Exam Info

Sticking It to the Man

Everybody has one of these cases. It's the person with the questions-from-hell.

I'm not talking about the usual stuff. It's not, "Are you qualified to do this?," or "Why do they require blood samples?"

I can answer them, and deal with them, even in the most ignorant of people.

The ones I'm talking about are the people for whom answers aren't enough. It's these kinds of questions:

"I think I should be able to get my urine specimen first thing in the morning when I get up. I don't think I should have to wait until you're here. I'll put it in a clean jar."

Or ...

"I'm not going to give out my drivers license number. That's private, and no, you can't see it."

Or ...

"I don't think they should be able to test for HIV. We should not be doing this to those poor people."

We've all dealt with similar questions. It's the ones where you can explain that you have to be able to verify that the urine specimen is their's. Or that you need to see their license to verify identity. Or that HIV is dealt with like any other potentially-terminal contagious disease.

And such people aren't moved by your answers. What they are moved by is authority. Because there is a tiny percentage of the population that acts like small children asking, "Why?!" And because parents sometimes have to say, "Because I said so," that's the way these folks must be dealt with, too.

My variety of "Because I said so" for these folks is "The insurance company requires it. It's their regulation. I'm sorry, but my hands are tied." Or something like that.

Because while ultimately the individual has the right to refuse my services, it is ethically inappropriate to, for example, not verify identity, or cheerfully accept a room-temperature urine specimen. I won't argue with these folks or cajole them, or whatever. In the end, I just say: "We have to do it this way." Because sometimes we do.

posted by Jim Huffman @ 9:30 AM