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Date Posted:	August 18, 2006
Crazy but True Stories from the Trenches!
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Recently, a patient entered my office filled with disgust and anger. They had just received a blood work report which showed an elevated TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) level which was considered very high. Upon questioning the patient, I learned the patient had no functioning thyroid following a radiation treatment several years earlier. I quickly informed the patient that their elevated numbers on their blood work revealed the patient was either not taking their medication or their dose might be too low. Therefore, they should consult their family physician. It was at this point the patient told me why they were angry. It appears as though the patient's thyroid medication prescription had run out a couple of weeks prior to the blood work up. The patient had requested to have their blood work up prior to running out of medication, however, this request was denied. After being off of the medication for two weeks, the blood work was performed and not surprisingly was elevated. Due to the test results, the patient has to make a second office call and have further blood work to make sure the medication is correct. Angry and disgusted the patient will be paying for an unnecessary office call and follow up lab work. This is an all too often example of an avoidable situation. Through better scheduling and better patient follow up this mishap could have been avoided. Instead the physician appears as though they are just trying to drum up business and increase office income by having the patient pay for extra office visits and labs. If you hear or know of other flaws in our health care system please feel free to contact us and share you experiences. Happy Eating, Dr. Sean E. McCaffrey