Doctor with the Google Glasses!

Today I had a follow-up appointment with my Rheumatologist.  Some of you may remember my  post about my appointment with  Dr. L  Return To The 6th Floor Office back in May. To summarize briefly in that appointment we talked about the frustrations of insurance companies, he asked me to see a dermatologist to have my skin biopsied to confirm my diagnosis of Lupus that way.

I did, see a Dermatologist by the way,  on Friday. It was a mostly uneventful appointment, except for the prescription of a very expensive steroid lotion I am to use the next time my rashes appear. When I say very expensive, retail value is $415, Thank goodness I have insurance that allowed me to bring it home for $5, otherwise it would have stayed at the pharmacy. I am also to Dr. W  immediately so they can get me in for biopsies. He did review the pictures I keep of my rashes and he concurred, they are lupus rashes.

Now back to today’s appointment. To say I was nervous about today’s appointment is an understatement. It started Thursday. I had received a call on Thursday from someone in his front office stating they no longer accepted my insurance and that my appointment was canceled. After a very panicked 10 minutes the same woman called back saying she had made a mistake and that she had added my appointment back to the schedule.

When we got to the office this afternoon I mentioned this to the check in lady, and she just laughed it off. I had already decided I was going to mention it to my doctor so I didn’t press the issue.

After a short wait I was called back by my doctor’s awesome nurse. Aside from the front office staff, the staff at his office is plain awesome. She checked my vitals, reviewed my meds. Then she looks at me and says “Dr. L will look a little different when he comes in today.” “Oh?” I questioned. “He will be wearing google glasses, here you can read about them while you wait for him.” she handed me a flyer excitedly and then exited the room. I handed it to Doug so he could read it while I   filled out this little form I have to fill out at each appointment about my pain level, how it has impacted me the past week, and how all parts of my illness have impacted me. Then I read it. They are implementing them to help decrease the time their doctors have to spend behind computers and to increase the time they get to spend with their patients. Basically there is a small camera and microphone in the google glasses and they transmit information to the doctor’s assistant who can then enter the information. The assistant can also feed information to the doctor during appointments that helps them to better assist the patient without the doctor having to dig through files and the computer, or having to leave the room to research. They haven’t fully integrated the system yet, but it sounds pretty snazzy.

Dr. L came in and we had our usual appointment and I told him about my sun-induced flare in June, we talked about increasing my dose of Imuran briefly but decided not to. He then did the Jointman exam, which involves him squishing my joints and then going to the diagram on the computer and marking which ones are tender and/or swollen. After that we talked about other aspects of my illnesses. He then told me what labs he was ordering for the day, just general lab work today, and that he would see me back in 3 months.

Before we parted, I told him what had happened with the phone call. As you can imagine he was not happy. He listened, said that was unacceptable, and that there was not an issue with my insurance marked in my file. He then brought in the manager of the department the issue had originated from, it was discussed, and it will be handled. The lady I spoke with today was very apologetic, She assured me that my insurance was definitely accepted at their office, and they had a great contract with them so she had no idea what they person who called me was thinking. She also said that is not how things were handled when there were insurance issues either. That if one ever arises I was always given the option to remain a self pay patient, and that I would not just be dropped as a patient as this woman had tried to do.

All in all this appointment definitely eased my mind in a lot of ways. I know I’m in good hands, and it let me know that Dr. L will stand up for me when there is an issue. There’s a lot to be said for a doctor that is willing to do this. It can be rare to find that quality these days. My next appointment is at the end of October with him. Maybe I can talk him into letting me wear the Google Glasses next time!