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Here's to Your Health:  Doctors :( Guess I expected too much....  |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 3:42:07 PM
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I have been going to see the same doctor for 15 years...actually, I've followed her as she changed 3 practices, each time, moving further and further north of the City of Cincinnati to where she now practices, 40 miles from me. 40 miles up and 40 miles back. It's a whole day to see her. I never EVER thought that I should change because of the distance--I like her THAT much. Felt that I always mattered and told other's about her so that they might experience the same quality of care and compassion.
A couple of weeks ago, a situation arose with me that I needed to speak with her and wanted her opinion before scheduling an appointment. Never was a problem before--either she or her nurse practitioner have always called me back. I left 3 messages over the course of the week, without any return calls. During these weeks, I found that my insurance didn't cover the hospital where her practice performs surgeries, etc...so even though I was frustrated, I called AGAIN for a referral--someone that she liked, that she felt was similar in thought, and someone closer to me. Which sortof hurts, because I'm not that great with change, and I really cultivated a relationship with this doctor.
I finally received a phone call today at 4:30, from some general staff member who called with an answer to my first question from 2 weeks ago. And I said, "what about my message from this morning, or Thursday, or Tuesday of last week?" "Um, I don't know, I just got your file this way..." and so I responded that their office really knew how to make people feel invalid and unimportant--something that I guess I'm really stung by. I mean, after 15 years of following someone to the end of the earth, why don't I matter?
So, it's off to find another physician...and this time, I'll just treat it like it's a business relationship and I won't get my feelings involved. Isn't THAT terrible?
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 4:32:31 PM
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Jonni- I am sorry for the trouble. I work in healthcare and one thing I am trying to change is the impersonal feeling that comes across. I try to imagine that each person I deal with or for is a close farmgirl friend : ) or relative. How would I treat them and how would I want them to treat me? If I was the person who called, I would have tried to track all of your information down and find out what was going on. I hope you find the best doc out there for you. (((HUGS)))
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
FARMGIRL #90 |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 5:52:11 PM
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Thank you for your response, Heather. I admire your goals for your career, and, that they involve remembering the human side of medicine. I'm sure it's hard to maintain that emotional connection for a long time--I know that I become very apathetic in my line of business (paralegal/legal sec.)...so many problems, so many downers. But, in the healthcare sector, it seems that more and more often, people just fall through the cracks. I followed her because it wasn't the case with her--but her staff, now that's a different story. And therein lies the rub. I give my boss messages, even if he tells me to call them back...and then I offer them the option of speaking to him directly if they have more questions. It's just a courtesy, and he's equally busy.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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catscharm74
True Blue Farmgirl
4687 Posts
Heather
Texas
USA
4687 Posts |
Posted - Jul 08 2008 : 6:06:23 PM
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I work in information management so I am around a lot of records, billing, patient information and it is a daily exchange not only with other offices, businesses, doctor but patient also. I can't tell you how many times I have heard or seen someone take the easy route because they couldn't take 30 seconds to try and figure out a better solution. I realized business etiquette is going out the door fast. When I first started working, I come from the military so I answer a phone with "Good morning, xyz company, this is Heather, how may I assist you Sir or Ma'am." I got laughed at a lot until someone commented how nice it was to have someone with manners. Working with billing is sometimes a horrible job because I need to get people to pay or explain why they have a $5,000 bill after insurance. I try to remain understanding but firm. I think it makes the "ouch" seem a little less painful. I remember once I called the hospital to get Charlie an appointment as he was limping around on his foot. He was also complaining it hurt. The on-call nurse never called me back and I went right over to the very ER I had called. They had no record of me calling- 30 minutes earlier. I don't think people realize that they hold other people's lives in their hands. Same thing now with job hunting, I call after 5 working days to find out if they are going to hire me or not. What if they forgot? Got busy? Couldn't decided or are just plain slow and don't want to do their job? It unfortunately is becoming an all for yourself world and I am just bold enough to change it. ; )
Heather
Yee-Haw, I am a cowgirl!!!
FARMGIRL #90 |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 07:03:26 AM
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| I've had good luck with my doctor's office so far, but I'm always aware that it's a business relationship and that every visit is a whole new situation. They might as well have never seen me before, and I have to keep in mind that they don't remember anything about me or when my last visit was. It doesn't bother me all that much because I don't have any serious health problems. But having a family member in the hospital is really scary. You never deal with the same doctor two hours in a row, and you have no way of knowing what their credentials are or how much they understand about the case. I remember when my father in law was dying, I observed the behavior of the doctors and nurses at the hospital and I was shocked. I worked in retail, and we showed a more professional attitude and more concern over people's book orders than these hospital staff had for people's lives. You are really right about that, Heather. |
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Miss Bee Haven
True Blue Farmgirl
4331 Posts
Janice
Louisville/Irvington
Kentucky
USA
4331 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 08:19:15 AM
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I guess my experiences with my local docs office is like Amie's. I don't expect them to remember me from one time to the next. But then, I don't go there very often, either. It's usually just for my seasonal bout with poison ivy. They are all friendly enough, but it's like "Fifty First Dates" every visit. I've gotten to the point where I always ask to see the Nurse Practitioner and I just tell her what I need and she writes the 'scrip' and I go on my way.
Farmgirl Sister #50
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?"
'Br.Dave Gardner' |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 09:11:06 AM
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| Yeah, it's almost like self serve medicine these days. Nobody but you and your immediate family are really following your case. |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 09:19:59 AM
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Well, this is my only doctor--my gyn. And, I started seeing her after I had a terrible happening with a male gyn, which resulted in Insurance fraud (he was charging insurance companies fraudulently for surgeries patients didn't really need...I got one of those surgeries). So, when I found her, it was like finding salvation, and she's my all purpose doctor--does all my blood testing and regular screening, etc, whatever a general practitioner would do. She's always asked me about Justin, and what's happening with us, how's his music, the dogs (when I worked at the shelter, I searched a found her family a dog!), and when do we think about having kids...all these things, and like I said, she's always called me back personally...
In fact, what makes it more fustrating, is that I listened to a diatribe from her in January about the demise of the healthcare system and how she can't stand the way she's made to practice medicine by the Insurance companies, and that she chooses to disobey their rules and spend more time with patients, and give personal service, yada yada yada...
I think it's terrible that this is what healthcare is--that we are just numbers.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 09:39:09 AM
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Jonni- I am so sorry to hear about your health care troubles. Perhaps it is the practice getting in the way of her giving you personal care?
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1404 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1404 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 09:55:39 AM
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My rheumatologist is the same way as Amie's drs. Plus the rheumatologist has hired a NP that has taken over my care pretty much. The insurance lists her as an MD and she is an ARNP. I've tried to talk with my insurance company, but every call leads to retelling my story and I don't know where they are or if they are in the same locale.
My Remicade treatments are charged at the alarming rate of $5618 every 7 weeks. I'm on Medicare and a supplemental insurance that takes care of most of it, but it seems that the supplemental is overpaying my bill by the amount of my co-pay. My "family" doctor and I use that term loosely because I don't go there any more than I have to is just as unfamiliar with my case. He has to read up on the computer each time I visit. Wish he would do that outside the room. I don't know what will happen when I really get sick. I am 66 and my health is okay for my age, but who knows.
It scares me to think what my children are going to have to go through when the time comes for them to visit a doctor.
Thanks for listening to my whining.
Betty in Pasco |
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KYgurlsrbest
True Blue Farmgirl
4853 Posts
Jonni
Elsmere
Kentucky
USA
4853 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 12:13:27 PM
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While I welcome your comments, I do think you're somewhat harsh in your judgment of me--I've never alluded in this thread as to why this has been such an issue for me (medically) nor will I on this forum, but my expectations aren't unreasonable, especially when there has been personal care and connection in the past. After three weeks of awaiting a call, and never raising my voice, I think I've been patient. Re-establish a good relationship with her? I'm wrong for speaking up for myself? You mentioned it was a two way street--it is at that. I've actually never spoken with her, only a staff member. And, it's doubtful that the staff member passed anything I said along, for fear of it reflecting badly on them and causing question--"why IS she so upset about this???". I'm not high maintenance, nor have I ever been.
My post greives the loss of this relationship, but it's moot. The insurance company won't allow me to utilize the hospital so, it's a non issue.
Farmgirl Sister #80, thanks to a very special farmgirl from the Bluegrass..."She was built like a watch, a study in balance ... with a neck and head so refined, like a drawing by DaVinci"...
NY Newsday sportswriter Bill Nack describing filly, Ruffian.
http://www.buyhandmade.org/ |
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Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 1:35:36 PM
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| Jonni, I hope the medical problem that started all this is being resolved. It can be really hard to find a new primary care physician, especially if your insurance is weird. I think you've mentioned before that you have a huge deductible, so I can see why you would want to get some advice before going to a hospital. Is there any chance that you have an after hours clinic anywhere close to you? The cost for me is only slightly higher than a regular office visit copay, and they guarantee you an appointment on the day you call. I've used the clinic when I can't take time off from work to go to my regular doctor during office hours, or when I get sick over the weekend and know I need a prescription right away. If your insurance system has anything like this, it would be worth looking into. Much faster than forming new ties with a new physician. And you may be able to speak to your current doctor in the future and straighten this out. It might be an isolated instance of bad customer service by new staff. |
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nubidane
True Blue Farmgirl
2916 Posts
Lisa
Georgetown
OH
2916 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2008 : 8:47:08 PM
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Jonni
I think it is safe to say that your feelings are hurt, as they should be. If I had a doc that I trusted for that long of a time, & suddenly felt like a bolt on an assembly line, I would feel hurt too. It is only natural. But you will work through it.. with the help of your family & us Farmgirls! It's almost Friday! |
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wooliespinner
True Blue Farmgirl
1311 Posts
Linda
Manchester
Ohio
1311 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2008 : 09:02:08 AM
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Jonni,
so sorry to hear about your situation. I have been down that road before. It hurts and takes a bit to get past it. I hope you find a really great doctor that helps you resolve your issues. I to have a huge deductable plus their taking $125 dollars a week from my husbands check. Its getting kinds scary the way things are going.
Its hard to take care of ourselves in these days with the cost of healthcare. Good luck to you and hope everything works out best for you.
Take super care.
Linda
Raspberry Run Farm
Nubian Dairy Goats |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1404 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1404 Posts |
Posted - Jul 14 2008 : 09:36:03 AM
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Jonni,
Is it possible to give this doctor one more chance with an appointment to discuss your grievances? I know it is a longer drive than at first, but if you hear it from her, you might understand better.
Just a thought.
Betty ini Pasco |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - Jul 27 2008 : 12:39:26 AM
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oh ladies... how well I know your hurt and disallusionment with our healthcare system. But, like Heather, I too worked in the Medical field on/off for over 14yrs, (as recently as last October) only I was right there on the "Front Lines" so to speak. As an MA who was trained in a Single Private practice Doctor's office (I can work front and back, and even did some billing-- so I know what you mean about THAT Heather!) I've seen the good, the bad, and the UGLY!!!
Betty makes a good point Jonni-- you really SHOULD talk to your doctor about how you are feeling. It wouldn't hurt-- but you don't want to make her feel like she's being "attacked" either. Doctors are just as human as the rest of us and they feel the hurt, the frustration and all the other emotions the rest of us do too. Besides, they have to deal with a lot of patients each day-- the numbers at my old office were THIRTY a day just to make a mark above the red line! That's one patient EVERY 15 MINUTES. If the doctor didn't get your message, it certainly wasn't HER fault, but a staff member who either made an oversiite, or is just plain lazy (or STUPID) and failed to do their job.
Unfortunately, the way a doctors practice is run nowadays IS dictated by insurance-- to some degree. The ins. companies are even going so far as to TELL DOCTORS WHAT MEDICATIONS They should be giving their patients!!!!! I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen the letters with my own two eyes! Boy was my Doctor MAD as a wet hen when I pointed it out to him (before that he kept putting the letters back on my desk-- niether one of us had been paying much attention). It's a complicated process and of course the ins. companies are MORE than willing to take patients money, but they are not so eager to pay it out where the money is due, and many of the doctors are certainly feeling THAT PINCH! Especially family practice docs.
In fact, the last doctor that I worked with-- a VERY GOOD doctor-- actually closed up his practice this past April and went to work at the Hospital as a Hospitalist (a group of doctors that see patients who's own physicians don't have hospital priviledges, or don't have a doctor at all) It was a stuggle financially to keep his own practice going, even though he was one of 8 docs sharing overhead costs, staffing, ins. etc... he was slowly losing the battle and he just couldn't make it work anymore. If the ins.'s don't pay, it's just like US not getting a pay check to feed our families either!
Give her another chance Jonni. Talk to her about your feelings and then decide what to do after that. I'll add one last thing here--- after seeing some of the people now going into the medical field-- WOW!!! What a bunch of incompetant BOOBS!!! One girl I worked with (though not closely, thank GOD!!!) didn't even know what a HEMORRHOID was!!! I also would NEVER have let her get near ME with a needle! Boy did I feel sorry for her patients! And that was just ONE of the lousy MA's I worked with. Lord help us all.....
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1404 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1404 Posts |
Posted - Jul 27 2008 : 09:26:35 AM
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Tracy, I agree with you about our health care system. It sucks! Now you can see why Angelina Jolie had her babies in France. Much more friendly to the patient.
I, too, worked in the medical field until I had to support two growing sons and the Engineering field paid so much better. I would like to return, but I would need a degree to do so. Not that a degree would let you know what a hemorrhoid was!
Betty in Pasco |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - Jul 28 2008 : 7:55:42 PM
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Most offices (at least here in CA) are hiring Medical Assistants because they are so much "cheaper" than nurses. We can do the same "BASIC" things as a nurse-- bp, vaccinations, certain diagnostic testing, blood draws, etc.... (but we are by NO MEANS as highly trained as nurses!!!). The MA programs are as simple as ROP classes (which is all book learnin' only-- and no phone ettiquite apparantly?!! or else that's just our LOCAL ROP program that fails in that department...?) Those classes only last a short time, (6wks?) but there are also programs that can last as long as 2yrs.
It's a quick foot in the door and there are ALWAYS jobs available, especailly if you learn to do front office (answering phones, dealing w/ins., referrals etc...) AND back office (vitals, shots, meds, assisting doc, etc..) Not many people in the field are well trained to do both (I was an exception-- we had one Doctor and only TWO employees-- one to do billing (a FULL TIME JOB) and ME! Who had to do everything else! Only I didn't know I was "Special." If that's the case, I should have been paid MORE MONEY!!! LOL)
I went as far as I cared to in the field. I didn't want to be a nurse--- though I would make a DARN good one! I've got a stomach made of IRON!! (LOL), but a heart made of JELL-O!! I couldn't deal with so much death as they do in hospitals. I get attached to people easily-- they cry, I cry!! and it was hard enough losing one of OUR patients! But, I suppose, in a hospital, you really don't have TIME to get attached.... but I STILL don't want to be a nurse!!
Although, like you said Betty-- if you REALLY wanted to make some money, you DO need a degree. MA's are issued a certificate. Not a degree. And they don't get paid well enough to support a whole family alone.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
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shepherdgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1008 Posts
Tracy
California
USA
1008 Posts |
Posted - Jul 28 2008 : 7:58:07 PM
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Oh, and about that Hemorrhoid? She should have KNOWN what one is because they DO teach basic anatomy and I'm sure they discussed health issues in the MA program she went through (the "Micky Mouse" program I think-- every girl that came OUT of that program was about as sharp as a MARBLE!!!) ~~~ Tracy
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~~ George Carlin |
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Betty J.
True Blue Farmgirl
1404 Posts
Betty
Pasco
WA
USA
1404 Posts |
Posted - Sep 03 2008 : 10:04:01 AM
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I'm just checking in to see if Jonni has found a new doctor and if she had the discussion with her previous doctor to see what the problem was. I certainly hope her mind has been eased by now.
Betty in Pasco |
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Here's to Your Health: Doctors :( Guess I expected too much.... |
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Doctors :( Guess I expected too much....
