Hadn’t seen one of those old pull a ticket, get a number, in a while somebody yells out your number after you watch them being on the phone on an obviously personal call for 5 minutes, and then you have 15 seconds to run to the front or the next number is called and you can either argue at high volume or start all over again machines.

That’s how you get to check in for your appointments, and then wait in line to pay you co-pay on the way out at an outpatient specialty clinic at a prominent medical school (I will not name it but its initials are UNC).

Maybe I should hold onto my stock in companies that produce antiquated, dehumanizing, irritating equipment. There still seems to be a market for such stuff outside of the deli counters (meat markets).

Maybe we need to stop of thinking of patients as meat. And stop administrative staff from acting like pickles.

It’s difficult enough to get patient cooperation in an urology clinic without introducing all of the Freudian and Gothic overlays.