For What It’s Worth by Dr. Melfi, Ph.D.

I’ve received quite a few responses to last weeks column about the di culty of getting an appointment to see a physician now that the local hospital has its hands in scheduling at a central station. In my opinion it is cold, unfriendly, and seems to lack empathy of those who eld the calls, but perhaps there’s nothing they can do about it, and perhaps those receptionists are sick and tired of hearing how a sick patient needs to be seen sooner. ere can be blame all around, or perhaps nowhere, maybe it’s just the sign of the times. I do not know of any physicians who are uncaring, although some may be, but I do know that I have heard talk of some of them dissatis ed with the way things are working, so frustration everywhere.

If I ran the medical facilities, I’d have a few ideas to toss around. For one, I think it’s silly to give a prescription to patients who are leaving the emergency room. If these people were healthy enough to get around, they wouldn’t be spending hours waiting to be seen in an ER. In hospitals I have worked in, in other states, and in other decades, there was an all night pharmacy in the facility that could ll the prescriptions right then and there. I mean, I know there are pharmacies associated with our hospitals…that is how inpatients get there medications. Why not help out a few patients who have no one to go to the drug store for them? at would ease their minds, and allow them to focus on getting well. e next thing I would be thinking about is the need for more convenient urgent care centers in neighborhoods. ere is one in Jensen, one in Palm City and one in Stuart, o the highway, but there are an enormous number of senior citizens who either can’t drive on the highways, shouldn’t be driving on the highways, or are too sick to get themselves help. If not, then how about a hospital owned transport company, not ambulances, who can take sick people to facilities that will treat them on the spot, instead of having them stand in a virtual line for months waiting to be seen. By then, they’ve either gotten better, or unfortunately, much worse. In case the higher-ups haven’t factored in the need to assist people, especially the elderly, widowed and alone, who o en can’t or won’t call an Uber. e elderly are worried about their safety, getting into a car with a complete stranger, and I don’t blame them.

I don’t know how these issues can be addressed, how much money it would take, who could pay for these bene ts, and if anyone even cares to try to rectify our medical situation, but if anyone much more intelligent than I am could tackle these problems, please let us all know.

For What it’s Worth, no one feels more alone than someone who is sick, and no one has a worse doctor than themselves when they attempt to selfmedicate for lack of bona de, quali ed, timely, medical attention.