Doctor's office staff??????

fuzzybuddy

fuzzybuddy

SF VIP
Location
The Sticks, Northeast PA.
I've just got off the phone, making a DR.'s appointment. I asked for an afternoon appt., because I don't move well in the morning. Trish said, "the 18th at 8 AM". I've been going to this doctor for over twenty years, and I've been through Trish, Bonnie, Bev, Lainy, Elaine, Carly, and many more. Apparently, there's slim pickings when it comes to Dr's office staff. I've had to call the office at least three time to get a refill. I take my appt. card with me, because the date or time may not be what's on the dr.'s schedule. Have you met staff. like Trish, at your doctor's office??????????
 

Most doctors have high turnover in office staff, front office and back office because they do not pay a living wage. Of course, there are exceptions, when you find a good office with low turnover, you know the doctors are business oriented as well as physicians.
 

Oh man, don't get me started.
I've been running in to problems w/the medical assistants and schedulers not answering the phones. And, if I leave a message, they never return it. This happens repeatedly.

I finally contacted the manager in charge of the staff to rat them out. Then, I got my angioplasty appt 2 hrs later after waiting 3 weeks.
Now, I just fax over my requests. And, messages to my doctor.

This also happens w/my Rheumatologists office. I fax her now too.
 
Murrmurr said:
I also have My Chart. I can even email my doctor directly with it, though I don't do that often.

Recently, my doctor only takes morning appointments, and she's only in the office I go to once a week. That started this year.
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I'm on several different patient portals for my doctors, depending on what they're using, and find them extremely helpful! There, test results can be read, appointments made/cancelled and communication with the doctors is so much easier via email. Love those things.

Actually, just this morning I called my GYN because my Endo. wanted a copy of the hormonal panel done at the GYN's. They told me I'd need to come in and fill out a medical release for this. So, I went into the patient portal for the GYN, downloaded a pdf of the report and sent it to by Endo., as an attachment, via his patient portal. Love tech. Love it.
 
Yes, where I live, it's kind of scary. The receptionist talks over me or cuts me off. She got my phone number wrong, so the hospital couldn't contact me to schedule tests.

I thought it was just me, but an acquaintance also had problems and reported her to the physicians' regulatory body.

At least she didn't give me an 8 am appointment. That would be bad!
 
The lady at the clinic I use is exceptional. It would be the odd person that does not give a good review. What has me worried is that this clinic may close in August as the doctor is retiring definitely this time after coming out of retirement. If they cannot get another doctor :cry:

And doctors practicing family medicine here in Canada, minimum 1 1/2 to 2 year wait list.
 
Michael Z said:
If you can, go online with your clinic. I have a “MyChart” account where I can ask for an appointment and require certain days and hours. Also, I can read test results and send messages to doctors with their reply taking the place of expensive 5 minute office visits.
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And they'll contact me 48 hours in advance to remind you. Love MyChart!
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I've just got off the phone, making a DR.'s appointment. I asked for an afternoon appt., because I don't move well in the morning. Trish said, "the 18th at 8 AM". I've been going to this doctor for over twenty years, and I've been through Trish, Bonnie, Bev, Lainy, Elaine, Carly, and many more. Apparently, there's slim pickings when it comes to Dr's office staff. I've had to call the office at least three time to get a refill. I take my appt. card with me, because the date or time may not be what's on the dr.'s schedule. Have you met staff. like Trish, at your doctor's office??????????
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Call them back and tell them the 8a won't work; need later. I have an excuse since I rely on someone else driving and have to fit in with their schedule!
 
The staff at my primary doctor's office is so good and competent that I periodically take in flowers for them when I have appointments. I credit the lady who handles appointment with saving my life for the way she fought two different hospitals in order to get me into a cancer treatment program.
 
I have similar problems plus I haven’t seen my primary care doctor for a couple of years now. I always have to see a nurse practitioner.
Recently, I had an appointment with an Ophthalmologist who told me in confidence that she was very dismayed at the current use of nurse practitioners and physicians assistants as doctors. She said emphatically, “They are NOT doctors and have not been to medical school.” She told me that especially at my age I should be seeing my primary care doctor and not a nurse practitioner.
Good luck with that!
 
Yes, I think it's a chronic issue. Gone are the days of an actual licensed nurse working for an MD office.

I just had an eye appt. this last week. They moved to a new cold and grey decorated place. Apparently the surgery center is still running at the old location.

Thing is that fancy enough building for the eye doctors and glasses was less than 25 years old. I remember when it opened. I guess is it wasn't good enough for some reason and the practice of several doctors certainly had the money to build the new place.
 
"'MyChart' can be a good alternative if it is really secured. On their website, they write that it "uses the same encryption as banks do for online banking".
In Germany our health minister Karl Lauterbach wants to push us into the 'Elektronische Patientenakte' (electronic patient file - EPF) which collects all diagnoses by all physicians, all x-rays, all results of blood tests, all medication and other relevant data. The problem is, that these data can be delivered to 'Big Pharma'. "It allows anonymized data to be shared for research purposes" is the official statement. But who knows how anonimized these data are? The next problem: Until now the patients must ask their health insurance and doctor to install this electronic file (opt-in-system). But our health minister (years ago he was involved in the 'lipobay scandal': "Lauterbach was involved in the study of the drug and gladly accepted the money from the pharmaceutical industry, ignoring warnings and indications of possible dangerous side effects of the drug. Incidentally, he received around €800,000 in third-party funding for the studies in 2000 alone. What are a few human lives worth when your own wallet is ringing?") wants to install the 'opt-out-system', which means that the patient has to object to the electronic patient file.
I'll never use this EPF.
 
I just googled nurse practioner and fiound this! :
NPs can prescribe, diagnose, and treat patients without physician oversight. Nurse practitioners who operate in full-practice states are also allowed to establish and operate their own independent practices in the same way physicians do.
I also googled the nurse practitioner that I have been seeing at my primary care physicians office and she got her degree at Walden University ONLINE !😳
 
I just remembered a doctor visit 16 years ago at my diabetes diagnosis. After I decided that I didn't like the doctor (he was nothing more than a legalized drug pusher) & wanted to take my labs to another doctor, I politely asked the receptionist for a copy, which involved 5 or 6 pages. She kept discouraging me & delaying, brushing me off (probably at the doctor's direction.) Finally I reminded her that my labs were MY property & I paid $1,500.00 for them & she was required to give me a copy, by law. She kept trying to brush me off, sliding the window shut & getting up to talk to the doctor, until I opened the window & yelled, "Don't make me come back there & get them myself."
The doctor whispered something to her & she gave me a copy.
 
My retina surgeon had a patient portal, but never answered my questions. I finally called the office and whomever I spoke with said they seldom check their PP. :mad: Why have one, then?

My PCP only has one receptionist and she has to do all the office work, answer the phone (which hardly ever stops ringing - at least the times I've been there), greet incoming patients and make appointment. She also doesn't speak or understand English very well. I this it's laudable that she wants to work, but in dealing with the public in the US, one should be fluent in English. The doc should hire another girl to answer the phone and deal with patients and maybe have the other just do office work.
 
My regular doctors have nice and efficient staff. I've encountered staff attitude problems mostly with specialists' offices. One office had particularly rude condescending staff and I switched doctors because of it.
 
Marian said:
I just googled nurse practioner and fiound this! :
NPs can prescribe, diagnose, and treat patients without physician oversight. Nurse practitioners who operate in full-practice states are also allowed to establish and operate their own independent practices in the same way physicians do.
I also googled the nurse practitioner that I have been seeing at my primary care physicians office and she got her degree at Walden University ONLINE !😳
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@Marian : I have a slightly different take on this, may I share?

some states allow FNP to operate pretty independently (write prescriptions without MD oversight, etc) and other states they still have to run everything by an MD. You don't just go from being Joe-on-the-street to nurse practitioner. You have to be an RN first and then do schooling for NP and pass a separate set of boards to be certified to practice. Many NPs do advanced degrees as well to work in more specialized fields, like cardiology.

The FNP's I've worked with or seen in an office are competent, knowledgeable and caring. Many of them (more so PA's) come from a military/medic background or at least have experience "in the trenches" of the hospital/practice before coming to decide to be a NP. So they have practical experience and also understand medical care from the patient's POV. Also, I've found that NPs and PA's are generally more approachable and available than your average MD; they are willing to take the time listen and are not all up in their egos.

NPs know the limits of their scope of practice; they will refer to an MD when needed.

As one sign I saw put it, NP's "have the mind of a doctor and the heart of a nurse." I don't mind using their services.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I've just got off the phone, making a DR.'s appointment. I asked for an afternoon appt., because I don't move well in the morning. Trish said, "the 18th at 8 AM".
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My dental office always wants to give me a late afternoon appointment, no...I don't live next door, I have to drive 50 miles though a mountain pass that's choked to death with going home from work traffic .
 

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