DC: Unable to get tested even though doctors think it is Coronavirus

[Anonymous]

These posters remind me of the situation when the virus first started in Italy (I have family there). People were very skeptical about the severity of the illness and people did not take proper precautions. Well now there are almost 6000 cases and 233 deaths. I really hope we get our act together and quickly.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-03-07/italy-to-impose-virtual-ban-on-entry-to-lombardy-corriere

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:This lady is an object lesson of what NOT to do. She went to the ER and spread her virus around for no reason. She wasn’t experiencing any emergency symptoms.

Hi I’m the one that is sick. I waited 4 days to go to the ER because I thought it was a bad idea too. The truth is no one else would see me, and I only went after a friend talked to the Director of the department of health who told me to go there. He also told me that if the doctor requested that I be tested then I would be tested. It definitely wasn’t my first choice but I am having trouble with my breathing and needed a doctor to see me. It was the only way to get any medical care. No one else has the capacity to deal with a case that needs isolation.

What did the doctor give you to treat your breathing? Do you use inhalers normally? It seems like you feel you needed medical care - even if CoV2 didn't exist. Who would you normally have seen?

I am curious as to what treatments they are recommending for the breathing issues if the medical team suspected you had CoV2. I am actually surprised that they told you that you likely had CoV2 without any tests - that was poor medical care. You could have any number of things that could explain your symptoms so giving you a provisional diagnosis with no evidence is suspect on their part.

What are you talking about? They did rule out other infections.

OP again - she was there for over 7 hours last night and they ruled out multiple things. The point to all this is that she is someone who needed a test and couldn't get it. in fact, she was told that the only to get it was to go to the ER and even then she couldn't get it. To me, that is insane. What has happened to the medical care in our country? Why does South Korea have it's act together with drive thrus for testing people.

I understand all the questions but this is a very good friend of mine. She asked me to post here because she thought it was information that people should know. She just asked me to monitor the thread for her as usual on DCUM people are getting too mean.

This post was intended as a PSA not a AMA but I'll try to come up with a good topic for that

Per her story, she didn’t get the test because it was determined that she did NOT need it.

The doctor who saw her said she needed the test. Your are ok with someone at the health department overriding the doctor who actually saw her. This is why there is no way I'm voting for anyone supporting Medicare for all instead of Medicare for those who want it. Every decision will be like this.

True this.

By the way testing is now available at LabCorp or Quest Labs. You need a scrip from a doc to get the labs done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless she is in urgent circumstances, she shouldn't be going to the hospital. This is exactly the problem. Selfish.

Wrong. She went at the urging of her doctor.

She didn't go at the urging of her doctor!

On Tuesday she called her asthma doctor and told him she thought she had coronavirus - he told her his office couldn't deal with it and to go to the ER. This is called CYA.

She then called GW hospital and they said not to come because they don’t have the tests. They told her that I should call the DC Department of Health.

She called the Department of Health. The man on the phone took a detailed history of her symptoms and her travel history and said that the shortness of breath could be from her asthma, she didn’t have a fever, and because she was low risk she didn't qualify to be tested. he told her to call back if her symptoms changed / worsened

On Wednesday night she was up with stomach cramps and diarrhea.

On Thursday morning she called back to Department of Health and the woman she talked to said that she wouldn't be tested since haven’t been in contact with anyone who has it and that she was low risk. In response to whatever Op was telling her the woman then told her that if she feel she need to be tested, the way to do that is to go to her doctor and her doctor can recommend she be tested.

I called her doctor again (her asthma doctor it sounds like since it was again) who told her the same thing as last time. They aren't equipped to manage coronavirus and to go to urgent care or the emergency room - again CYA. That is what they tell everyone who feels they have a medical need but they can't assess or after hours. It is why it is on phone messages at many places (call 911 or go to a hospital if you think you need medical care) completely unrelated to coronavirus

On Friday, her friend contacted the director of the Department of Health. So now she is trying to move this up the chain of command and using personal contacts to get a different answer than the D of H has given her already. The director can likely see that they have already told her twice that she doesn't meet their testing criteria and that she just isn't going to let this go and she is using personal contacts to make a big deal out of it and bring it to the director level. The director doesn't want any involvement in this. So friend tells her that director said to go to an urgent care center and gave a name. But then friend said that the director said they are testing at GW and she should go there.

So she went to GW. No doctor urged her to go to the Emerg.

She made a fuss, kept repeatedly contacting people who either weren't the right people based on what she was telling them or she didn't like the answer she got, and they did the CYA and said go to Emerg.

Did you just write some kind of fan fiction style reinterpretation of events? Also, when a doctor tells someone to go the ER it’s because they want them to go to the ER.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless she is in urgent circumstances, she shouldn't be going to the hospital. This is exactly the problem. Selfish.

Wrong. She went at the urging of her doctor.

She didn't go at the urging of her doctor!

On Tuesday she called her asthma doctor and told him she thought she had coronavirus - he told her his office couldn't deal with it and to go to the ER. This is called CYA.

She then called GW hospital and they said not to come because they don’t have the tests. They told her that I should call the DC Department of Health.

She called the Department of Health. The man on the phone took a detailed history of her symptoms and her travel history and said that the shortness of breath could be from her asthma, she didn’t have a fever, and because she was low risk she didn't qualify to be tested. he told her to call back if her symptoms changed / worsened

On Wednesday night she was up with stomach cramps and diarrhea.

On Thursday morning she called back to Department of Health and the woman she talked to said that she wouldn't be tested since haven’t been in contact with anyone who has it and that she was low risk. In response to whatever Op was telling her the woman then told her that if she feel she need to be tested, the way to do that is to go to her doctor and her doctor can recommend she be tested.

I called her doctor again (her asthma doctor it sounds like since it was again) who told her the same thing as last time. They aren't equipped to manage coronavirus and to go to urgent care or the emergency room - again CYA. That is what they tell everyone who feels they have a medical need but they can't assess or after hours. It is why it is on phone messages at many places (call 911 or go to a hospital if you think you need medical care) completely unrelated to coronavirus

On Friday, her friend contacted the director of the Department of Health. So now she is trying to move this up the chain of command and using personal contacts to get a different answer than the D of H has given her already. The director can likely see that they have already told her twice that she doesn't meet their testing criteria and that she just isn't going to let this go and she is using personal contacts to make a big deal out of it and bring it to the director level. The director doesn't want any involvement in this. So friend tells her that director said to go to an urgent care center and gave a name. But then friend said that the director said they are testing at GW and she should go there.

So she went to GW. No doctor urged her to go to the Emerg.

She made a fuss, kept repeatedly contacting people who either weren't the right people based on what she was telling them or she didn't like the answer she got, and they did the CYA and said go to Emerg.

great summary. the lack of tests is bad, but this lady is being a huge drama queen.

[Anonymous]

I actually think she likely doesn’t have novel Coronavirus, but she absolutely should be tested given her symptoms and travel history.