OHIP and Government Bureaucracy
I decided to write a blog about what we are going through as a family dealing with what we hope will eventually be a hip replacement for my wife. As I write this she is having severe pain in her hip and we are starting the process of having it assessed with the expectation that she will eventually need a hip replacement, but then we are getting ahead of ourselves. This situation first of course must be diagnosed and get into the health care system so that her hip can be assessed and then the proper corrective action taken. OHIP and Government Bureaucracy will ensure that this process is long. We hope the solution is a hip replacement and not something far worse.
We hope that our friends south of the border read this blog and can avoid the significant delays and extra pain that patients experience in Canada, particularly in the province of Ontario. Our health care is covered, so we cannot go broke, but we do have to wait a long time before solutions to our health issues are resolved. I am going to track the appointments and elapsed time so that readers can appreciate just how much time is involved in our situation. We are also going to attempt to be proactive and expedite appointments etc where and when we can. OHIP and Government Bureaucracy has its plus and negatives.
OHIP and Government Bureaucracy – Time Line
| Date | Elapsed time | Description | Action | Comments |
| July 15,2014 | It Begins | 1st visit to Dr | request xRay | |
| July, 2014 | Xray results suggests minor arthritis | Try Physio | ||
| Various | At least 10 visits to Physio | some initial improvement | ||
| Nov 19,2014 | 123 days | Pain getting much worse, patient requests MRI | Doctor’s office to Fax to MRI clinic, cannot call or speak to clinic | Frustrated |
| Dec 1,2014 | 135 days | Visited Montfort MRI clinic, they have no record of any request | Called doctors office, left msg, he returned call, his office will check tomorrow to see what is going on and refax request | Really frustrated |
| Dec 2, 2014 | 136 days |
Doctor’s office called to indicate fax had been resent to clinic |
Checked with Clinic, fax again not received. Receptionist promised to follow up and did, confirm another fax sent and received. Now must wait for triage and scheduling, expect a week and a half further wait. | Really really frustrated, can go on cancellation list. |
| Dec 5,2014 | 139 days | MRI clinic called | Booked appointment for Jan 11th, Sunday night, over 1 month away. Asked to be on a cancellation wait list, confirm next week | At least it is now scheduled |
| Dec 5, 2014 | 139 days | Physio | Technician feels that physio is not working, suggests stopping physio, wait for MRI | Alarming |
| Dec 10, 2014 | 144 days | MRI Clinic Called | Wait list paid off, she is scheduled today for the MRI, a 30 day improvement | Feeling Better |
| Jan 3, 2015 | 168 days | MRI Scheduling Called | We received a call from a scheduling clerk regarding the first request, which had been sitting on her desk for sometime while she was on vacation! | Frustrated, very poor management, who was back filling? |
| Jan 3, 2015 | 168 Days | MRI Scheduling called | I filled her in on the status. she was able to tell us that the test results were received on Dec 10, that the report was prepared on Dec 12, and mailed Dec 15. Now why has our doctor not called?? We call him on Monday | Some doctors have auto fax, ours apparently does not, otherwise he would have already had the results and called us. |
| Jan 6, 2015 | 171 Days |
Called Doctor to make an Appointment |
1st day they are open after the holidays, have MRI report | Appointment scheduled for Jan 8, 2015 |
| Jan 13,2015 | 178 days | doctor indicated test results showed mild arthritis and mild joint deterioration, no action needed to be taken, prescribed anti inflammatory which have significant side effects | Asked to be referred to specialist | Expect a long wait time |
| May 15, 2015 | 304 days | Called doctors office to follow up, asked to resend fax to hospital | ||
| July 5,2015 | 357 days | Finally received call to go to hospital for an assessment | ||
| July 13,2015 | 365 days | Xrays and physio therapist assessment | Will be referred to surgeon, another wait of approximately 2 months | |
| Oct 23,2015 | Too Many Days | Met the surgeon finally. Operation probably in 3 months. | Ultra sound guided steroid injection will take 2 months, going to a private clinic in less than a week | |
| May 2016 | Too Many Days | Met the surgeon again. Operation probably in 3 months towards the end of Sept. | On a wait list | |
| June 1, 2016 | Too Many Days | Phone call from hospital. Another patient cancelled | Wait list paid off | |
| June 10 | Too Many Days | Operation takes place | Three days in the hospital. Good care, Physio and recovery will take 6 weeks | Need lots of support to recover |
For more information about our health care system, click here.
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