My Dentist Is Texting Me

[Kestra]

No, it's nothing inappropriate. I just found a new dentist though and I'm surprised by all the tech he utilizes. You can make appointments online through his website, he has all these PDFs about everything, and you can opt to have your appointment reminder texted to your phone. I text with my shrink about appointments, too. It's a bit of a special case but he does give out his phone number to all his patients.

What are your stories about healthcare professionals and technology? Anything that surprised you?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

One time, I went to a Walgreens and I had to show the pharmacist how to enter my insurance information into his system. Most of the pharmacists I've met are not very tech-savvy, but it's pretty much required that today's pharmacies be fully wired and networked for electronic submission to insurance plans and ePrescribing support. Pharmacy is one area of the healthcare industry that seems to lag behind in terms of technology.

And despite the advanced equipment used in hospitals, there is still a startling amount of physical documentation done in many hospitals. You literally have someone fill out a form and carry it across the hospital, rather than equip the nurses and other stuff with tablets or iPads or whatever to transmit it wirelessly into the hospital's system.

I've seen a few doctors' offices where everything is computerized and wireless, though. It's pretty cool. They can show you graphs of things like how your kids are doing in terms of height/weight by percentile, look up your history and drug interactions in a few seconds, etc. I wish all offices were so equipped.

There is still a substantial level of resistance among older medical professionals, though. They don't trust technology and they have too much faith in their own abilities. Real people make mistakes, and you make more mistakes as you get older and past your prime. Technology is an invaluable tool for tracking data and making smart decisions about your medical care.

 

[RoJoHen]

I always get excited when Papa Johns sends me coupons via text.

 

[Hermiod]

Yeah - my mother's doctor's bloody receptionists who use every frakking method under the sun to hassle her endlessly, often about things that were supposed to be between her and the doctor.

They did the same thing with me until I just cut them off completely, hassling me because I hadn't made any appointments with them in years. Then they booted me off the register for not answering them. This is despite me being the best patient in the world - I don't go to my GP for anything yet he gets paid just for having me on his books. I get sick like anyone else, but I don't go to my GP for a sore throat. Apparently that's a bad thing.

 

[marillion]

My daughter had her first consultation with an orthodontist last week, in prep for her braces.. I was amazed at all the bells and whistles they had at their disposal. They presented us with a "welcome packet" full of all the details (including *gulp* the price breakdown - thank GOD for insurance), as well as full color pictures of her and her teeth. I assume these will be used for "before and after" purposes..

The technology involved kinda blew me away, especially when I thought about when I had braces 20 years ago.. These things will be heat applied to her teeth, rather than glued like mine. There will be no "bands", but rather adheared directly to her teeth..

We got a personal thank you note from the orthodontist a couple of days ago.. I told my wife that in reality it was a "Thank you for helping me continue to pay my kids' college tuition" note.. LOL...

 

[ManOnTheWave]

What surprises me honestly is the contrast from office to office. One dental specialist I used was similar to yours. I filled out all forms online. Had a map sent to me as a PDF as well as a detailed explanation of everything intended to be done including alternate and back up plans. Every room in the office had hundreds of thousands in equipment including networked computers. The man himself was as efficient as... I can only compare him and his staff to fictional characters. It was like having Reed Richards perform a root canal. The whole process took an hour. That's with going over already filled out paperwork with two assistants, meeting the doctor, and having the procedure with complications.

The opposite: I have sat for hours in pain in moldy, crumbling buildings filling out forms in triplicate occasionally seeing a staff member or two who seem to express open hostility to any patient simply because they were there.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

The opposite: I have sat for hours in pain in moldy, crumbling buildings filling out forms in triplicate occasionally seeing a staff member or two who seem to express open hostility to any patient simply because they were there.

This sums up my experience as an Air Force dependent going to a base hospital.

 

[bluedana]

Eventually, I'll start using Google Health or something similar, where you upload all of your medical records and give your providers password access. Then your docs can all see the same records, even if they are in different networks, practices, or hospitals. Sure beats the game of "patient telephone" I'm playing now ("uh, I think I was supposed to take that medication for six months. Or was it three?").

 

[Mary Ann]

The other day I received a text from our vet reminding me that our pets' vaccinations are due. It saves them the hassle of sending out reminder letters, but I still have to call them to make the appointment.

Several of the local schools send texts to all the parents, at least those who have given the school their mobile numbers. Quite a few parents never bother to read written letters sent home from school but they all read their text messages, so they're getting through to more parents this way.

 

[Capn Flukie]

Is he requesting you eat a bag of Oreos and caramels before your next visit?

 

[Holdfast]

No, it's nothing inappropriate.

What are your stories about healthcare professionals and technology? Anything that surprised you?

The NHS IT systems are beyond shit, I can tell you that much! Every single hospital I've worked in has slow outdated computers, inadequate bandwidth, insufficient memory, hopelessly cobbled together buggy software, constant glitches, etc, etc, etc.

I have visited some pretty impressive private clinics in the UK and elsewhere though. Really cool appointment systems, algorithmic bed management software, touchpad bedside wireless investigation requests and results, charting results displays, etc, etc.

Some very hi-tech healthcare technology out there, if you have the money!

 

[RJDiogenes]

When I was at BMC, the best databases were the ones I wrote-- and everybody came to me to write one for them because the hospital systems sucked so much.

 

[Trekker4747]

 

[HighteeHeller]

I was at the doctors the other day and was surprised that everything they did was on the computer. No more file folders filled with all my personal info. No quick scribbling of symptoms.

My script was printed out and signed by the doctor. Not even a nice little illegible piece of pad paper anymore. It almost made me wistful for the past.

 

[Kestra]

No, it's nothing inappropriate.

Give it time. My first appointment is on Wednesday.

Terrible. I'm like a gold mine for dentists.

 

[Thena]

When my father went in for surgery last year, I was surprised at how they used technology in the waiting room! On arrival, they gave me a patient number corresponding to my dad's chart. There were monitors throughout the room listing each patient number and telling you whether there were in pre-op, surgery or post-op. Once they were moved into recovery, the monitor also told you which recovery room.

My last experience with a hospital waiting room was 8 years ago, where a nurse found me a chair in an empty hallway, forgot about me and left me there for an hour after my dad was taken back to his hospital room. This was much nicer to have some of the anxiety taken out of the waiting experience.

I may have pleaded with Dad to go back to that hospital if he ever needs to have surgery again.