Stephen Covey’s mantra about seeking first to understand was running through my head as I hung up the phone with a “navigator” who was sending a distraught mom our way.
She arrived just before closing time; with her 12 year old daughter accompanying her to act as translator. Her infant son had been sick since the night before with a high fever and infection. They’d been to the emergency room and obtained a prescription for an antibiotic; but the pharmacist had been told the child was not on the coverage.
Hours after seeing the doctor, having spent the entire day waiting to speak with a navigator so that she might figure out why her child’s coverage was not in force, only to be told they could not resolve the issue and being told they were closing and she’d have to come back another day; she asked the navigator: “Is there no-one who can help me?!”
And now she sat across the desk from me. I could feel the fear and concern in her voice. So, I asked her to tell me the story of her day. As she spoke; we quietly listened. From time to time Bob, or I, would ask her a question or two and, with her story told and her urgency understood, we began to prepare and authorization to transfer her script to one of our pharmacy partners and make arrangements to pay for the medicine. As we carefully reviewed her discharge paperwork we spotted it…her child’s birthday had been incorrectly entered on the form.
We called her pharmacist who confirmed there was no payment due and that the medicine was ready for pickup. It cost us nothing but time; the desire to listen with the intent to understand and the intent to find a solution.