First I want to say thank you to all the doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and healthcare professionals in the hospitals right now on the front lines, doing their best to save lives with limited supplies while putting their own health at risk.  You are heroes!!!

Second, to the doctors in group practices in Massachusetts, remember your oath and who your customers are.  Ask yourself, how well are you really serving patients right now?  If it was your mother, your father, your son, or daughter, would you really speak to them the same way you're currently speaking to your patients?  Are you doing what’s best for your patient in these trying times?  Or are you doing what’s best for you?

The customer experience I’ve had over the last two days is what prompted me to write this particular blog post.  Over the last two days, I had to spend 9 hours calling over 50 doctors to find a physician who would:

• Take my new insurance

• Do a new patient telehealth appointment with me

• Prescribe a refill on the low risk medication I've been on for 4 years that prevents me from getting bronchitis symptoms from allergies I developed 5 years ago 

I have 5 days left of this medication I pay out of pocket for (insurance won't cover it), and the below is just some of what I experienced from private practice doctors trying to get a refill on this medication that prevents my lungs from being less than 100%.  Something that seems vitally important right now given COVID-19.

The Customer Experience:

• The primary care doctor refused to prescribe the refill stating she’s unfamiliar with the medication and uncomfortable prescribing it despite:

  • Hearing the doctor who had prescribed the medication previously is refusing to call in a refill without a visit, and my new insurance won’t cover this doctor visit

  • Being on this medication for four years already

  • Explaining the risk of me being off the medication is MUCH higher than calling in the refill 

  • The compounding pharmacy being willing to talk to her about the drug and address any concerns she has 

  • Hearing I may be able to get an appointment with a pulmonologist to refill the medication, however it puts me at higher risk because the new patient visit would be at the hospital

• The primary care doctor wouldn’t help locate another doctor who would refill the medication

• The doctor who had previously prescribed the medication:

  • Won’t take the new insurance and wanted $120 for a visit just to refill the medication

  • Blamed me for not finding a new doctor in January when the insurance had changed (I had enough of the medication through March which is why it hadn’t been prioritized)

• One doctor who is in quarantine from being in Spain, would accept my insurance for a new patient in person visit mid-April (leaves me with a gap in my medication), yet wouldn't accept the insurance for an earlier telehealth appointment and wanted $250 for the call

• Almost all the doctor offices I spoke to were shocked the primary care and the previous prescribing doctor were refusing to just call in a refill given the pandemic

• Several doctors refused to do a new patient telehealth appointment 

Yes there is a pandemic going on, and yes this is putting a tremendous amount of strain on the healthcare system.  And, healthy patients still need their healthcare services from private practice doctors during these trying times.  No patient should have to go through this much effort and stress during a pandemic to get a refill on a medication they’ve been taking for several years.  What about all the patients who don’t have the energy to persist and find the help they need?  Or the patients who are unable to advocate for themselves?  Or the patients who have a new health issue develop during the pandemic?  

Talk about an opportunity for continuous improvement.  The pandemic is showing us where our healthcare system is failing or weak.  The question is, will the healthcare industry step up and improve?  Or is this the kind of healthcare experience we’re going to continue to have?

Call to Action

• What is one takeaway you’ll be putting into action?  Use the comment feature to share your thoughts.

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• If there’s a particular change agent topic you’d like to see covered on this blog, please comment.  

About the Author: Rosanne Essiambre helps change agents and departments in one-on-one and group settings to be seen, be heard, and be effective in bringing about change in the organization and/or in their personal lives. She provides consulting and facilitation to organizations to improve communications and collaboration, smooth out the change / transformation journey, get to the root cause of an issue so it can be solved for good, improve processes, and implement successful lessons learned. And she conducts workshops, trains, and speaks on Energy Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, Being a Change Agent and more. If you or your organization could use support with your change effort or some inspiration, contact Rosanne for a complimentary consultation. Rosanne is a Change Agent Coach, Facilitator, Six Sigma Black Belt, Change Management / Continuous Improvement Consultant, Speaker, and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner with more than 20 years experience working on a variety of transformations across a diverse set of industries both domestically and internationally, while continuously improving herself.