The details

Pharmacy Tech: "That will be $122"

Me: "      !!!"

Me again: ".... um, that seems like... a lot."

Pharmacy Tech: "Let me check... ah, do you have your insurance card? Looks like what we had on file didn't go through."

Me: "Yes, here ya go."

Pharmacy Tech: "Okay, this time it went through, it'll be $39"

Me: "Much better. Thank you."



The goods: 1 oral antibiotic in the form of a pill as big around as my pinky to be taken every twelve hours, though not on an empty stomach; 1 topical antibiotic in the form of an ear dropper to be applied four times daily, but only after being well-shaken; 1 oral decongestant/expectorant in the form of yet another pill as big around as my pinky to be taken likewise every twelve hours.

If I even fathomed taking both of those pills at the same time, I would choke to death, as ironic as that would be. Choking to death on medicine and all.



It has to be said, though, that my doctor's office is pretty darn cool, I've noticed. Since I don't go there much, the appreciation is not typically expessed because said coolness is not oft observed. I wish I could shower similar praise upon my children's doctor's office (their doctor is WAY cool, but some aspects of their office is NOT).

It had been 2.5 years since I'd been to the doctor, despite many ailments in between that I chose to walk off. I have to be approaching the definitive possibility of permanent injury before I'll get off my bum for a visit to the DR. As such, I expected a rash of craziness upon returning to my doctor's office after the long hiatus. Paperwork, insurance verifications, DNA tests, background checks, and other associated mess factors, followed by a long wait purely for taunt-value.

But much to my surpise, it was quite the opposite. First, I called the office around 8am, expecting to have to wait until later in the afternoon if not the next day to be seen. But they had a 10am appointment for me. So I left work about 9:30, got there with fifteen minutes to spare so that I could get started on that mass of paperwork, but there wasn't any. Really!

So I got to watch Kelly Ripa, I mean Regis and Kelly, for a few minutes, and at or near 10am, the tall, cute, red-headed nurse calls me back to her little room for the various physiological assessments. All of my rates and weights seemed to check out well, though I was personally agast at my weight (148! The horror! [coming from a not-too-long-ago 130 lb featherweight]). The nurse then took me to the doctor's examination room, and gave me a print-out of what they had as my demographic/insurance information and asked that I cross out anything that wasn't correct, make corrections, and turn the paper in when I check out. How simple was that? It was a single, one-sided sheet, and I had to make like three corrections!

Sure, I waited probably ten minutes for the doctor, but it was okay, as I found myself an ear diagram in the room that I studied thoroughly, hoping to self-diagnose. When the doctor walked in, I explained that I've not been able to hear out of my left ear for a week. He proceeded to put his pointy ear-checking device in my ear and then quickly in my nose, and then he sat down to start writing prescriptions. You have an ear infection and a sinus infection he says. Must have been pretty apparent.

And that's it! I'm sent to the front desk, which is just around the corner. I turn in my demographic adjustments, pay my co-pay ($15), and actually take it upon myself to give her my insurance card (since they NEVER asked for it), and suggest she photocopy it "just in case."

I'm in my car driving to the pharmacy to drop off my newly acquired prescriptions BEFORE 10:30. Never in my life have I been processed through a doctor's office that efficiently. Cool, huh? Heck, I think I spent more time at the pharmacy trying to get my insurance crap worked out.

So, here's to you Mr. Unappreciated Doctor-guy. I salute you.