QoF off!

I had a letter from my GP practice, asking me to make an appointment to see the diabetes nurse specialist. She’s also the practice asthma specialist – and she does flu jabs and smear tests. More of a general practice nurse then.

“We’ve had a letter from Dr A”, she says. “About your diabetes diagnosis…”

I told her to stop right there. This was a knee jerk reaction to the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test back in April. It is now October. Things have moved on from then. For a start off, the misleading results of the OGTT were a result of me forgetting not to take my Indometacin dose before the test. And a further fasting glucose test at AnyCity hospital in July had shown I was definitely not diabetic – and Dr A finally agreed that my account of the action of Indometacin was right in this case. Plus, I monitor my fasting glucose every morning anyway. OK, so the QoF matrix means the practice will get money from calling me in to discuss my ‘treatment’ under this ‘diagnosis’, but in the meantime they have received further information from Dr A to make this unnecessary. Dock a few points for that one Mrs Hewitt!

Besides, from that one appointment they would have had a fair few QoF points anyway. A smear test (I’d recently had a reminder that one was due), an asthma review (comments that my peak flow was down, well, breathing out sharply is more than enough physical stress for my abdominal pain to kick off – as it should have been recorded in my notes on several occasions – and I prefer not to go looking for reasons to be painful) and finally the ‘flu jab. For once my timing was superb – and I got the first one from the box delivered that morning.

~ by me on 31 October 2006.