For What It’s Worth by

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

Dr. Melfi,