“Who are these people?” I wondered after I hung up the phone with ‘Charlene’ from the authority line.   

She had a cheerful voice and was, as they all are, professional and courteous.

I had called her, as I do several times a day, to request an authority approval for a prescription for a patient. 

I gave her some numbers. She gave me some numbers … and presto — an authorised prescription for some extra quantity of Prozac for my patient with OCD.