Why am I surprised?

By now, you will agree that I should not be surprised by anything the local medical establishment can throw at me. But I am. I believe I wrote earlier about the wisdom of the doctor at the Hematology Clinic, who said, and I quote "It's silly for you andd your mom to sit here for two hours only to find out that she doesn't need a shot of Procrit." I couldn't have agreed with him more, because two hours in the clinic translates to 3 plus hours of my time, counting driving to and from, etc., and a very long afternoon for a 93 year old.

So, today, following the protocol suggested by him, I got the results of the labs done on Friday, and since her hemoglobin was below 11, I called the Hematology Clinic to schedule the Procrit shot. Why did I think it would actually be that easy? Because I'm naive and trusting, and it seemed like such a common sense approach.

First, the woman I was told to call wasn't at her desk. OK, no big deal. She'll call me back. Instead, another woman calls and tells me that Dr.Sonnenborn isn't in the clinic today, and they'll have to talk to him tomorrow. O.k., that's not a problem. Then she tells me that if Dr. Sonnenborn wants her to have a shot, that she'll have to have the labs done again in the clinic, because Medicare has strict rules covering what her number has to be in order for her to have the Procrit shot (and for them to pay the $150.00 for it). So, guess what that means? A two-hour visit to the clinic. And lab work that costs a cool $784 dollars. Repeated. For nothing. She's heading into anemia and needs the shot. It's that simple, based on what the doctors have said. Oh, and should I mention that according to the women at the clinic, Langdon Place hadn't faxed the lab results to them? Maybe they sent them to the doctor's office. . . . what are the chances?

So, we're back to square one. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $200.00.