Working it?

Ever since F first began this nightmare of constant abdominal pain, we've had problems with getting pain prescriptions refilled. We don't know specifically where or who the weak link is, but we do know it's at the clinic. Somewhere between the fax machine and the door home, F's requests for refills often get lost or misplaced.
Since Dr. Weeks doesn't return her phone calls until 5 - 6 PM, we're left with no resources when she fails to call. (It's against federal law for an on-call doctor to approve a refill for a narcotic.) And so, we had to learn the hard way which days Dr. Weeks works half a day or not at all - as well as planning far in advance of the deadline.
The sure fire method, when we're at the end of the time-line, is to drive to the clinic, fill out a 'question for the doctor form' and wait - even when they urge us to go home and wait for the phone call. That's what had to be done this afternoon. As soon as F was done with her Dr. Pitchford appointment, N drove over to Salem Clinic and the two of them waited. It never takes long and then it's DONE.
What compounded the anxiety, was having the OHSU Pain Clinic fail to let us know they would no longer be handling F's Effexor prescription. How hard is it to post a message on her "My Charts" or have someone call and leave a message? Almost makes a person want to post something mean and nasty in a public place . . . ;> I'll leave the complete "OHSU Comprehensive Pain Center" rant for another post.
Lucky me "gets" to go back and see Dr. Huun mid-May for a pap redo. I think this makes the third time in the past 6-7 years. At least I don't fret over it anymore. When he called to tell me yesterday, he said he was still working on finding out about whether one of the doctors will take a transfer patient at the clinic.