For some time I’ve observed how technology and its gleeful adopters are leaving behind a number of customers/clients/patients (namely yours truly) who aren’t quite as adept as they are. I can struggle for weeks or months to master a new device, an update, a patch, an “improvement” of some kind. I’m still trying to learn my way around all the apps and settings on my 2-year-old phone and a “smart” tv of about the same age. Just about the time I figure something out, it gets updated or patched and I have to relearn the app, function, command, etc. — if I can find it.
Example: A week ago I got an email from my doctor’s office. It said to log into their patient portal to see the balance I owed. I spent about 30 minutes trying to log in their nifty new patient portal. Endless problems, including having to reset my password several times. Finally it informed me I was locked out. So frustrating! I was almost in tears.
(There was a time when I could dance — or at least walk — circles around my computer. I could confidently solve most problems. Technology was a tool I loved and used every day. But now … )
Eventually I managed to find and call the right phone number (even my phone dialer fights me) and reach a human. I was less than polite. Not everyone can navigate your nifty high tech patient portal. And by the way, if you can email me and tell me to log on to your portal, why can’t you just email me and tell me what I owe? (I know, that’s so low tech and old-fashioned.)
No “modern” organization is going to stop adopting the latest technology just to accommodate old people like me. I get that. You can’t stop for us.
Then last night, Bill Maher, in his usual salty style, went after all the new technology. And he made me laugh. He gets it. But he’s only 69. I’m 81.
I wonder what he’ll be saying 12 years from now …
Well, I was about to post the above and start watching the Super Bowl. Then my son emailed me and said calls and texts to me were not getting through. Seems I had two different issues with my phone, only one of which I was able to figure out and fix (I think), thanks to info on the internet. (Yes, yes, I consulted technology to figure out what was wrong with my technology.)
I am not a happy camper today.
“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.”
— Stewart Brand
Yes , it is very frustrating. It is also a problem to many of the lower inco e group here. They have smart phones but they do not understand all that they have to do if they have log in. They have to rely on others.
That’s about the only way to learn — from someone else who knows more about it than you. But it’s crazy if you’re trying to learn by yourself. My son came over earlier this evening and fixed everything for me — along with strict instructions that I was NOT TO CHANGE ANY SETTINGS. (I always think I can fix the problem … )
Like you, I’ve been left in tears some times trying to get the portal to accept my password, my date of birth, etc. Bring back the old days of talking to a real person (and not a foreign one who I can’t understand).
Or you finally get an answer and it’s a phone tree that takes you through three or four options (starting with choosing which language you want) and THEN tells you you’re the 4th caller in line. At that point you’re on hold and can’t do anything but wait (for how long?) or hang up (so you can do it all again later?). I suppose it’s cheaper than having a live person answering phones, but they should also consider the cost of making a lot of clients/patients unhappy.
It’s been one of “those days.” To top it off, my Super Bowl team is getting stomped. Humiliated, even.
There should be an option (once you get in) to switch off paperless notices. It’s a pain, but then you’ll know that if you owe anything, you’ll get a paper bill.
It’s what I did because a few years ago a glitch caused me to miss a balance due (I had to argue the fine away). Now, when I owe anything, I get a paper bill (but it still shows up on the patient portal).
I’m not sure which portal company you use, but I have four: one for my family doctor, one for cardiologist, one for my urologist, ENT, and few others, and one for my dermatologist.
That said, I don’t mind them much because after some initial starts, they all seem to be working pretty well . . . but I still ask for a copy of all my records at least once a year.
Funny video.
Yep, I really appreciated it, coming when it did.
She did tell me they mail out paper statements in addition to the online portal. What I didn’t go into was that my mailbox is in a bank of community boxes a block away, uphill. I only get up there a couple of times a month. This was my ophthalmologist’s portal. The other one I deal with is my family doc. I think they’re on their third different portal in the last year or so. Now that you mention it, they should automatically send us an annual summary or something. I get those from several other sources, but not the doctors.
Sounds as if your health isn’t too hot – or do all Americans have batteries of specialists ? [grin]
Can’t speak for anyone else. I only see a GP and a glaucoma specialist. Is that a lot? They do seem to generate a disproportionate amount of email (which never tells me anything other than to check their portal).
Alas, Colorado – I had written that comment to Disperser, but it got positioned too far down. Sorry my dear …
The first time I missed paying my credit card bill on time in two decades was after they went paperless.
When I finally got logged in to this particular portal, I saw a small balance owing from about 6 months earlier. Never a word from the doctor’s office. I wonder what my liability would have been if I’d never logged in and they’d never sent me a bill …
johnthecook…it all comes down to the “computer programmer”, garbage in- garbage out. If we are not of the same mind set as he or she is, or we don’t understand things like they understand things, we will be left groping in the dark until we can figure it out. BTW, good luck on trying to talk to a real live person to help us out. No doubt we will spend a great deal of time waiting for that to happen!
And it doesn’t help that my password keeper app often joins the conspiracy to confuse me — which isn’t hard to do.
Computer programmers are already being laid off and replaced by A.I. and as much as I appreciate the poetic justice I have my doubts about this being a good idea either.
My family doc has software that is maddening. It seems to be mostly designed around finance, them getting paid, but the medical information is consistently wrong and impossible for the patient (me) to correct. For example, it thinks I still need vaccinations, but I don’t. After every appointment it sends me an email saying a summary of my visit is available at the website. It is never anywhere to be found. i’ve complained to the office staff and they reply that they’ve complained to the software company. No progress now for years.
Computer madness has reached a new level for me. It’s now complicated by poor eyesight since I’ve had 2 cataract surgeries and can’t read normal-sized print. (I also have AMD and Fuch’s dystrophy.) Two more weeks and I can order eyeglasses to abate the problem.
Oh, I agree. Those patient portals are absolutely intended primarily to be record-keeping apps for the doctors. Letting patients in is just an afterthought and not very well implemented. Yep, I get those vaccination reminders too, even though somewhere my doctor can see that I’ve had them.
I had cataract and glaucoma surgery about 10 years ago, and recently another glaucoma procedure. Small type is a problem (fortunately most devices have a zoom feature). Glare and afterimages are also a problem with glaucoma (hence my theme with a dark background).
Which reminds me, my eye surgery center has its own portal, different from the ophthalmologist’s portal.
(Another part of the problem … my really awful typing.)
Colorado – thou bullshittest !!! Your typing is FINE !
Ah, but you don’t see the first drafts, the stuff that first hits the screen. I spend as much time proofreading and correcting as I do putting down my thoughts the first time.
BTW: I got up to my mailbox today for the first time in several weeks, so there was a lot of stuff. Yes, as promised, a paper bill for the item mentioned above. And another medical bill from a biller who apparently has no online patient portal and actually sends paper bills. (Gasp!) And for the laugh of the day, a bill from my health insurance company. For reasons I could not decipher they had done some recalculation of three prescriptions they paid for back in January 2024. They reverted to snail mail to send four (4) pages, printed on both sides, to bill me for what they calculated I owe them — .09. Nine cents! First class postage alone cost them more than that.
Don’t understand why your mailbox isn’t where you live. But then, even down here the postal service is now virtually a parcel delivery, and letters of any kind get very short shrift.
For us to get paper bills we have to opt in and pay. Great stuff, eh ?! – NOT.
LOVE Bill’s ‘new rule’ ! – that bloke is always on the money. He’s a bit like the US’ version of Ricky Gervais (I did say “a bit” …)
While it’s extraordinarily inconvenient for me, it is secure. The boxes are locked. Our mail is safe from thieves. Porch pirates are an increasingly common problem here; they take packages and would no doubt rifle mailboxes too if the boxes were on our porches. And obviously it saves time and money for the post office, not having to stop at every house.
In addition to the mailboxes, there are some lockers for smaller packages if they are sent via USPS. Amazon stuff and groceries come to my porch.
Oh, the latest thing is thieves stealing the master keys from the mail carriers. Then they can get into all the boxes in a block, or however many are on the carrier’s route.
I rarely see Gervais, but he always make it worth my time.
Yesterday I received an email from the first doctor mentioned above, the one whose portal locked me out. I quote:
“You have an update in your Patient Portal. To view the update, please log into the portal by using the link below:”
(link)
“If you no longer wish to receive portal notifications, please login using the above link and select the Contact Info section. You can then
update the ‘Would you like to opt in to email notifications?’ section.”
It’s a never ending battle.
And will be until long after I’m gone. My biggest concern is that it seems to be escalating. But maybe that’s just because I’m getting older and less competent with technology.
Believe me, I get it.