Dear Editor:
Last weekend, my daughter came down with what I was certain, from past experience, was strep throat. We went to the local clinic where the doctor told us it was not strep; it was a virus that would pass. Thankfully, he took a culture.
Two days later, when over-the-counter meds were not quelling the fever or the pain and her throat was too sore for anything but crushed ice or to even communicate, I called the clinic back to see if there were any results from the culture.
The culture revealed that it was in fact strep throat, but the clinic would not call in a prescription for us. They insisted that I had to drag my now extremely sick child out of bed and back for another visit to "reassess her need for a prescription."
Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else? The clinic had already seen her, verified her identity with the B.C. Care Card I presented to them, noted her symptoms in a chart and physically taken a throat culture from her. How is another visit warranted at all?
I'll tell you how: Another visit means another billing to MSP. It's a cash grab. Thank goodness the culture results had been copied to our family doctor. One quick call and the prescription was called in to our local pharmacy, without issue. Our family doctor was appalled that the clinic hadn't done this in the first instance.
If the government wants to tighten up irresponsible spending, it should take a look at the MSP program and how often it may be that MSP is being billed for unnecessary visits. Not only is this a colossal waste of money, it is extending wait times in medical clinics.
Mandy Koonts North Vancouver
