User Experience: Healthcare in North America (Supply Chain Issues)

 

I lost my Mother in February. I had the honor of having her move in with me for the last nine months of her life. I envisioned special moments for us, showing her around my new home in Kentucky since 2014- and all that goes with making the most of our time with our Mother. 

We did have good times and good talks. However, it was constantly overshadowed by navigating the healthcare system on her behalf & acting as her advocate to the best of my ability for aspects of her care. At the same time, I was holding down a full-time job.  I had already exhausted my paid time off and had no more resources to use to be off work and keep the lights on-this compounded our stress. I felt like I was failing. 

She initially got sick in Oklahoma and spent a month in the hospital in Arkansas. When she recovered enough to discharge home, we moved her in with us in our home in Kentucky. 

I've experienced the healthcare system in two different regions during her care. I was taken aback when staff in Arkansas and Kentucky (hospital, rehab) commented that this "is just the way it is now; healthcare is not what it used to be."  Seriously? What did they mean by this? I felt dismissed and became incensed because, to me, it felt like they were ignoring my Mother's care, which was complex and complicated. 

Formerly, I am a healthcare worker—an LPN since '92 and an RN since '95. I hadn't worked in member/patient-facing roles since 2014 when I moved to Kentucky and began working in quality. I do have a clue about bedside manners.  With a background working in healthcare, you can imagine how that added to the astonishment of what I was repeatedly being told about the state of our healthcare system. 

We were nearing the end of the pandemic. I did not work as an essential worker during that time. Healthcare workers were under considerable amounts of stress and fatigue during this time of upheaval on a global level. Encountering heartbreaking scenarios with patients during this time, I can only imagine that it would take time, maybe even counseling to recover from this historic event that strained the world and brought it to a stop. 

They are tired. Apathy has set in widespread across our health system. Most folks don't care anymore. The pandemic burned them out, and they are still going like a Timex. God bless them. I have compassion and empathy for them. Genuinely.

The post's intent is not to be critical of healthcare workers. I am merely documenting what it's like to consume healthcare in post-pandemic North America as an advocate for my Mother and myself in the wake of her passing. 

I'm not writing as a healthcare professional but instead, as a consumer of healthcare that has an understanding of healthcare delivery, billing practices, as well as health plans. It's like having a 360 view of the frenzy of delivery of services and claims processing through to health plan communications.

No one is listening these days—just my current perception.

There were supply chain issues with Mom's care.  She and I had to buy her wound care supplies until the facility could find them stocked with an approved vendor.  I couldn't figure out how I could find her medical supplies so easily on Amazon, but they could not find what she needed in stock with their vendors.  Her rehab, wound care team, and a surgeon from another health system told me, "You can order it for her on Amazon; we can't get it."  Until finally, they could.  I was grateful I could help Mom by ordering her wound care supplies; this became very costly for her and me, though.  This is also something that should have been covered and billed to her insurance. 

Restrictions to where health systems can order, especially with supply chain issues, add stress & further financial strain for the healthcare consumer.

They could access some of her supplies, and for a short while, it worked out, and they could ship her supplies to our home.  This was short-lived, though. She went back into the hospital, then to rehab. With her admission to rehab, the supply chain issues started again.  

Supply chain issues interfered with not only her wound care supplies but also her medications- medications in rehab had to come from a contracted vendor. Upsetting when it comes to keeping her pain controlled and Mom comfortable. Rehab always seemed to get it figured out and help her, though, thank goodness. 

Healthcare systems need to be able to order where they can find the supplies, rather than a contractual obligation to a vendor that doesn't keep what patients need in stock which results in interruption of care delivery.

This is just one issue we encountered; I'll be writing about more cases like this here & also sharing my recent experiences with the healthcare system.

Our system needs help & reform.

Have you encountered similar scenarios with your loved ones?

(I'm grateful to be employed as a remote worker. I would not have been able to be there for Mom and care for her in her final days had I not been used as a telecommuter.  So much gratitude for my employer.)