Week 7, Day 5
Well, that had to be one of the biggest wastes of time and money I've ever experienced!
I made the journey to Rousai Hospital again today for what the doctor had said would be the final consultation regarding that stubborn, little bastard of a stone slowly wending its way down the pipe. The drive there was a particularly irritating one. I managed to get out of the house a little late again (children...), so naturally traffic was clogged up and moving at a snail's pace all the way through the part of Kamisu City that used to be Kamisu Town (motto: "Who cares if this place sucks as long as it looks nice?"). I managed to hit almost every light red, and at one point I got trapped behind a pair of morons who had a minor bumper-thumper and decided to deal with it by simply clicking on their hazard lights and sitting in the middle of the lane while they waited for the police. (You'd think people would at least have the decency to pull over onto the nearest shoulder, but noooooo.....). By the time I rolled into the hospital parking lot, I was almost half an hour late for my appointment.
Fortunately, I only had to wait about twenty minutes before I was called in. I was told there would be no tests, no X-rays, and no CT scans. I just went straight in to see the doctor. The entire session went something like this:
Doctor: Are you still having any pain?
Me: No, not really, at least nothing much.
Doctor: Nothing that really bothers you?
Me: No.
Doctor: Everything is normal for the most part?
Me: For the most part, yeah. Well, there was a time when, because of my son's sports festival, I went a full day without taking the medicine, and I suddenly had cramping...mainly in my left kidney.
Doctor: The leftone??!? But there's no stone in that one!
Me: Yes, that's right. It really wasn't all that bad, but I've never had pain there before.
Doctor: Sports festival, eh? I'm going to assume it's a sore muscle.
Me: That's probably it.
Doctor: Anyway, you can probably do without the medicine. I'm sure the stone is close to passing, if it hasn't already. I'm going to write you a prescription for another two weeks' worth, but don't take it. Just hold onto it in case you need it later. I'd like you to come back next month so we can give you another CT scan to confirm whether or not the stone is still there.
Me: Okay.
Doctor: Take care. Goodbye.
And for that I had to pay almost $5 at the counter, meaning my insurance got billed even more.
I didn't bother filling the prescription, and I don't think I will. If the doctor says I don't need it, I'll take him at his word. Besides, I still have plenty left over from the last time that I don't need.
Let's see if next month's session lasts longer than a minute.
I made the journey to Rousai Hospital again today for what the doctor had said would be the final consultation regarding that stubborn, little bastard of a stone slowly wending its way down the pipe. The drive there was a particularly irritating one. I managed to get out of the house a little late again (children...), so naturally traffic was clogged up and moving at a snail's pace all the way through the part of Kamisu City that used to be Kamisu Town (motto: "Who cares if this place sucks as long as it looks nice?"). I managed to hit almost every light red, and at one point I got trapped behind a pair of morons who had a minor bumper-thumper and decided to deal with it by simply clicking on their hazard lights and sitting in the middle of the lane while they waited for the police. (You'd think people would at least have the decency to pull over onto the nearest shoulder, but noooooo.....). By the time I rolled into the hospital parking lot, I was almost half an hour late for my appointment.
Fortunately, I only had to wait about twenty minutes before I was called in. I was told there would be no tests, no X-rays, and no CT scans. I just went straight in to see the doctor. The entire session went something like this:
Doctor: Are you still having any pain?
Me: No, not really, at least nothing much.
Doctor: Nothing that really bothers you?
Me: No.
Doctor: Everything is normal for the most part?
Me: For the most part, yeah. Well, there was a time when, because of my son's sports festival, I went a full day without taking the medicine, and I suddenly had cramping...mainly in my left kidney.
Doctor: The leftone??!? But there's no stone in that one!
Me: Yes, that's right. It really wasn't all that bad, but I've never had pain there before.
Doctor: Sports festival, eh? I'm going to assume it's a sore muscle.
Me: That's probably it.
Doctor: Anyway, you can probably do without the medicine. I'm sure the stone is close to passing, if it hasn't already. I'm going to write you a prescription for another two weeks' worth, but don't take it. Just hold onto it in case you need it later. I'd like you to come back next month so we can give you another CT scan to confirm whether or not the stone is still there.
Me: Okay.
Doctor: Take care. Goodbye.
And for that I had to pay almost $5 at the counter, meaning my insurance got billed even more.
I didn't bother filling the prescription, and I don't think I will. If the doctor says I don't need it, I'll take him at his word. Besides, I still have plenty left over from the last time that I don't need.
Let's see if next month's session lasts longer than a minute.
posted by The Moody Minstrel at
1:27 PM
2 Comments:
Quack, quack, quack, quack.....
That will be $5.00 please.....
word verification:
qfusaq - where one finds a qfu's balls.
By
Pandabonium, at 9:54 PM
Actually, considering Rousai's excellent reputation, I'd say it has more to do with kickbacks from the pharmaceutical companies.
I have a British friend, an engineer, who worked for three years at a company in Tokyo that markets medical diagnostic and treatment machines. They sent advertisements for a newly-invented machine to 20 different major hospitals in the Kanto region. In the case of 19 of them, each doctor in charge of the department that would use the machine sent a letter to my friend's company asking very bluntly, "What will you give me if my hospital uses your machine?" And the 20th? The doctor in charge of the relevant department there hinted very indirectly at more or less the same thing.
Money talks, and potentially lifesaving cures walk.
By
The Moody Minstrel, at 10:27 PM
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