Aggravation with doctor(s)

R

rgp

Well-known Member
Location
Milford,OH
Went to the doc yesterday. Office girl calls this morning,there is a change with my blood work, he wants me to consider options, OK...So I have a question, she says let me ask him, I'll call you back, OK. She does, I have a question, same thing she'll call me back. She does,same thing. This went on four times.........That is ridiculous, the office girl is not a doctor, as such she cannot answer medical/dosing questions. And do they really think the patient would have no questions?? And of course he's too busy herding other patients through to actually make the call/take the call himself........it is damn frustrating !!!

Hope I didn't "vent" too much.
 

I'm surprised he didn't want you to make an appointment to see him. Our doctor is forever doing that over the least little thing. I guess he wants the office visit charge. I haven't been able to get a doctor on the phone for years. It's not right that you have to go through the office girl. I can see your frustration.
 
It works exactly the same way with my PCP.

I would be willing to pay a fee/copay for a ten-minute telephone consultation to get the information that I need directly from the doctor.

I"m sorry the doctor is unable to take your call... :):playful::eek:nthego:

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No, you sure didn't vent too much. The drs have got to get used to pts speaking up for themselves. From my own recent experience, if there is a change in the bloodwork the first thing to do is insist on retesting. I had a number that was way out of line with previous, got retested, and the value came back in the usual range. If I hadn't done that could have had some odd Rx forced on me.
 
I have been going to my PCP for almost 30yrs and I never had a problem with him. The problems I've been having lately are the new staff he has now. They don't understand anything. I had to call at least 10 times for them to fax my blood work that I will need to take with me to the blood lab to get my test done. I can't imagine other patients not complaining to him about the staff.
 
What about patients privacy ? I certtainly wouldn’t be happy discussing my private medical issues with a receptionist
 
Wren said:
What about patients privacy ? I certtainly wouldn’t be happy discussing my private medical issues with a receptionist
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My feelings also. Plus they are usually out in the open office while calling. That’s not ok with me.
What happens here when you get blood work or any medical tests done they automatically make an appointment for you to go in so your results are explained to you. This happens whether there is a problem or no problem. Positive or negative.

Results are never given over the phone. That IS a breech of privacy in itself.
 
Keesha said:
My feelings also. Plus they are usually out in the open office while calling. That’s not ok with me.
What happens here when you get blood work or any medical tests done they automatically make an appointment for you to go in so your results are explained to you. This happens whether there is a problem or no problem. Positive or negative.

Results are never given over the phone. That IS a breech of privacy in itself.
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Well, she gave me the 'results' [numbers] from the lab. That is what prompted my questions.
 
Sassycakes said:
I have been going to my PCP for almost 30yrs and I never had a problem with him. The problems I've been having lately are the new staff he has now. They don't understand anything. I had to call at least 10 times for them to fax my blood work that I will need to take with me to the blood lab to get my test done. I can't imagine other patients not complaining to him about the staff.
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I'm not sure where the problem is,doctor or staff? But it seems to me any problem in a doctors office is a doctor problem. After all HE is the one with the MD/PHD degree, and the big paycheck...HE is where the responsibility begins & ends....IMO
 
Wow. Any lab results are sent to me on my Patient Portal and my PCP emails me about anything that`s concerning or tells me everything looks good. I can email her back with any questions and they are answered promptly. I thought pretty much everybody uses this option now?
 
Mrs. Robinson said:
Wow. Any lab results are sent to me on my Patient Portal and my PCP emails me about anything that`s concerning or tells me everything looks good. I can email her back with any questions and they are answered promptly. I thought pretty much everybody uses this option now?
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Same here. I love being able to see test results online, and my doctor is excellent at returning my emails.
 
C'est Moi said:
Same here. I love being able to see test results online, and my doctor is excellent at returning my emails.
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Same here. Think the app is called “My Health Record” and it has all my info...all my test results, all my vitals on a particular appt.

Also has a menu and you can email the dr or office or nurse.

My dr is very good about getting back to me...might not be right away but will be that day.
 
My biggest aggrivation is when the doctor is done then leaves the examination room closing the door behind him and there you sit in the examination room waiting and waiting and waiting for his assistant to give you a prescription. I have never had any patience so for me it is hell on Earth.
 
fmdog44 said:
My biggest aggrivation is when the doctor is done then leaves the examination room closing the door behind him and there you sit in the examination room waiting and waiting and waiting for his assistant to give you a prescription. I have never had any patience so for me it is hell on Earth.
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Thats not how it works at my drs office. We both leave the room together and then I go the front desk and get anything that I need there or they’ll call in a prescription to my pharmacy.
 
Our prescriptions are automatically sent to our pharmacy also. We can find our about our results but they aren’t fully explained. If you need an explanation of the results, you can’t call the doctors receptionist as they aren’t legally allowed to do that.
 
Everything medical, for me, is online. I can write my PCP, and he responds in twenty-four hours, usually. I would never discuss lab results with a receptionist. That's crazy. For doctors that want you to come in, any time you want to discuss something, you can bet your butt that it's purely a money grab for that office visit charge. I'd find another doctor, pronto.
 
Instead of getting yourself upset, next time when you are at the doctor, try chatting with the secretaries, receptionists. Be friendly,ask about them. Smile.
like a person. Talk a bit on the phone. You might even bring candy. Some of them have stressful jobs and they would appreciate a patient who likes them.
I am thinking of bringing candy to 3 receptionists at my doctor. Then they will remember you.
At one doctor's office is a large sign: BE NICE OR GO AWAY. I am not making that up. I asked them, do you really need this sign? Are so many people not nice?
She said yes, yes. The receptionist decides whose call goes through and when messages are sent and follow through.

I agree that they should have no access to private info but it happens often, too often. Hopefully, they forget what's on the medical reports.

If it is psychiatric in any way, then I'd be very concerned. Most medical numbers are not interesting to them.
 
treeguy64 said:
Everything medical, for me, is online. I can write my PCP, and he responds in twenty-four hours, usually. I would never discuss lab results with a receptionist. That's crazy. For doctors that want you to come in, any time you want to discuss something, you can bet your butt that it's purely a money grab for that office visit charge. I'd find another doctor, pronto.
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It IS but we have a federal health care system and it’s a bit different than yours.
We do have online viewing but it’s fairly new here
 
Victor said:
Instead of getting yourself upset, next time when you are at the doctor, try chatting with the secretaries, receptionists. Be friendly,ask about them. Smile.
like a person. Talk a bit on the phone. You might even bring candy. Some of them have stressful jobs and they would appreciate a patient who likes them.
I am thinking of bringing candy to 3 receptionists at my doctor. Then they will remember you.
At one doctor's office is a large sign: BE NICE OR GO AWAY. I am not making that up. I asked them, do you really need this sign? Are so many people not nice?
She said yes, yes. The receptionist decides whose call goes through and when messages are sent and follow through.




I agree that they should have no access to private info but it happens often, too often. Hopefully, they forget what's on the medical reports.

If it is psychiatric in any way, then I'd be very concerned. Most medical numbers are not interesting to them.
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Since I do not know who you are responding too...I assume it is the OP/Me?

So, it is my fault because i didn't take them candy? Where did you get that I wasn't nice too them? All I did was ask a few questions, to which they needed to , hang up, ask him, and call me back........And I could have avoided all that with candy?

No thanks, I'll switch doctors first.
 
Interactions with PCP's are going to become increasingly frustrating, as time passes. Presently, many PCP's are pretty much "maxed out" on the number of patients they can see in a given amount of time. The vast majority of today's Med students are planning on entering a "specialty", because that is where the Big Money is. As today's doctors retire, that is going to leave a Big Gap in the number of PCP's that are available to the general public. We will probably be seeing a substantial rise in "foreign" doctors being granted Visas to come here to fill the void. That will probably lead to even less meaningful communications between doctor and patient.

About the Only solution I see is a national program to offer students a substantial reduction in university tuitions, etc., IF they agree to become a PCP after graduation.
 
Keesha said:
Our prescriptions are automatically sent to our pharmacy also. We can find our about our results but they aren’t fully explained. If you need an explanation of the results, you can’t call the doctors receptionist as they aren’t legally allowed to do that.
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If I have a question, I can communicate with my PCP through the access portal. She responds within 48 hours to non-emergency stuff. If I'm not satisfied with her written answer, I can make an appointment to go see her. She also has an option for video visits, but I don't have an internet camera so I can't do that.

If I want to know what a specific result means, like what does an elevated whatever it is means, I look it up on the internet.
 
Butterfly said:
If I have a question, I can communicate with my PCP through the access portal. She responds within 48 hours to non-emergency stuff. If I'm not satisfied with her written answer, I can make an appointment to go see her. She also has an option for video visits, but I don't have an internet camera so I can't do that.

If I want to know what a specific result means, like what does an elevated whatever it is means, I look it up on the internet.
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We don’t have any services like that here that I know about but I don’t go to the doctors that often or go to many different ones. My last doctor I was with for over 10 years until he retired and he was really old school. An ex military doctor.

The new medical clinic I’ve been at for the last 5 years is much more progressive.
Most testing can get done the same day in the same building but if they are busy you can make a scheduled appointment so that there is no waiting. Most of the staff are registered nurses but there are two doctors.

Video visits sound like a good alternative option especially for those who can’t make it.
Medical care has come a long way.
 

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