So I went for my yearly well-woman on thursday and had a great time helping train an intern. We all start out somewhere, right? During the Q&A session we had a chit-chat about birth control, as usual. I explained that I've been off my pill for a few weeks now and she pointed and clicked etc. into the PC and then groaned as a pop-up window appeared. She then explained that whoever wrote their online medical records software options was a moron. If one clicks "No birth control" under "form of birth control," one then must explain why the patient is without birth control. Okay, fine, that's reasonable. What's unreasonable is that the software was pre-programmed with three choices as to why a woman would be without birth control:
a) She's a virgin
b) She's in a same sex relationship
c) She's been through menopause
The Dr has to go into another menu, click several options and then make an option D for whatever reason the patient gives for not wanting to take birth control at that given time all the wile snorting at a), b), and c).
5 comments:
My husband would go into a rage if he heard this story, Jilly. He is on this anti-computer kick, especially as it relates to health care, of having to rely on check boxes. I get to hear about it every day, how the health care industry is suffocating under the false security of computer programs. He says he's an analog man in a digital world. I just smile and shrug, then put salt into the wound and say how much I love my computer.
i don't have much of an opinion on the PC medical records, but i like the fact that my primpary Dr can pull up a file from my OBGYN and instantly see test results etc without me having to get copies of said records, make new apointments and wait a week or two to go back and have a chat about the results. I think that aspect will save lives, time and money. Wanting things to go back as they were before is often futile. I was more astonished at the VERY narrow-minded choices. You're either a virgin, a lesbian or menopausal if you don't want to use birth control? really?
i understand that we need some pre-set choices, but i get the feeling that at this OBGYN practice, few of the A, B or C choices fit the people frequenting the practice.
I think it's funny that they put enough thought into it to accommodate the possibility of a same-sex relationship but that they limited it to only virgin, lesbian or post-menopausal. Funny.
I'm posting not because I'm a virgin, a lesbian or menopausal but because my word verification is "nolita". And that perfectly explains my affection for all you old broards.
Ded, Nolita pretty much sums it all up, doesn't it? Could be the title of your next novel.
Post a Comment