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Last week a patient sent me one of their employees who was in agony. He had had a toothache for two days and was directed to my office.
I was able to get him an immediate appointment with an oral surgeon to have his tooth extracted. While Donna was on the phone with the surgeon, I saw how much pain the young man was in and offered him Novocain to immediately stop the pain. and of course, he accepted.
The young man was put on the phone to speak with the surgeon's office and when he hung up, he told us that he could not keep the appointment because he had no money and no credit card. He left our office before we could tell him that my staff made an 'Executive Decision" that WE would pay for him to have his tooth extracted. Unfortunately, he did not have a cell phone and we could not reach him to tell him to go to the surgeon's office for treatment.
I don't care about what someone's political or philosophical beliefs are about poor people but when someone is standing in front of you IN AGONY, it is hard not to want to help another human being.
[Aside: You might be thinking, "But your office does not accept Medicaid." Correct and I never will. The ONLY people that bear the burden of Medicaid are physicians and dentists. Their reimbursement will not even pay the hourly wage of a top notch assistant."]
There has to be a better way to care for those that cannot care for themselves. The inability to solve this problem speaks more about who WE are than about those who are helpless.
What would you do with another human being with intense pain standing before you?
