ebola silliness

[happyhoix]

Went for a mammogram the other day - always fun.

First I had to sign all the paperwork, so I sat at this nice lady's desk and she asked me some questions and then started handing me forms to sign. So far, nothing unusual.

Then the very last piece of paper I had to sign was one that asked several questions about ebola. Such as, have you been to these countries in Africa in the last month? I went ahead and filled it out, but then later, thought that 1) there isn't really anything at a mammogram clinic that should cause people to infect other people with ebola (unless they squeeze someone's poor breast so much it actually pops like a water balloon - something I've always suspected happens occasionally) and 2) if I really had been someplace where I could have been exposed to ebola, why are they finding this out while I'm sitting at this lady's desk, using her pen, breathing the air she is breathing? If they really want to avoid any exposure at all to potential ebola patients, why don't they have someone phoning the day before asking all the ladies these questions up front, and if they say they just happened to have visited Africa last week, reschedule them for a month later, so that they never set foot in the clinic at all?

Seemed a very pointless and silly thing to do, IMHO. As a patient, I would be more interested to find out which ladies sitting next to me in the waiting room have the flu. That's a lot easier to catch than ebola.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Hospitals generally do not make individual forms for each and every office. There is one standard questionnaire that everyone uses.

For instance my daughter is 4 but when I take her into the pediatrician they have to ask me if she smokes and check the appropriate box because the system isn't set up to be personalized. It's a standard format used by everyone in the hospital.

[Cookies Galore]

Has anyone projectile vomited or had explosive diarrhea on you? No? You don't have Ebola. That would be my question. Lol.

[lynnerself]

My daughter works as a medical receptionist at a clinic associated with a large teaching hospital. They have started asking these kinds of questions to all of their patients when they check in, no matter their age or what they are there for.

[Angel!]

It is ridiculous. On the other hand someone possibly died because the people that should have been asking the questions didn't bother. So now everyone asks the questions just so we don't miss anything.

We have a joke at work that every rule we have is because someone was an idiot without common sense at some point. My boss has been here for 17 years & can even name the people that caused the rule. No inappropriate attire because X use to show up to a professional office everyday in daisy dukes. No using the company credit card for personal expenses because Y made a huge purchase and thought she could pay back the company in payments.

This reminds me of that. X Doctor didn't bother to find out about Africa travels & now EVERYONE has to ask patients if they have been to Africa no matter the circumstances.