Malik parked his car behind the doctor’s office. He made it a point to try to be the first one in the office every morning so he could go through his routine setup without interruption.
He opened the back door and turned on the power to the building and then walked to the front of the office to inspect the two waiting rooms to ensure they were ready for patients. As per medical guidelines, the office had two waiting areas, one for those who have tested positive for the virus and one for those who have tested negative.
Malik then turned on the virus detection machine, which he could access from his tablet he had grabbed from his office. The machine took fifteen minutes to warm up.
Meanwhile, Malik accessed the patient list for the day. He confirmed that the appropriate medical records and notes were pulled for the doctor’s reference. One long-time patient was coming in today with a hold on his account. Malik checked the files to understand the issue. He clicked his tongue and sighed. Unpaid medical bills. Malik then noticed the bright green light flashing from the virus detection machine.
The machine that Dr. Patel’s office used was built by Confidence Biotech. Its design was based on the full-body x-ray machines that the Transportation Security Administration introduced in American airports after the attacks on September 11th of 2001. It had modifications, of course. When a patient entered the cylindrical scanner, the glass door closed to seal the person in. The container was airtight but had a reserve oxygen tank, just in case the machine malfunctioned and the person was trapped inside. Two footprints indicated where the person should stand and what direction he needed to face. Once in the appropriate position, an image of a handprint appeared, indicating where the patient should place his palm. As soon as the person’s hand was in place, the associated medical file was activated, and the virus detection test began. The machine gave audible and visual instructions. The person must inhale deeply and exhale through the mouth. Next, the person must inhale deeply and exhale through the nose. The machine picked up all exhaled particles. It analyzed the droplets within a matter of seconds and added the test results to the medical records. Once the test was complete, one of two sliding glass doors opened. One door led to the waiting area for patients with negative results; the other door led to the waiting room for patients who tested positive.
The two waiting rooms were adjacent and separated by a thick floor-to-ceiling glass wall. Anyone entering the office through the front had to come through the virus detection machine. Only the waiting area for patients with negative results had direct physical access to the receptionist area, though there was also a vestibule inside the front door in which visitors could speak to reception through the glass.
Malik walked into the machine, and the glass doors sealed him in. He faced the wall and placed his hand on the mark, as indicated. He inhaled and exhaled, as instructed. A green light flashed the word “Negative,” and Malik viewed the tablet to ensure that the data flowed correctly. He then stepped out of the machine and watched the door seal shut again and a mist fill the space, performing the automatic sanitization process.
He tested the machine every day before they opened the office for their first patient.
As he finished, he heard Dr. Patel and the staff come in for the morning. Malik walked to the kitchen area and saw everyone conducting the daily throat and nose swab tests.
“Good morning, ladies,” Malik said with a smile. In response, there was a collection of grumbles and a couple of “It’s too early” replies. Malik laughed.
“Good morning, Malik,” Christine said with her big signature smile. Christine was one of the office’s longest-standing employees. She’d been hired as the receptionist back when one of the founders, Dr. Wen Shen, first brought on Dr. Patel. “Once you are finished getting settled in, I have something to show you,” she said.
“I’ll be right there,” Malik said, and then chased down Dr. Patel. “Hey, Doc,” he said, trying to keep pace.
“Good morning, Malik. How are you doing? How is your project going?” Dr. Patel was a kind man. When he discovered that Malik was out of work, Dr. Patel offered him a job at the office until he could find something else. Malik enjoyed working at the office so much he briefly entertained going to medical school. After watching Dr. Patel and his team of medical assistants and nurse practitioners perform their magic, Malik realized that working in the medical field was a calling. A call that he hadn’t received in quite the same way.
“It’s going well; thanks for asking,” Malik said.
“So, what’s up?” Dr. Patel stopped mid-stride and gave Malik his undivided attention.
“Well,” Malik said, “your ten o’clock appointment has been flagged for unpaid medical bills. What do you want to do?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Dr. Patel said.
“But—”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“I’m sorry, Doc, but I need to enter the billing code today.”
“I’ll eat the cost.”
Malik shook his head. “Doc, if Devina were here, she’d tell you that you can’t keep covering these costs.”
Dr. Patel laughed. “She would say that, and I’d tell her that I can.” Dr. Patel gently patted Malik on the shoulder and then walked into his office.
Malik laughed and walked back to the front desk to meet with Christine.
Christine looked up and said, “Let me guess, he’s covering someone else’s costs.”
“Yep,” Malik said with a sigh.
“He’s a good man, that one.”
“Yep,” Malik agreed. “So, what did you want to show me?”
“Oh, my goodness.” Christine threw her hands in the air. “Look at this. She bought horses and a Harley.”
“What?” Malik asked, leaning in to look at Christine’s monitor.
“Devina bought land with horses and a Harley Davidson, a nice one at that. And according to this, she’s going to buy a villa in Mexico. I think it’s safe to say that Devina’s not going to want her old job back.”
“You just never know what people will do with their lottery winnings,” Malik said.
“Especially winnings that big,” Christine added.
“Lucky her,” Malik said.
“Lucky both of you, in different ways,” Christine said. “You get to work on that project of yours with one of the best internal medicine physicians in the nation. Everything works out for a reason. Most patients have signed the waiver. They like you and are comfortable with you using their data. This is a good opportunity.”
Malik smiled. “Good point.”
“All right,” Christine said, snapping back to the moment. “Look at this.” She motioned to her phone, which was aglow with little red flashing lights. “My phone is blowing up. I’m sure lots of people need to get in to see the doctor on this glorious Monday morning. I’d better get to it.”
“Expecting a busy day?” Malik asked.
“There are rumors of a new virus strain. Anyone feeling slightly different will try to come in to see the doctor. Did you know that he has patients who live in other countries who fly all the way here just to see him?”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, we’re a pretty big deal.” Christine winked and picked up the phone. “Dr. Patel’s office. What can I do for you today?”