THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610160047
SECTION: REAL LIFE PAGE: K7 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THE IMPERFECT NAVIGATOR
SOURCE: BY ALEXANDRIA BERGER, SPECIAL TO REAL LIFE
LENGTH: 73 lines
FROM THE MAIL:
What makes doctors' receptionists and nurses think they have control over my physician? I called my doctor twice last week, only to be put off by a receptionist. I finally went to the emergency room, where they called my doctor. I had a severe lupus flare-up and went into kidney failure. - K.M., Roanoke Rapids
A doctor's staff does not have a lock on control. Anyone who has a job as a go-between can exercise control. It's up to the person hiring employees to set the standards.
When speaking to your physician's office, explain clearly why you are calling. If you're vague, the person taking your call will react vaguely.
If it's an emergency, say so. Give your most severe symptom and your phone number, and ask when your doctor's return call can be expected. If you phone weekly with minor questions, make a list and schedule an office visit. Otherwise, you may be labeled a hypochondriac or nuisance.
If you call only for serious inquiries or emergencies, and you're ignored, write your doctor a brief letter outlining the exact incidents. If that doesn't work, find another doctor. . .and don't apologize!
Am I paranoid, or is there some secret desire on the part of all supermarkets to refuse to fully charge their handicapped carts? - M.A.S., Easton, Md.
Since we've never met, I don't know if you're paranoid. I like riding the electric handicap cart, which always dies when the basket becomes full, usually between the gourmet cookie aisle and rotisserie chickens. Do not get upset. This is supposed to happen. Without being able to push us in our cart to the check-out counter, managers would never get out from behind that locked cage.
From my own experience, I don't suggest the use of ``Reach Grippers,'' either. I accidentally flung a box of rice across two aisles. Also, remember the blocked aisles are a test of dexterity in maneuvering through obstacle courses. I've careened into meticulously stacked displays of cans, paper towels, toilet paper and crackers. I've also backed into a cardboard dummy of the Pillsbury doughboy, smashing his pudgy little tummy to bits. Where else can you get this humiliated? Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming. Think of the possibilities.
Why does my HMO refuse to pay for prostate screening as part of my routine medical checkup? - J.F., Virginia Beach
Because statistics are against you. Your HMO figures you're cheaper to treat if you get prostate cancer. Here's why. If the cost of treating you for prostate cancer is, let's say, $20,000 and a PSA Test runs $50, you would say that's cheap, right?
However, imagine that your HMO has 100,000 male subscribers who fall into the prostate-cancer age group. Your HMO would pay out about $5 million to screen its male subscribers yearly if all of them had a checkup. They're playing the law of averages.
When signing up with an insurer, find out what that yearly checkup includes. Ask about coverage for specific tests. Because many medical insurers are going public (a company traded on the Stock Exchange), the importance of a subscriber's health care is shifting in favor of shareholder profits. Wake up and smell your reduced premiums. The rule is ``Buyer Beware.''
Can you give me the name and address of the company you mentioned that makes therapy pools? - C.P., Edenton, N.C.
Islander Pools, 3303 Route 1 South, Lawrence, N.J. 08648, Phone: (609) 452-1766 or toll-free (800) 231-5678.
Now, for a real hoot. Enter my Supermarket Derby. Ride a handicap cart. The store manager with the longest running cart wins a genuine simulated EverReady rabbit, including drum. The store manager with the deadest cart will win a genuine simulated rabbit with dead batteries and no drum. Write the manager's name and store location on the back of your receipt and send it to me. Entries must be postmarked no later than Dec. 15. The winners will be announced in this column. I await your entries. MEMO: Write to Alexandria Berger, c/o The Imperfect Navigator, The
Virginian-Pilot, 150 W. Brambleton Avenue, Norfolk, Va. 23510. by CNB