Service at our Dr.s office going downhill ,should I switch?(long)

[Rock'n Robin]

DH has a history of having high cholesterol, triglycerides and uric acid when he gets bloodwork done. He had his last physical in 2003--had one scheduled in 11/04 but Dr. broke his leg and they cancelled. He ended up in the hospital for Guillane-Barre syndrome for 2 weeks in Feb. They noticed his high uric acid and did the usual tests, which came back fine (he normally is sent for them every year after his physical and they are always fine). He has been off cholesterol meds since they because the crestor he was on brought on the initial weakness and he blamed it for the GBS, so I imagine his cholesterol was sky-high.
He had a physical 10/21. I called in 2 weeks to see why we hadn't been called about his bloodwork. They were not very nice about it and said they would have called if it was in. FIL works in a lab--the work probably took 2 days. They said they would check.
I called again Friday--4 weeks after the physical! They were again not happy with me, this time because I didn't know where he got the bloodwork. I told them he did not get it done downstairs because they don't accept our insurance--she indignantly told me that they have never had anyone turned away in their affiliated lab because of insurance--when I said I had been turned away myself a year ago, she didn't believe me. She said she'd check DH's file.
They called yesterday and left a message that DH needed to call them to make an appt. He did today, and the soonest the Dr. can see him is Dec. 5--over 6 weeks after the physical! I think that is INSANE. I imagine it is the same uric acid and cholesterol problem (DH has told me unless they have non-statin drugs he will not take cholesterol meds)--I bet they didn't even look at his hospital record.
Does anyone else think this is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for lab work results? Before, when the lab work came in they always called us right away. Now we have to beg for it. I think it may be time to find a new doctor.
Robin M.

 

[luvwinnie]

I would first bring it up with the dr....he may not know about how his staff is acting.

 

[Horseshoes]

It may be a trend

I called my MD to have a prescription changed, I wanted the dosage increased from 5 mg to 10 mg. Easy, right? Well they never called the pharmacy, so I called back the doctor and they told me they no longer take calls regarding prescriptions, I was to call the pharmacy and they were to fax my request back to the MD.

They never told me that when I first called. (Actually sometimes it takes days to get thru--the line is busy all day long)


Sorry to have changed your topic, but I do think 6 weeks is a long time, let him know at the appointment.

 

[belleandthebeast]

Speaking from my own experience, I would switch drs. I gave my dr lots of chances, but his staff were ignorant and not very effecient in getting info to the dr and then to me.

This is the story of the final situation that made me switch. Woke up w/ very bad pain in my foot. Hardly could walk. Got crutchs? from my Dad. Called the drs at 9am (they open at 9). Explained the situation. Told them that if I needed to get an x-ray, I was going into town. Asked if they could call me back w/in a 1/2 hour to know if that's what I had to do. That way, I didn't have to run into town, run back home, run back into town to get the x-ray. Receptionist laughed at me. Told me they would get back to me. 4 HOURS LATER, they still hadn't called. Called them back. Was told, they didn't have any info, they would call me back. Drs never called, wound up in emergeny room at 3am. Not only did I spend 2 hours in emergency and missed a day of work, I wound up with a $50 copay bill from the Emergency room. Called drs next day to set up follow up visit and explain my anger that they hadn't called me back. She said that they had called something in for me. CALLED SOMETHING IN????? THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS WRONG!!!! And, to top that off, the only appointment that they could give me was 6 weeks away. The follow up had to be w/in 10 days. Not 6 weeks. Turned out I had sprained my foot. Hurt like h e double hockey sticks. Had to take percicet? to fall asleep.

Changed drs that day. My theory: if the dr had that many patients that he couldn't fit me in for 6 weeks, he needed to downsize. So I helped him out. Beyond that, his staff were demons from hell. Other people in my office have same dr. Have same issues. Looking to change now, too.

Changed drs. Love my new one. Still have to wait (3 weeks seems to be the going time), but treated w/ respect. Dr herself calls back w/ test results.
Very, very nice staff.

Good luck in whatever you decide. For me, it wasn't worth the hassle and aggravation.

 

[vald1977]

I agree it's way too long to have to wait for lab results. The fact that they are rude when you call would also send up a red flag for me. I need to be comfortable calling my dr.'s office. I'd start looking for a new office.

 

[tmt martins]

If you are reasonable with your Doc.and still not 100% satisfied then SWITCH right away .
This is your DH health and WE men will procrastinate and go with the flow.

Doctors are like shoes it takes time to find one that fits best .Even then they wear out and it's time to find that other comfie pair (DOC ).

DON"T just buy that $2.oo pair because it's convienent.If your asking you already know the answer.

 

[wilderness01]

First of all did you know that you could get the results from the lab yourself? You need to notify the lab when they are drawing your labs that you would like to call back later today for the results. They should give you an authorization number and you will need to sign some paperwork. I like this the best as sometimes it takes my doctor's office a few days up to a week to notify me of results. If they are sky-high then I call them and ask to speak with the doctor.

You need to go see the doctor himself to let him know what is happening. I had a situation happen with the nurse I was speaking to and she kind of blew me off. I spoke to the doctor myself and he did what I wanted. It helps I am a nurse myself so he usually doesn't bs me. If you still are not satisfied with your treatment then by all means switch. If you have no trust in your doctor you should not go to him any longer. Good luck.

 

[DawnCt1]

Doctors can be very good physicians but they aren't always good businessmen.
Doctors need to be told about the problems with their office staff so they can do something about it. I had a friend who had a very good doctor but he had rude, incompetent staff. She visited Dr. B, a cardiologist and she asked him if he could be her primary physician. Dr. B reassured her that she had an excellent physician but said that he had heard negative things about his staff. Then he told her that he has heard enough negative things things that he would call Dr. A himself. He did. The last time she went to Dr. A, he had almost a whole new staff and they definately had a whole new attitude. She is very comfortable with Dr. A and grateful to Dr. B for taking the initiative to call.