Assumptions

There's a crass saying about assumptions.  I'm sure I don't have to spell it out for you.  Bottom line, assumptions usually stink.  Especially when people are so busy they don't have time for people. Computers were supposed to cut down on the use of paper.  Wrong assumption.  Today, computer experts assume everyone else is as computer savvy as they are.  Again a wrong assumption. Computers are also supposed to lighten the workload.  Wrong assumption.  If they did that, why are people busier than ever?

My little rant has its roots in an email I got yesterday from the hospital where my doctor has his practice.  I've been experiencing some puzzling and painful health issues the last couple of months. With the weekend coming up, I began to be worried that the situation would get out of hand and I don't want to use the emergency room.  Then, too, I read an article that said my symptoms should be seen by urgent care rather than emergency.  Off I go, only to be told that they do not have the proper equipment to determine the cause of my situation.  They took a urine specimen and ruled out UTI. Maybe.  They took blood samples to determine infectious possibilities.  Maybe.  Then, they referred me back to the doctor who told me to go to the emergency room 3 days ago.  Instead, I made an appointment to see him Monday.

I get home from my wasted trek to Urgent Care and on my computer is not one, but 2 emails from the hospital telling me to get my information from an email or their web site or some other silly computer program.  Humbug!  They are assuming I know how to navigate this machine I have been fighting with since 1986.  And I have been foolishly assuming people in the medical profession need to see and talk to people in person in order to address illnesses and treatments.

My mother used to say she'd lived too long.  I'm beginning to feel the same way.