I am SO ready to fire my Doctor because of his staff.

[davsand]

So, I call the Doc's office and I get this snotty secretery on the phone who MUST know why I am calling. I tell her I am calling for test results. (I had a Stress Echocardiogram yesterday and was told they should have results today.) I get put on hold.

Ten minutes later (and I know this for a fact because my office phone has a call duration timer) they come back and say that all the nurses are busy. I explain that I would prefer to hold because the last time I left a number they never called me back--I had to drive to the clinic to find anything out.

I go back on hold.

Another five minutes passes and they come back on and tell me I can't continue to hold becasue they are "to busy" to keep putting me on hold. They proceed to tell me that two nurses that are working will call me back "when they can" and that will just have to be good enough...

I am not usually a terrible pain in the ass, but this kind of shit just makes me nuts. My Dad just died in March of long term heart disease, and as you can imagine, I am just a bit stressed over the idea that maybe I am dealing with a cardiac issue myself. It isn't that I expect the world to revolve around me, but WHY the fuck can't the secretery just read the f***ing chart and tell me if they spotted anything abnormal? I don't EXPECT a diagnosis--the Cardiologist will be the one to make that anyway--I just want to know if they found anything.

This is not the firs time I have had run-ins with test results and this particular office. They freaking LOST orders for other tests, they never reponded to multiple phone calls about that, and now they are "too busy" to keep me on hold. Similarly they have lost stuff for other family members and friends who also go there.

It isn't the Doc's fault, but his office staff sure does suck. I am just about ready to get a new Doc.

:banghead:



Laura

[billyskank]

1. Won't you have an appointment with your doc to discuss the test results?

You had the test, so there must surely be a follow up?

[davsand]

3. Nope. When I had an EKG they called me the next day.

The nurse called and told me that the 15 second long EKG showed nothing atypical, so they wanted to schedule me for this Stress Test to confirm it. I have not seen the Doc since this mess all started August 25th.

I was having episodes where my heart was sitting in my chest and I could feel it fluttering--like it was sitting there quivering. I never passed out or anything and it would quit fairly soon--but it wasn't right--ya know? So I called to schedule an appointment to see my Doc. I immediately get sent to some nurse associated with the ER and she starts screening me for a heart attack. I explain that I am not in any pain or any long term distress--that this is something I have been noticing with increasing regularity and I want to discuss it with my Doc. This ER nurse says she'll have them call and set up an appointment. "Your Doc's office will call and tell you when to come in--do not take this lightly."

THREE hours later, I still have not heard from that office so I head over there in person.

The PA sees me in about a half hour and orders a couple of tests (blood work, and EKG to start with.) The PA wants a fasting blood test and tels me to come in 1st thing in the AM to have blood drawn. I show up and the lab can't find the order. I tell them I watched the PA put it in the computer the day before and they tell me the paper copy of the order has gone MIA. They take the blood anyway (I suspect because they realize I am pretty annoyed at this point) and I leave for my office.

A couple days later, I call and ask for results. I get the SAME thing that I did today--the nurse will have to call you.

TWO days later the nurse calls.

I am not happy at ALL with this.


Laura


Update! Literally, as I was responding a nurse called. The results were normal. They have NO freaking clue why my heart was sitting in my chest quivering. Now I am back at square one, but at least I don't think I am gonna die with heart disease at any second now.

[billyskank]

5. You're sure it was your heart?

I get muscle spasms all over my body, I mean one place at a time but it can happen in lots of places. It feels like a vibration, and when it happens in my chest I can't tell the difference between my heart or any other muscle in that vicinity. But I have no other symptoms of cardiac problems and so I simply assume it's some skeletal muscle.

I'm sure I've just hexed myself and will now die of a heart attack, I should add. ;)

[LeftyFingerPop]

2. I understand Laura...

I recently got fired from my Orthopedic doc because I had the AUDACITY to challenge his assistant, who was mistreating me and disrespecting me.

I know how frustrated you must be, and I'm sorry. It truly does suck.

i wish you all the best for good news from your doc.

[davsand]

4. We are probably labeled as "difficult" in our records.

You do realize staff can enter stuff in your medical records--right? You would be amazed at what they put in there sometimes.

Thanks for the support--it is all gonna be ok.




Laura

[Iggo]

6. It is the Dr's fault if you tell him...

...and he does nothing about it. It's bad patient care and when it comes right down to it it's shitty customer service.

[soleft]

7. I hope you get the results soon and that everything is fine

I had an echocardiogram in January, got the results immediately, but the ensuing hassles over getting the bill paid gave me palpatations!

[demmiblue]

8. Honestly... I can't believe that any office would give results over the phone.

Patient confidentiality is a serious issue. I think it would be irresponsible to give a patient this kind of info over the phone. Perhaps they, the office staff, are legally not allowed to do so. :shrug:

Anywho... I hope everything is OK with you. I can't even imagine how you feel while waiting for your results. :hug:

[NJmaverick]

9. I suggest you complain to the doctor about what you are having problems with

tell him/her you will have no choice but to change doctors, because of all the unneeded stress and aggravation.

[mwooldri]

10. Seems like your doc needs to invest in a little technology.

Our doc's office, whenever you have a test, will give you a phone number with a pin # to punch in. The theory goes as soon as they get the test results, they leave a message on the machine. All you would need to do is phone the #, punch in the pin # and you get the results.

However, getting a hold of any of the clinical staff is of course easier than pulling duck's teeth. The nurses do respond to left messages, especially when told you'll have test results in 2 days and it's a week later and still nothing... but to speak with the doctor? Make an appointment... but I guess that's normal. NHS in UK worked similar way, so no real complaints there for me.

That's for our primary care physician.

My son's urologists on the other hand... his first one, who helped with his major operation at birth - we ended up having a great relationship with and he gave us his home phone number; he knew we wouldn't abuse it but since it was such a complex situation and he felt we needed an extra crutch, he gave it us. However he ended up moving across country, so we lost him. The upside though is the hospital replaced him with a couple of world-famous doctors so we have doctors that are more familiar with my son's condition than his first doctor (that's not to say he wasn't familiar with it; he saw maybe 3-4 cases a year, these guys see 6-10 times that amount). However we just haven't made that personal connection, so we again are reliant on staff for information if/when he goes back into hospital.

Hope all works out for you.

Regards, Mark.