More Work Drama...Bitch Fest Alert.
Yesterday was another craptastic day at the 'Ko. I am thanking goodness that today is my day off, because I almost went postal. I just can't believe the level of not caring that goes on there. For example:

Miss 'S' proceeded to do the following in the course of six hours: give someone the wrong prescription, give someone the wrong brand of contact lenses and let someone take merchandise without paying for it. Keep in mind sister has been an optician and working here for 7 years and is ABO certified. Hmm. She also couldn't tell if the lab had switched the lenses in a pair of glasses. I mean, either the right Rx is on the right side or it's on the left side. There really is no gray area here. But she didn't know for sure. Again, hmm. This is a regular thing for Miss S. She is just never sure about anything and refuses to make the call on situations that are pretty cut and dry. Either it's right or it's wrong, either we can or we can't. She has been coached about this many times, but it does no good. And it's frustrating as hell. Because we all have to end up doing her work, because she leaves piles of things with notes on them for us to "double check her on" daily.

Or there is the insurance problem. I don't claim to know everything about insurance, but I've learned some things and I try to share them with the team so we can all be informed. People absolutely refuse to ask patients if they have insurance when making an appointment or when they arrive for their appointment. Or when they sit down to do their order. It's only after they are asked to pay the patient says "oh, what about my insurance" and we have to spend time calling and figuring it out while the patient is waiting and we're busy. Sometimes the patient doesn't want to wait, and they end up leaving without paying while we check on it, and then we have to track them down for copays and remaining balances. If we could just ask when they make the appointment, we can check on it before they get there and save everyone some time and know exactly what the patient has to pay. I've suggested this, and everyone thinks it's a great idea but no one can do it.

Or there is the issue of patients with two insurances...one primary and one secondary. No one believes me that you must bill a primary insurance first before a secondary will pay, regardless if the primary is paying anything or not. I know this for a 100% fact, yet I am still met with "oh, no you don't...that's ridiculous" by my fellow opticians. And then oh! wow, guess what! You billed the secondary and it didn't pay and now we have a mess of having to go back and bill the primary, which we can't do with our new system, so we have to hand write a claim and wait another 30-45 days and then bill the secondary.....it just goes on and on like this. And they never learn!! And who is the one doing all the extra paperwork and making sure the hand written claims are correct?? ME! And I do it because they can't be bothered to learn to do it right. It's a mess.

This is just a sample of how my days go. And it's not like anyone is new....the newest optician has been there almost 3 years. The rest of us 7 or more. It's this same stuff every damn day. It's maddening. And it's only a frstration to me because everyone comes to me going "oh, I am not sure how to fix this" and I try to show them how to do it or end up doing it myself.

I realize that we are a team, and that we all need to help eachother out. I am perfectly happy with that. But it's when people do the same crap again and again and again, and then leave it for me to fix. I'm getting really fed up with it. And I don't know how to express that without sounding like a bitch. I mean, maybe I am just overreacting. Maybe I just don't need to worry about it. But it's hard not to when shit is dumped in my lap or when a patient calls and I get an earfull about things not being right, bills being incorrect, etc. And I happen to care about our practice. I care that patients receive a good experience and I care that thing are done correctly...not only for out patients benefit but ours as well. If we can just do it right the first time, we save ourselves time and frustration.

But I realized something yesterday....no matter how much I try and show people or encourage them or coach them, they are not going to change. And nobody else seems to have a problem but me. So I am the one who needs to change, and I think I need to start by not caring so much. I will continue to do things correctly and always do my best, but to hell with what everyone else is doing. I just give up on them. I am not the manager, and if she's okay with it then fine.

And my new rule is that if you bring something to me that you screwed up on, I will show you how to fix it and you will fix it. I will not be fixing it. If you leave it for me with a note and you are not there when I find it, I will leave it for you with a note telling you what you need to do. I will also be forwarding on patient complaints to the optician who took care of them or the manager.

I will now spend the remainder of my day of decompressing, meditating, and letting everything go. I am no longer responsible for everyone else and I don't care what they are doing. I will return to work with a new, positive attitude. My hands are washed. Done.