February 8, 2021

More Difficult Than Necessary

Much like shower curtains, this is a list of things most people never need to think about twice. 

1. Medical records

I was actually optimistic that this issue would be solved by the time I got around to this post. It's not. That I know of. 

Wells has parts of his Pittsburgh medical records that have not transferred to the DoD system. Just a few basics: a lead test that I know he had done and an anemia test that I'm assuming he had done. Who knows?!

All I can say is that the records department at the hospital here said they would check and "follow up". That was a week and a half ago. 

That was my third visit there, I think, since December. I can't even remember. All I know is that it's a good thing we don't have much in our medical history because the amount of effort it takes to transfer records from civilian care to DoD is just as much work as DoD to civilian. (The reason why this must be done is because Wells was born in civilian care and only ever saw civilian pediatricians..the DoD had no record of him.)

It's also worth noting that the records they DO have...: I brought with me. It was a paper copy of his vaccines that they inputted into the database during his appointment. So...

2. Vet meds

Our dogs are out of heartworm and flea/tick meds. One would normally just call the vet and pick up a refill. Since their vet is in Pittsburgh, I figured out pretty quickly that they will not physically refill the prescriptions because they won't send medicine through the mail. I tried to fill through Chewy and have the vet fax the prescriptions to them; the vet called me and said they "don't do that". (You may say I brought this on myself. I may think that too. But I would encourage any of you to think about if you'd want to spent the $$$ on year's supply of these preventative meds for two dogs vs. a 6 month supply.)

So I called the vet and arranged to have them MAIL me the prescriptions so I could MAIL them to Chewy. It's like 1989, I guess. 

The vet, first, got my address wrong. The vet, second, only sent me Scout's prescriptions and not Jett's.

They are truly Pittsburgh's finest. 

So I had to call back and ask them to send Jett's. They seemed to think this was the most confusing circumstances that were ever to be encountered.

Another reason why I had such trouble living there; non-military-affiliated towns are hard when it comes to adversity. 

Currently, I'm awaiting Jett's paper prescriptions and Scout's prescriptions are en route to Chewy headquarters in Kentucky. 

I think there's a 50/50 chance I'll end up taking them to a vet here for this problem before the month is over. 

You might ask why I don't just find another vet...I'm not taking them to the vet right now for an "office visit" just to get med refills. They always do a blood test before they prescribe heartworm meds and their current prescriptions are good until June. So, I won't do it. That's one hundred extra dollars, at least, that I refuse to spend right now. Plus they will have to go in June ANYWAY to get their yearly shots (I'm hoping against all hope that we will be en route to our next location and I can get out of KS without a $$$ vet visit.)

3. Orders

Yes. We are moving in May/June and, no, we don't know where we're going. I mean, we know where we're going but we can't look for houses, apply for jobs, or plan anything farther out than like April 2021 because, until it's set in stone, it means literally nothing. 

Literally. Nothing. 

If orders can change, presumed orders and job offers can disappear like that. 


4.  Prescriptions. 

Much like #1 up there ^, this just makes my head swim. Any time you get a prescription from a military doctor, they put it into the military hospital pharmacy. I've never been to the one here but, if it's anything like anywhere else in the world, military hospital pharmacies are like cattle chutes and they only serve you in terms of payoff if you're already in the building for something; it's a lot of sitting and waiting and things are "free" but..it's a you-get-what-you-pay-for situation. 

When given the choice, like over the past 3 years, I usually just opt for the nearest Walmart (in Laramie, in Pittsburgh, and now in Leavenworth) because Walmart refills/scripts are good anywhere in the country. It's one database. And you can usually just pay a few dollars if you have Tricare and be on your way. It's just so much easier. 

Here, I was given a referral to dermatology and a referral to OB/GYN and neither of those are housed in the hospital on base. Therefore, it was a whole other month-long debacle trying to just get appointments set up. 

And those doctors have their own pharmacies that they use, so I have spent the last few weeks navigating the greater KCK area, in search of the places they've sent my prescriptions (a face cream and metformin, if you're wondering, so not even anything that out of the box.) I still only paid $12 for both, total, but the super fun part was when I asked the dermatologist about a concern and she said "Oh your PCP has to take care of that. I can't do that."

So it's back to the army hospital for another appointment and the circle of confusion is complete. 

I'll stop at medical records while I'm there. 

6 comments:

  1. Good luck! You'll get it all figured out, one way or another.

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  2. I am getting tired for you! I hate having to deal with stuff like this, it is like a full time job!

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    1. IT IS A FULL TIME JOB. It's why I always go back and forth about working LOL. But I like to have something to focus on other than my to-do list, on the day to day. Bc it's super easy, as a military spouse, to just get constantly sucked into your to-do list.

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  3. Wow! It can be exhausting dealing with things like this! Thinking of you...

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  4. Oh my, I'm worn out just reading this. A few years ago, I started going to a mobile low cost vet/vaccination service for our dog. They do everything, including heartworm/flea/tick prevention. If we have concerns/illness, we still take him to the traditional vet. But the savings are incredible. I have also ordered from this Australian company for heartworm med at a savings. I have ordered several times, so it is legit - no prescription needed. It does take awhile to get the items from Aussie though! https://www.pets-megastore.com.au

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  5. This is all giving me anxiety like its happening to me

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