It Worked...But How Do I Know?

I realize when a new technology comes out everyone wants to play with the new shiny toy and everyone forgets about last year's Big Thing. 

E-Scripts are here to stay...for good and bad. 

But let's not forget that phones still work. 

Here are my two examples from this week: 

1. Received a fax Rx for Elidel Cream. Three minutes later, I received another copy...of the same Rx for Elidel Cream. 

Checked voicemail 12 minutes later and heard this message from the prescriber:

"I'm leaving this on voicemail because I tried to send it and I'm not sure my system is working so I thought I'd just call it in."

Good Job Herr Doctor! Instead of actually SPEAKING to one of my staff to confirm your ineptitude at using your system, you left me a voicemail telling me you're not sure how to use your system and you're not sure how to confirm whether it worked. Had you talked to me, we could have told you we received 2 copies on fax...and now a voicemail. So you still don't know if it worked or not...

Then it happened...My e-script queue lit up with 6 scripts for the same patient. 

Guess what? All 6 E-Scripts were the exact duplicate of the 2 faxes and the voicemail. 

That's 9 copies of the same prescription. All because Dr. Ass Baggins thought he didn't know how to work his system and didn't talk to me. 

2. Rx sent over for Test Strips. 

Dr. Douche Baggins selected Qty:90 and Form: Strips. 

Directions: Test 4 times a day for 90 days. 

I scrawled upon the Rx: This is wrong. Please fix and resend. These come in boxes of 100 and you should write for 400 strips for a 100 day supply. 

Fast forward 3 hours later after the patient called to complain and I received...the EXACT SAME incorrect Rx. 

This time I wrote: You are now 0-for-2. Please fix and resend or, better yet, CALL ME so I can walk you through how to write a prescription. My phones still work. So do yours. Please call me. Please. I humbly beseech, nay implore you to call. 

(They never called, they never fixed it...)