My Dr. kicked us out of the practice!! (Long tale ahead!)

[ChristmasElf]

I see that you are trying to pin this all on me...Once again, the issues I have had with the wife were issues with OFFICE STAFF itself...She also has made accomadations for my husband and myself mutliple times. It was not an ALL negative relationship, just things here and there over a 10yr period.

I also was not GIVEN the discharge papers at that time, but she asked me if I wanted to leave, and I said NO.

And as for why was I involved with my DH's appt? Are you kidding me.. I love my DH, but when it comes to things like his medical health, and other things, I lead the charge. I AM ALSO A PATIENT WITH THIS DR. We used to see him together, till the office made a stupid change to their policy that does NOT allow spouses in the office together anymore...which I posted about here on the DIS. So that is why I was involved in my DH's appt...not that that is your business how I work my marriage.

I see that you also live in Central Florida. I have never had a problem with a Dr's office not allowing the spouse in the exam room. That is ridiculous! I would have given this office and the Dr a heave ho a long time ago with that new policy.
You should consider yourself lucky, get the records, find a new Dr and blab to everyone you know what a crazy office that is. Word will eventually get out and that Dr will have to make changes eventually.

 

[chell]

I am planning on getting a copy of the letter that was sent to me...



Here is the site..
http://www.oncolink.com/resources/article.cfm?c=3&s=38&ss=201&id=869

They must agree to see you for 30 days while you are looking for another doctor and a copy of the letter sent to you is supposed to be in your medical record file.

 

[chell]

Hate to disagree, but that is going to make the OP just look silly. Her husband broke an appointment just an hour or so before he was to be seen. That was just cause to be discharged from the practice right there.

If I were the OP, I would just let it go and find a new doctor. Oh, and don't break appointments the day of the appointment, give the new doctor at least a 24 hour notice.

One broken appointment doesn't usually warrant being discharged from a practice. The OP can report him to the medical board because they did abandon him since they are not providing the 30-day window.

Patients shouldn't be expected to wait 2 hours past their appointment time to see a doctor. The patent's time is just as valuable as anyone else's.

 

[chell]

I see that you are trying to pin this all on me...Once again, the issues I have had with the wife were issues with OFFICE STAFF itself...She also has made accomadations for my husband and myself mutliple times. It was not an ALL negative relationship, just things here and there over a 10yr period.

I also was not GIVEN the discharge papers at that time, but she asked me if I wanted to leave, and I said NO.

And as for why was I involved with my DH's appt? Are you kidding me.. I love my DH, but when it comes to things like his medical health, and other things, I lead the charge. I AM ALSO A PATIENT WITH THIS DR. We used to see him together, till the office made a stupid change to their policy that does NOT allow spouses in the office together anymore...which I posted about here on the DIS. So that is why I was involved in my DH's appt...not that that is your business how I work my marriage.

 

[chell]

Sorry for so many posts back-to-back here.

You have to wonder how many other people they have discharged. Guess they don't think about how that will effect their practice in the long run - the more people hear how they treat patients the less people will want to go there.

 

[SueM in MN]

You can send it so he has to sign for it specifically.

Liz

At least if he has to sign for it, there is a chance he will be curious and read the letter, rather than just signing for it and leaving it for his wife to read.

I noticed your profile shows you are in Florida, so here are some Florida references:
An article about patient abandonment from a Florida law firm


A link to actual Florida statutes and resources about patient abandonment

State of Florida Board of Licensing
I would complain to the State Board of Licensing in my state about a situation like this.

ALSO, in most states, the patient would have to pay for copies of the records because legally, the record belongs to the doctor. The wife could request copies of her records. The husband would need to request copies of his. The best way would be by registered letter.
You may be able to get the doctors office to send the records to your new doctor without charge. Again, each person would have to request their own records.

 

[aprilgail2]

Iget your medical records transfered prior to filing any complaints.

I just changed my moms Dr and they charged us 150.00 for those darn records! I knew they charged something but I wasn't ready for the 150.00 bill!

 

[kaytieeldr]

One broken appointment doesn't usually warrant being discharged from a practice. The OP can report him to the medical board because they did abandon him since they are not providing the 30-day window.

Patients shouldn't be expected to wait 2 hours past their appointment time to see a doctor. The patent's time is just as valuable as anyone else's.

Ya think? I recently left a practice with which I was relatively happy - I had a rapport with one of the PA's, and with the newest NP (whose first patient I was ), for a lot of little reasons - and this was one of them. When my appointment was with the doctor, she invariably ran late. Back when I was paid (and thus docked) hourly, timing really mattered. I would get there for a 3 PM appointment but not be seen until after 4; when I'd ask (the receptionist) if I could call next time and find out how late she was running and adjust my arrival, I was told no, that patients are expected to arrive on time - in case the doctor is, too :
The last time I saw her, I was in the waiting room then the exam room without being seen for an hour and forty five minutes. When she finally did come in, apparently she'd had to do physicals on three challenged patients and meet with a drug rep and go see the site where the new office was being built... all while I waited!

I've since found a practice with much better hours and a larger staff - and not only haven't been kept waiting, but one day when I couldn't find any more ways to kill time before a late-afternoon appointment and showed up around 3, they were able to get me in early.

 

[aprilgail2]

I would get there for a 3 PM appointment but not be seen until after 4; when I'd ask (the receptionist) if I could call next time and find out how late she was running and adjust my arrival, I was told no, that patients are expected to arrive on time - in case the doctor is, too :
.

I go to an orthopedic Dr and it is routinely a 2 to 3 hour wait (as are most of them around here) so at this point I just go check in, get an approx wait time and either go home or run some errands, go check back, if its still a long wait I run out and do what I have to do again. I refuse to sit there doing nothing for 3 hours when I could be getting other errands done.

 

[Dax]

They must agree to see you for 30 days while you are looking for another doctor and a copy of the letter sent to you is supposed to be in your medical record file.

The more I think about it, I really have them for this one...they refused to see us on Friday(when this all went down). If anything, they violated the law that day. Dh was needing at least 3 meds renewed, and also needed blood work scheduled due to issues with his liver....

Time to follow up..I will keep DISer's posted.

 

[Ciao Mickey]

They can let you go, but the way they went about it was so incredibly wrong that I would not let it go. First off, she scheduled you for a fake appointment before they even open. That is beyond spiteful, and it wasted your time. I would take them to small claims court for it. Even if you lose, you made someone from their office show up and explain themselves. I doubt they'd send a receptionist, so either the doctor or his wife would have to show. Or not, in which case you might win by default. Nuisance suit? Maybe, but that would be the point since they made a nuisance of themselves by purposefully wasting your time.

And of course, I would never go back to a practice like that. If she was willing to be so petty over a perceived slight in rescheduling, where else could she petty and unprofessional? Those are not adjectives I want to use about someone I'm trusting with my health care.

:

I would take them to small claims court too.

Did your husband and you take off from work? I would sue for my time lost.

I remember years ago that there was a court case where a man sued a company because he scheduled an appointment to have a something repaired in this home and the repairman never showed up for the appointment. The guy went to court and sued for the day's pay he lost and he won his case. I believe it set a precedent. That's maybe why now you have companies telling you "the installer will be there between x and y."

Either way op, I think you are right in what you did. I would have asked to be rescheduled too.

I wonder what story the wife told the doctor to make him drop you as a patient? It must have been a doozy!

 

[agnes!]

The more I think about it, I really have them for this one...they refused to see us on Friday(when this all went down). If anything, they violated the law that day. Dh was needing at least 3 meds renewed, and also needed blood work scheduled due to issues with his liver....

Time to follow up..I will keep DISer's posted.

In my opinion?....time to scorch the Earth. Good luck and keep us posted.

agnes!

 

[chell]

The more I think about it, I really have them for this one...they refused to see us on Friday(when this all went down). If anything, they violated the law that day. Dh was needing at least 3 meds renewed, and also needed blood work scheduled due to issues with his liver....

Time to follow up..I will keep DISer's posted.

Glad to see this. I really am sorry they did this to you.

My doctor recently added a 2nd to her practice and I can't stand seeing him. My doctor is off on Friday and the past several times I got sick it was on a Friday of course. In February I went to see my doctor for my yearly physical. I was gone from work for just over an hour - this included the full physical and blood sucking. The following Friday I had to see the new guy and I was there 2 hours for him to tell me I had pneumonia. Then about 2 weeks ago I had to go back to see him because of an allergic reaction and was there over 2 hours. Seems odd that 2 doctors in the same practice are so different on their timing. Now I'm wondering if I should say something to my doctor to see if she knows how slow he is.

 

[PigletsPal2]

Dax, I'm printing out this whole thread and giving it to him at my next visit, explaining that he's the doctor in question and that this is his staff and this is what's happening. I'm hopeful that things will get better, but if they don't, there's a family practice in the same building (second floor, I think) and they're accepting new patients and they take my insurance - I checked!
Further updates as events warrant; film at 11:00 BTW, would he recognize you from your screen name? (For those who don't know, Dax and I have the same doctor.)

Queen Colleen

 

[Disney Doll]

Showing up for an appointment and then leaving is still considered breaking an appointment.

No, it is not. Showing up for an appointment and not being able to wait 2+ hours because the doctor and his staff are completely diosorganized is not breaking an appointment. If you are a physician and you feel this way, you are wrong. If you are not a physician and you feel this way, you are still wrong.

OP...find a new physician. Get your medical record from your former MD's office. Ask that included in the record is the copy of the letter that was sent to your home, along with the documentation that the letter was sent certified mail, which is a requirement. Make sure they know that you are more than willing to pay for the cost of copying any and all records. They do have a right to charge you and it sounds as if they will. Once you have your information, write a letter to your state medical board outlinign your situation with this doctor's office and mail it. Make a copy of said letter and write a letter to your former MD stating "I am no longer a patient of yours, according to what your office staff told me. Here is an outline of what happened to cause this situation. You will note that I have sent it to the state medical board". Send that package to the physician with the stipulation that he, and only he, can sign for it. You can do that, it will cost you $$, but then you will know that he will have received the information personally.

Believe me when I tell you, if an MD's office is that disorganized, no matter how nice of a guy he is, you don't want him as your doc. Occasional delays are one thing...a delay every time you go to the MD's office is not accpetable and not necessarily a sign of a good MD.

 

[hentob]

No, it is not. Showing up for an appointment and not being able to wait 2+ hours because the doctor and his staff are completely diosorganized is not breaking an appointment. If you are a physician and you feel this way, you are wrong. If you are not a physician and you feel this way, you are still wrong.

 

[chell]

I just changed my moms Dr and they charged us 150.00 for those darn records! I knew they charged something but I wasn't ready for the 150.00 bill!

Oh my! Did you get them personally or have them sent to the new doctor? No way they should charge you that much. Check to see if your state has restrictions on what they can charge for medical record copies. My state does have them and there is no way you could be charged that here.

 

[Dax]

Dax, I'm printing out this whole thread and giving it to him at my next visit, explaining that he's the doctor in question and that this is his staff and this is what's happening. I'm hopeful that things will get better, but if they don't, there's a family practice in the same building (second floor, I think) and they're accepting new patients and they take my insurance - I checked!
Further updates as events warrant; film at 11:00 BTW, would he recognize you from your screen name? (For those who don't know, Dax and I have the same doctor.)

Queen Colleen

He should not know me...LOL...Dax has NOTHING to do with our name..but you can tell him this was something VERY recent..just look at the date of the first post!

I am going to be calling the office today, should be fun

 

[mom2kazkids]

Any updates?

 

[RitaZ.]

Any news?