In response to a question I answered this morning through a poll asking
me if I would support having programs like Medicare and Medicaid pay
to provide "patient compliance technologies" -like pill bottles with
alarms attached to remind people when to take their medication,
and automatic pill dispensers with smartphone reminders- my
answer was a flat out, "No!" I believe that people should take
responsibility for their own healthcare decisions.
This proposal for convenient-sounding technology providing
"patient compliance" sounds to me like one more government scheme
cooked up to invade the medical and personal privacy of American citizens.
Image courtesy/Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Last year, I agreed to participate in a program which my doctor suggested,
and which provided me with a home-based "monitor" system for my daily
blood sugar readings, which was connected to a local healthcare facility,
which upon receiving the daily readings, would forward them to my doctor.
It sounded like a good idea. Until the nightly visitations began.
No, it was not an unlawful intruder trying to break into my home.
Nor was it the result of meddling around with some otherworldly
"paranormal activity " which is so popular today.
The only "ghost" allowed in my home is the Holy Ghost, or Spirit.
Anyway, after starting this monitoring system, I was often awakened in the
wee hours of the morning by an eerie blue light emanating from the monitor,
which was plugged in and sitting atop my bedroom dresser- along with the
murmur of human voices- and something which sounded very
much like someone snickering- in the background.
I thought I might have been dreaming at first, until I thought, "Now why is
this monitor turning on by itself in the middle of the night when I only use
it during the daytime hours? Could it have been pre-set to turn on at this
time before it was delivered to me? And what about the sound of voices
and laughter I keep hearing coming from it?
I later called the medical facility company's on-call technician about the
problem. During our conversation, I only told him that the machine kept
coming on in the middle of the night and waking me up. I mentioned
nothing to him about hearing voices. He then asked me,
"Do you hear sounds coming from the monitor like people talking?
When I answered yes, his rather glib response was,
"Oh, just turn the volume down and you won't hear a thing."
I did better than he suggested. I went right into my room, unplugged the
monitor from the wall, repackaged it in the box it had come in, and sent it
back pronto to the healthcare facility from where it came. Although in
hindsight I now realized I should have questioned the technician further,
and demanded he tell me the source of the voices and laughter
I had been hearing, the experience really unnerved me.
I just wanted that thing out of my home as quickly as possible.
I also realized that this experience provided a valuable lesson
which I thought I already had learned. Think for yourself, Pamela!
And from now on, be responsible for your own daily monitoring and recording
of your blood sugar- in a notebook with a pen. It might sound old-fashioned, but,
the only one invading my privacy will be myself, the way it should be!
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