition. On Friday she called the hospital and was told that they had finally received the req. but they could not act on it because the doctor's office had failed to attach the clinic notes. So on Friday afternoon Norah called the doctor's office and asked then to attach the clinic notes to the requisition.

If she had not started her enquiry, she could have been waiting politely for a call from the hospital for months, knowing that it was a long waiting list. She never would have received that call and months would have been lost.

Fortunately neither of these cases are life and death. What if they were more serious, time-sensitive issues?  As patients, we have to be proactive and assertive. We may go to all kinds of super intelligent specialists and have access to all kinds of technology but we are the only ones who know our entire medical history. It's imperative to keep track of our health episodes and to follow up on doctor's orders so that we can advocate for ourselves. Sitting back politely is not a useful strategy.

Holy Week Walk

After a long winter, there is something special about those first walks outside  on warm sunny days. My first spring walk happened last Friday.

The sun was shining and the temperature climbed to a balmy fifteen degrees as we joined about sixty others for a walk in downtown Ottawa. That first warm day marked not only a welcome sign of spring but a significant day in the Christian calendar - Good Friday.   

This walk was organized by Kairos Spirituality-for-Social Justice Centre, a ministry sponsored by The Grey Sisters. It was a few of those sisters who organized and lead the walk. If this is conjuring up images of nuns in habits leading a group of people in costumes, with perhaps a big cross, think again. This was just a casually dressed group of people going for a walk together on a lovely sunny day. The only prop was a microphone and speaker, rolled along so that we could hear the reflection at each stop along the way.

Crossing the Laurier Avenue bridge, towards the National Defence Building

Anne Taylor, one of my former high school teachers, gave the welcome and introduction to the event. The former high school building where I first met Anne, is still owned by The Grey Sisters. They transformed it into the Bronson Centre, which houses many charitable agencies. It's just one example of the leadership and care for  marginalized people, that these wise women are providing, here in Ottawa.

Sr. Anne Taylor walks with a young participant

This walk, in its fifteenth year, was called a Social Justice Way of the Cross. We walked from our downtown parish of St. Joseph's to Confederation Park and made several stops along the way. At each stop a thoughtful reflection was read. It was similar to other Good Friday walks, in that the last days of Christ’s life formed the basis for the prayers and reflections.

However, the stations of the cross served as a point from which we were connected to present day situations. At a totem pole in Confederation Park, the stop was Jesus Falls: Violence against aboriginal women and girls. Some of the other stops were:

Jesus carries his cross: Carrying one another’s cross: Palliative care

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus: Empowering and including women and

Jesus comforts the women: Defend mother earth

In Confederation Park, walking towards City Hall

It was a very meaningful gathering. One phrase that stuck with me is "active hope". After each reflection was read we sang a simple refrain, “What have you done? What are you doing? What will you do, now you know?”

It reminded me of a picture I recently came across on Facebook, from Guideposts. It is of former President Jimmy Carter, a man who has been such a giver, in his post presidential years. Here he is, dressed in work clothes, probably at a Habitat for Humanity build.

 

With the national and international news getting more depressing by the day, it's not easy to stay positive or hopeful. Thank goodness for the people of active hope, who  are doing such good work and encouraging us to do the same.

EQAO - a postcript

Well, I never really intended to follow up on my comment about scrapping EQAO (Ontario's Education Quality and Accountability Office) but this little video just fell into my lap. I saw it on Facebook, the day after my last post. The video shows a very young student addressing her Florida school board. Her remarks are very similar to what many of us think of Ontario's EQAO, which commenced in 1996. It is a waste of precious time, energy and money and causes untold stress for everyone involved. If only the EQAO money ($33 million annually) could be poured into special education, where it would actually result in much better results province wide. Here's an argument against standardized testing.