One more disparity by Rebecca Crichton

We know there are wide gaps in our society between the haves and the have-nots. This weekend, I had an experience that highlighted the incredible chasm between those who are technologically savvy and those who aren’t.

My concern is not about whether people can do TikTok or Instagram, or even check the online edition of their New York Times. I’m talking about the capacity to do the research required to track down information, act on it, and make it work.  Following the many steps it can take to get something accomplished is a challenge and burden, especially if you are at all limited in your skills or capacity.

Let me be specific. I tested positive for COVID yesterday. Since it was Saturday, my doctor’s office was closed. This meant I had to find an online provider who could prescribe Paxlovid for me. I’ve had COVID twice before, and each time took Paxlovid with no side effects.

I finally found an online nurse who tried to get a provider to prescribe the drug. She called back, sounding a little apologetic, to say that the doctor wasn’t willing to prescribe it without seeing me, so I should go to the ER or urgent care.

I said I had no intention of going to either of those places to sit and wait just to get a prescription for something I knew I could take without a problem. We both concluded that the doctor was, as they say, covering his assets, so he didn’t get sued if something went wrong. She suggested I call in the morning for another doctor.

Sure enough, after more than two hours of trying to figure it all out, I was successful on Sunday morning. The issue changed from whether I could get the prescription to where I could get it from. There’s been a rise in COVID numbers, and some pharmacies in my area have run out of their supplies of antivirals. I tried calling three pharmacies to find out whether or not they had it.

After discovering that none were open until either 10 or 11 AM, I finally found an open one near me that had the meds. Then I had a virtual call with the online doctor who deemed me appropriate for the medication and put the order in to the pharmacy.

After having it all resolved, I told her what my experience had been. We agreed that I had been very lucky to have the knowledge, patience, insurance, and technological skills to navigate the whole thing. She shared how sometimes people she sees have no idea of how to get medications, how to find out where to get them, and that many of them have no idea of how to use phones or computers.

We also agreed that certain populations struggle more than others.  I am in the aging field, and I know that there are many people in my age group who don’t have computers or smartphones and are very much at risk when they need help in an emergency.

While this isn’t really news to any of us, it made me acutely aware of the variety of skills needed to negotiate the kind of experience I just had. And those skills are related to being privileged, educated, and comfortable with communicating via phone and virtual platforms.

I need to pay attention to those skills and try to share them more widely with my cohort. There were things that I did automatically that many people wouldn’t know how to do. I’m not bragging so much as exploring how I can share the information I have that helps us successfully navigate the world. Who do we lean on for help? How do we even know what it is we need help with? How do we overcome the discomfort of asking for help?

I am determined to share what I have learned from this experience and have started by contributing to this blog. It’s a good beginning.