Anyone run into this at the pediatrician's office?

[gk90]

Am I the only person with a group practice where you get whichever pediatrician happens to be available? When making an appointment we're never asked which doctor we want to see and I've never thought to ask. In the 14 years we've been going there we've found all the doctors in the practice to be at least competent (and some of them are excellent)

I vaguely remember being told when we first started with them that we we would be seen by whoever was next available that day and didn't have the option to ask.

 

[angierae]

Definitely common in a group practice, which is why my daughter's pediatrician was in an office with only two doctors, and the family doctor that she, myself and my husband all see now is a sole practitioner.

I do not like group practices for exactly this reason.

 

[clori]

Our group pediatric practice starts by looking up the child by name/birthdate and the front desk knows who the primary care pediatrician is. Well child check ups are only made with the child's primary care. I think you can request a different ped for that but it would require switching primary care physicians if your insurance requires that.

For sick visits they start with your ped's availibility but also check the ped assigned to sick calls for that day to see which fits your schedule better and give you options if availible. They aren't great at saying which dr you are getting if you don't ask but you know if it is the primary care of different ped.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

My doctor is in a practice with two others. When I give my child's name their records must show which doctor we use because they never ask and we always see "our" doctor.

Thanks for this thread; I just called to make my back to school appointment!

 

[ProudMomTo3Boys]

When I make a well check appt. they always ask me who the Dr. is and then make the appts according to that. None of my 3 kids have ever seen a different Dr. for a well check in 16 years.

 

[foltzy]

Not for my kids. Their doctor is in practice with herself. I got lucky that she had openings when I started taking my kids to her.

My doctor's office though, you have to request what doctor you want. My doctor is on an extended leave and I don't know if she'll ever go back. Well because of that I'm looking for a new doctor because I don't like anyone else in the practice. Though if I was sick I'd go see one of other doctors.

 

[libinatorsmom]

Yes you always have to specify if in a group practice. I always do with our clinic dor my daughters. The person manning the phone would have no idea you wanted to see someone specific... so make sure you do in the future.

 

[Elleshoodat]

I've never gotten a "surprise" like the OP's at our pediatrician's office.

When scheduling check-ups for my son, I ask for his doctor by name. When he is sick, I want to get him in as soon as possible, but the scheduler will typically tell me which doctor we are seeing before I hang up.

 

[mjkacmom]

I always specify who I want the appointment with for yearly checkups - I have to book at least 3 months out. For sick visits, they always get seen that day, and I'm not usually told who it's with, and I don't really care. If the ER needed to contact the pediatrician, I'm sure whoever was available would just read the chart.

 

[tavettava]

Whenever I call for any appointment they ask who are Dr. is. Sometimes they are not available and we take whoever is there (they always tell us who it is we are going to see). They also have a walk in clinic and you get whoever is doing it that day.

 

[taylor3297]

Our children go to a group practice and we prefer a particular doctor. So for wellness checks we have to make our appointments with her 3 months in advance and make sure we specify who we want.

If it is a sick visit I ask to see if she is available, if not then I then ask who is. There is one doctor in the practice I prefer not to see.

If you don't specify for wellness or sick appointments, you get whomever has an opening.

 

[gymboqueenkaylee]

It has happend to us many times. My daughter only sees the MD in the practice because I really do not care of the APRN's in the group (nothing against APRN's because I am an APRN student myself) but they just didn't address our problem correctly a few times. Now, I make sure to say I need to make and appt with MD not the APRN's and it's even noted on our chart in RED and on the computer system (the MD put it in herself because the screw up was a major one).

 

[MSSANDRA]

We have used the same pediatric group for the last 20 years. It started small, three doctors and is now huge. We have always been happy there. I always, 100% of the time, request my children primary care doctor for well child check-ups. There has been times when they told me they only have limited times for this doctor, would i like to see someone else or even suggest someone else but nope....I want our primary doctor and have always gotten her. When the boys are sick, I call and ask if our primary doctor has anything open. If yes, I book it , if not, I always ask which doctor has something open. There are times when our doctor might not have anything till late afternoon and my child is quite ill and I would choose an earlier time with someone else. Many times when you call and ask for a sick appointment they will suggest a dr and a time but if it was not what I want, I ask politely if they have someone else or for a specific doctor. In reality there has only been one doctor in all this time I don't like and he is a really great doctor who has terrible parent communication. If my child was lying in the ER in major trouble, I want him....other wise I want someone else. In an after hours emergency, and for hospital visits, you get whomever is on call and we are really blessed that has not been too much of an issue for us!!! Once we got to a well child visit and were told our doctor was really behind and they wanted to give us someone different, but I said no and we waited it out. I feel strongly kids need to see one person on a regular basis.

 

[billdob62]

Never happened to us. The receptionist always asks who are doctor is if we didn't mention it first. I want to stay with the same one as he knows my child, and may notice something that doesn't show up to another doctor, just mannerisms basically.

 

[mom2val]

.

 

[bridget]

That is interesting! I've never had that happen. I don't make appointments with the receptionist, I always make it with the drs. nurse (that's how it is done around here). Even if my child is sick, they will let me know if I'm going to have to see someone else, because our doctor is unavailable. However, this is pretty rare, and unless it is his day off (Friday) we almost always get to see him!

 

[MinnieForMe]

Completely normal here. To go one step further, if you don't ask for a doctor, you'll get a nurse practitioner for your well check here.

 

[whoopsiedoodle]

Our Pedi is in a practice with 4 or 5 doctors and when I call the receptionist asks who my kids' doctor is. We only see our Dr. for well check-ups. If its a sick visit we see our dr. if he is in the office that day (he is gone mon and wed). If he's not I can wait until the next day or see another doctor.

 

[Kathi OD]

I'm amazed that you think 6 weeks is "far in advance." Around here it is a good 3 months to schedule a well-visit appointment, and that's for both pediatricians and general practitioners.

But to your point, no I'm not surprised. Unless you specify at the time you make the appointment who you want to see, how is the receptionist supposed to know? They're just looking either in a book, or at the computer screen, to see what times are available. Could they ask if Dr. So And So is ok, but since they didn't, you get whoever was on that day at that time.

Sorry you were so shocked.

 

[ekatiel]

I'm amazed that you think 6 weeks is "far in advance." Around here it is a good 3 months to schedule a well-visit appointment, and that's for both pediatricians and general practitioners.

But to your point, no I'm not surprised. Unless you specify at the time you make the appointment who you want to see, how is the receptionist supposed to know? They're just looking either in a book, or at the computer screen, to see what times are available. Could they ask if Dr. So And So is ok, but since they didn't, you get whoever was on that day at that time.

Sorry you were so shocked.

OP here. The receptionists DO know who each kid's ped is. They ask the kid's birthday and look up that child in their system. It has been my experience in the past that they try to first schedule you with your own doc. Then, if that doc is not available, they offer to schedule you with someone else. I am guessing that I got a new receptionist, since she never mentioned the name of the doctor we were seeing (which seems to be standard practice). In the future, I will double check that we are scheduled with our ped. --Katie