Bascom Palmer is regularly voted one of the best eye clinics in the country, and I am so fond of my ophthalmologist, Dr. Lori Ventura, that I drive to Miami every six months and spend the good part of a day waiting to see her.
I always take a book, which helps kill the hour(s) before my visual field test and the hour(s) before my pattern ERG. I read, sometimes large chunks, until my pupils get dilated for the photos of both eyes, and my long-awaited visit with Dr. Ventura.
So it's not a total waste of time. What Bascom Palmer is guilty of is a total waste of paper. Last week I received in the mail three separate letters from the institute, the first reminding me of my upcoming visual field, the second reminding me of my pattern ERG, the third reminding me of my appointment with Dr. Ventura. True, they did include the time of each appointment which, except for the first, is completely irrelevant (and always off by over an hour).
Much simpler, and less wasteful, would be to send one letter regarding the three appointments.
What's worse, however, is that each envelope contains, along with the letter, a five-page brochure titled "Your Appointment Made Easy," which, having been a patient at BP for many years, I never read. But I now have three to choose from should I care to. Perhaps I will read them all, one after the other, while waiting to see Dr. Ventura on Tuesday.
