20/30 chronic pain management

Patient medical history questionnaire
Designed by clinicians to streamline visits
More patients, more money, less time
Less personal, less quality, more errors
Life history of health reduced to multiple choice
Pick A or B
Sometimes, always, never
"It depends" is not an option
There is no check box for this illness
This brand of pain
"Does it interfere with my work,
My sleep, my happiness?"
The answer is yes, that's why I'm seeing a doctor.
The answer is no, because I grit my teeth and deal.
The answer is not a check mark in a box.
The plastic wristband they give me has two barcodes
One patient number
One date of birth
One name
The records are no longer hand-written
Not kept in files
They are digital
To their machine, even a name is a number
A string of ones and zeros
1 or 0
Yes or No
Check this box, or don't.

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