just another monday
and except for work and watching a new show, The Lost Room, nothing is new... work is ridiculous, but amusing... I interface with government people now, do I need to say more?... the incompetence is awesome... for every hour I interact with government agencies I spend at least ten minutes documenting the interaction to cover myself and the hospital...
see, I report data to the government to prove we are worthy of getting money from the government... the database I report to was shut down for rebuilding on July first... it was supposed to come back online September first, but didn't actually open for data again until the end of September and they are still trying to work bugs out... most agencies and hospitals have not been able to access the database or upload their data...
the hospital was bought and changed ownership on September first... the government now sees the hospital as a completely different entity and all data (in other words, all patients and treatment) prior to September first does not exist for the government... they only want data from September first as if the course of treatment for all the kids started on September first... so ultimately, the data is meaningless and proves nothing and helps no one, but they want it...
I started this position just after September first... the government finally processed my paperwork and gave me access to their database on November twentieth... in my one walk through of the website on November second, I found several errors in the records they set up for our hospital and told the government liaison about it... he thanked me in an email, which is part of the CYA process...
it has become obvious in the past three months on this job that the government liaison has very little understanding of the meaning of the data or the process he is supposed to be in charge of... ultimately, I can make up numbers and he'd never know the difference...
every week they fix bugs or upgrade something and access has to be granted again, so I did not have access again after that first day until noon today... and I find the government liaison did not fix the errors I reported to him on November seconds, so still data piles up on my desk and nothing has been reported to their precious database...
this wouldn't be a problem, except that on Friday, that would be December eighth, the government liaison answered questions I asked the day I finally got access back in November... answers I needed before I could start uploading any data... the answers were simply that no patient existed in our hospital prior to September first and to hell with what that does to the reports of the outcomes of treatment for the kids...
unfortunately, the government liaison was finally responding to my questions because he had something to tell me... apparently there is a fiscal year deadline, December thirty-first, for entry of all data for 2006... if the data is not entered by December thirty-first, the hospital is in violation of law and out of compliance with the contract that keeps government money flowing into the hospital... now he tells us...
I estimate that if the database is accessible from now on (which would be quite a new) and if the internet, my computer, and the hospital network never has a glitch (highly improbable) and if the errors on the site are fixed and I start entering data tomorrow and if I devote six hours a day non-stop to that and that alone (and am late with the other data reports due each month), it would take approximately twenty-two work days to catch up (and that doesn't include any patients admitted or discharged between now and December thirty-first)...
weekends?.. days off?... holidays?... even if I worked every single day from now until the end of the year, well, you do the math... and that is with every element running perfectly... so we're going to ask for an extension of the deadline at a much higher authority in the government than the incompetent liaison can grant...
tune in tomorrow to find out how that request turns out... and maybe I'll even start uploading some data into that system... and that was just another Monday... The Lost Room is an interesting, if very old, story... and the word still spins around...
hope you're having fun too J
see, I report data to the government to prove we are worthy of getting money from the government... the database I report to was shut down for rebuilding on July first... it was supposed to come back online September first, but didn't actually open for data again until the end of September and they are still trying to work bugs out... most agencies and hospitals have not been able to access the database or upload their data...
the hospital was bought and changed ownership on September first... the government now sees the hospital as a completely different entity and all data (in other words, all patients and treatment) prior to September first does not exist for the government... they only want data from September first as if the course of treatment for all the kids started on September first... so ultimately, the data is meaningless and proves nothing and helps no one, but they want it...
I started this position just after September first... the government finally processed my paperwork and gave me access to their database on November twentieth... in my one walk through of the website on November second, I found several errors in the records they set up for our hospital and told the government liaison about it... he thanked me in an email, which is part of the CYA process...
it has become obvious in the past three months on this job that the government liaison has very little understanding of the meaning of the data or the process he is supposed to be in charge of... ultimately, I can make up numbers and he'd never know the difference...
every week they fix bugs or upgrade something and access has to be granted again, so I did not have access again after that first day until noon today... and I find the government liaison did not fix the errors I reported to him on November seconds, so still data piles up on my desk and nothing has been reported to their precious database...
this wouldn't be a problem, except that on Friday, that would be December eighth, the government liaison answered questions I asked the day I finally got access back in November... answers I needed before I could start uploading any data... the answers were simply that no patient existed in our hospital prior to September first and to hell with what that does to the reports of the outcomes of treatment for the kids...
unfortunately, the government liaison was finally responding to my questions because he had something to tell me... apparently there is a fiscal year deadline, December thirty-first, for entry of all data for 2006... if the data is not entered by December thirty-first, the hospital is in violation of law and out of compliance with the contract that keeps government money flowing into the hospital... now he tells us...
I estimate that if the database is accessible from now on (which would be quite a new) and if the internet, my computer, and the hospital network never has a glitch (highly improbable) and if the errors on the site are fixed and I start entering data tomorrow and if I devote six hours a day non-stop to that and that alone (and am late with the other data reports due each month), it would take approximately twenty-two work days to catch up (and that doesn't include any patients admitted or discharged between now and December thirty-first)...
weekends?.. days off?... holidays?... even if I worked every single day from now until the end of the year, well, you do the math... and that is with every element running perfectly... so we're going to ask for an extension of the deadline at a much higher authority in the government than the incompetent liaison can grant...
tune in tomorrow to find out how that request turns out... and maybe I'll even start uploading some data into that system... and that was just another Monday... The Lost Room is an interesting, if very old, story... and the word still spins around...
hope you're having fun too J
posted by candoor at 10:50 PM
7 Comments:
Good morning & Merry Christmas!!! You are Dr John's link of the day. So I just wanted to stop by & say "hey".
Blessed be...
Sadly the details of the story may vary but one has to wonder about all the people all over the country who are suffering the result of similar scenarios of bureaucracy playing out in the most absurd ways. And the heroes in the trenches are unsung, unappreciated, underpaid, overworked, and we instead choose to lift up our idols and worship them and lose brain cells, and sell our soul to the dollar. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being one of the unsung heroes for the kids...keeping your focus always on the kids and being their champion. If more of us could only follow your example.
Love, Love, Love and oh by the way, Love.
Stopping by on the Dr. John's tour of celebrity Blogs of fame. To get your autograph and see you smile of course! Merry Christmas!
z0tl sends love and kisses and hugs to you from the z-context. Unfortunately, Blogger in Beta isn't letting him comment on his favorite blogs (and you are of course on the top of his list), so he asked me to let you know he is sorry he can't suck up to you in your comments box here :(
I hope I delivered his message adequately. I wouldn't want to misquote him or anything.
To attempt to quote a z0tl is to instantly fall into error. Look at you FROWNING trying to do it. Let your intuition guide you & form a tacit understanding of what the z0tl attempted to convey using his 8-layered speech. The Buddha had 3-layered speech, just so you begin to grasp the implication:z!
Love and hugs and kisses to you too z0tl, or z8tl. :) Glad you are posting again, so start the sucking up.
Hoorayness and much YAY! for new peoples and much YAY and love and z0ltness to my dear friends who put up with my inconsistent responses and still send me smiles and the occasional evil glance :)
I am touched (and cheered) to find you here :)
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