This week we have been dealing with another patient / family “issue”. Princess got a phone call yesterday from a fellow who demanded to speak to me. It always amazes the both of us how many people think you can call a doctor’s office and get put through directly to the doctor. But that’s another post. Anyway, the caller (TC) wanted to report that the grandson of one of our patient’s (OP) saw her trying to sell her prescription medications. He stated he was the boy’s father.
Our protocol when we get a report like this is to call the patient. We have them come to the office with all their pills within 24 hours. If the count is correct, we don’t get terribly concerned, though we do monitor them more closely. When Princess finally got through to OP’s mother (PM), PM said that she had been expecting our call.
The family was “in court for nine hours” yesterday. The boy in question lives with his grandmother (OP). His deadbeat mother (DB) has been getting his assistance check and keeping it for herself. DB does not support the child. She does not work. DB evidently has multiple schemes to obtain controlled substances, money that she does not have to work for, etc. DB has an apartment with her boyfriend and her sister. TC was her boyfriend, not the boy’s father.
This same group (DB, TC and the sister) had created problems for another patient (P2) we have because she refused to sell them her medication. P2 had to move and has quit two jobs so far to get away from their harassment. She has a protective order keeping the whole group away from her. It doesn’t work very well. P2 says she feels like she needs to go into the witness protection program.
I don’t write soap operas, but I feel like I could feed ideas to a few of them. Both these patients travel over 30 miles to come here because the “group” has caused problems with so many doctors in the town they live in that no doctor there will see them. I wish I had known that before they came here.
I’m not sure how big a town you have to be in to not have to deal with this kind of stuff.
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