Normal Care Hours Don’t Work for Workers With Chronic Conditions

It looks like an airport lounge without the rolling suitcases. There are about 20 of us cancer survivor-types fiddling with our phones or reading the newspaper. A few of us are sipping delicious contrast fluid in preparation for a scan, but most of us are waiting to meet with our oncologists for follow-up or monitoring visits. All of us are between the ages of 20 and 70 and all of us are dressed for success – or at least for our jobs. What’s wrong with this picture? Why are employed adults spending a busy Wednesday morning waiting (and waiting) to visit our oncologists when we should be working? We are there because our clinicians and all the services of this comprehensive cancer center operate only during standard business hours, which is also when we are usually working. This means that something’s gotta give if the growing number of us cancer survivors are to attend to the chronic conditions caused by our treatment and be monitored for recurrences. In the meantime, what’s gotta give is us, our employers and our paychecks. Katherine Evans, a four-time cancer survivor who works in the financial services industry in New York City, has experience with this problem. “I looked at how much time it really takes to do all the scheduling, appointments, testing, preventive care and maintenance. And I realized that most of it has to be done between 9 and 5 on a weekday. I estimate that it takes roughly 15 to 20 percent of my workweek: almost one full day ever...
Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Tags: Cancer Chronic Conditions Patients Source Type: blogs