Ok, last post of preachy, sermon-like content, I realize how this all comes across. I’ve been told that my presentation is Angry, Utopian, Redundant and Unclear. So let’s address those comments, as I believe I am speaking for the average patient across this nation. For some background, I’ve been working in healthcare IT since 1999. I have worked in 46 states, across all of the major cities and nearly 1,000 smaller cities and towns. For nearly 7 years I drove 1,500 miles per week at minimum and then for another 7 years I flew 3 weeks a month across the nation — point being that I’ve had 5,000 breakfasts and lunches at diners, talking with ‘the average American’ and hearing the stories of this nation. As you may guess, I’m not shy — and nothing is better than talking with the five 80 year olds sitting at the diner every morning at 6 a.m. in some small town. You hear stories going back decades, of what we were and what has changed.

So near death experiences aren’t the only failure of healthcare, like I said earlier, there are many stakeholders to blame — or hold to account. Where did it start for you as a patient, or as an employee (insider) working in healthcare, or as a caregiver trying to keep your parents healthy and alive?

Quick recap: I almost died, and United is poorly run and focused only on earnings and not patients. Done — let’s move forward. So how did I get in that hospital bed? Who was to blame? Well, let’s start with this one fun fact — even though there are many people to blame for many things in your life, the first person who needs to be blamed in every scenario is you. Personal accountability (an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions) is the focus of Patients First. We all need to take responsibility (able to answer for one's conduct and obligations) for ourselves before we can demand it from the other stakeholders in healthcare.

So where were we? Oh yeah, I got discharged on Saturday, August 3rd, at 2 p.m., and by Monday, August 5th, at 1 p.m. I received a denial of obligation from United. How did it get there that fast? Did they hire someone to drive it to me to make sure I knew they were going to screw me? Having a letter telling me that there was a ‘restrictive clause’ on page 50 of a 70-page contract that I had no right to review and negotiate was hilarious! It was better knowing that they recorded my two calls with their support team that clearly told me that my coverage allowed immediate use — remember, they told me the only ‘restriction’ was that the payment needed to be processed! I cannot wait to get those recordings during discovery — not sure if we will get there, but I know I’m not caving in just because someone threatens me with ‘going to collections!’

Ok, the last post was a bit evangelical, I’m sorry, but I didn’t know where else to start. Should I have just jumped into telling you how bad my healthcare experience was, or should we be evaluating this discussion from a more holistic perspective than just blaming all of the bad actors? I guess we’ll never know, but thanks for coming back!

Why a gorilla you may ask, well, let’s just say I’ve been called that a few times in my life. While I can be polished and executive in my delivery, I am also very blunt and just as aggressive as I am kind in my tone. As I write my personal story, and as I speak as a patient, I believe that full transparency is key, and that means full emotional transparency, as healthcare is not just ‘data and facts,’ it is also our mind, our emotions and our spirit — healthcare is as much love as it is any medical device, doctor or drug.