My doctor's office refused to make an appointment for me.....

Colleen

Colleen

Senior Member
Location
Pennsylvania
OK...it was my own fault. I confess to leaving the office (I was still in the waiting area) in June. I went in and no one behind the reception desk was wearing a mask. There are 2 separate waiting rooms plus a couple chairs when you walk in by the desk. All areas were taken by waiting people. No social distancing but some of the people waiting had masks on. I stood just inside the door. I didn't want to sit near any one. This doctor's office is strictly a "bare-bones" operation (no pun intended). The exam rooms have a small desk and a couple chairs and a twin bed. The nurse always has a problem getting a reading on my BP. I have to tell her where to place the stethoscope on my arm. Anyway...while I was standing there waiting (my appointment was for 11am) I realized I'd be waiting a long time, which has happened before. Sometimes 2 hours! There's 8 people ahead of me and it's already 11:30. A man enquires how much longer it's going to be. His appointment was for 10:30am. I stand there and I'm looking around and not for the first time, see dirt on the floor in the corners of the room. It's beginning to make me very nervous. This has never been the cleanest office I've ever been but I usually ignore it. For some reason, I couldn't stay there. The grumpy receptionist keeps looking at me. She's always been rude to me and I decide to cancel my appointment and leave. I tell her I'm not keeping my appointment. She asks me if I want to re-schedule and I tell her I'll call. I honestly didn't have any medical issues I needed to see the doctor for. I just needed a couple prescriptions renewed.

In June Covid was like now...going crazy, and it made me nervous to be in an unclean environment with no social distancing or mask enforcements. The doctor is a good man and I like him but I've never understood why a doctor's office would be so unclean.

We live in an area that is sorely lacking on good healthcare, which is a major concern for me as my husband and I get older (he just turned 80 and is as healthy as a horse...but who knows about the future?).

I'm going to need refills on my 2 prescriptions in a month or so. I called the office yesterday to schedule an appointment and was told, "We can't make an appointment for you at this time." I guess I've been banned.

I'm admitting it was my fault. Now, I have to try to see someone else...which isn't going to be easy here.
 

Call the pharmacy where you got the scripts and they will call the doctor for you. You do not need to see the doctor to get the scripts. My daughter is a pharmacist and spends hours on the phone getting refills for patients. If the doctor needs to see you before refilling he will tell the pharmacist.
 

Actually some docs won't refill without an appt. Mine for example...if I don't see him every six months he won't let me get any refills on my meds. My meds get held hostage till I go see him. And I don't know why because we discuss the same crap all the time and nothing changes.
 
A lot depends on the meds you take. My doctor wants to see me once every six months and we rarely discuss meds. His nurse discusses it with me when she takes me to the room. She takes vitals and discusses meds. If there is a problem then she notes it for him and we address it when he comes in. Of course I just take BP and thyroid meds. If I were bi-polar and took those kid of meds I would have to see him more often for refills. That is a problem my daughter has with those patients as some of them don't understand that they must see their doctor before she can refill.
 
MarciKS said:
Actually some docs won't refill without an appt. Mine for example...if I don't see him every six months he won't let me get any refills on my meds. My meds get held hostage till I go see him. And I don't know why because we discuss the same crap all the time and nothing changes.
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Yes. That's the way it is here. You have to go see them every 6 months to get refills. Just another way to collect from the insurance company's :(
 
terry123 said:
A lot depends on the meds you take. My doctor wants to see me once every six months and we rarely discuss meds. His nurse discusses it with me when she takes me to the room. She takes vitals and discusses meds. If there is a problem then she notes it for him and we address it when he comes in. Of course I just take BP and thyroid meds. If I were bi-polar and took those kid of meds I would have to see him more often for refills. That is a problem my daughter has with those patients as some of them don't understand that they must see their doctor before she can refill.
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I take BP meds and have not changed them in years because they work. He tried a different one on me last year (he said it was better for me) and I got so sick and my BP skyrocketed. Turns out I was allergic to it. I don't have any other medical issues. I feel bad this happened.
 
terry123 said:
Call the pharmacy where you got the scripts and they will call the doctor for you. You do not need to see the doctor to get the scripts. My daughter is a pharmacist and spends hours on the phone getting refills for patients. If the doctor needs to see you before refilling he will tell the pharmacist.
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Many doctors won't fill a prescription without a visit to bill Medicare for (or whoever your provider is). My former doctor wouldn't fill my insulin prescription unless I was willing to come in every 3 months; which, of course is ridiculous. Medical care has nothing to do with care; It's all about money.
 
Colleen said:
They left a voicemail and she was very curt. I didn't want to call back. I know from previous experience with her, she would be very rude.
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Could it be that they are making no routine appointments for anyone? This was the case with some doctors; offices around here for awhile (including mine).

I'd call back and see what the true scoop is and ask her what the doc expects you to do about refills for a critical medication. Let her be as rude as she wants -- her rudeness won't kill you; uncontrolled high blood pressure might.
 
win231 said:
Many doctors won't fill a prescription without a visit to bill Medicare for (or whoever your provider is). My former doctor wouldn't fill my insulin prescription unless I was willing to come in every 3 months; which, of course is ridiculous. Medical care has nothing to do with care; It's all about money.
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That's what I'm stuck with - every three months.
 
Judycat said:
I have to go every 3 months because I take a narcotic pain medication.
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Their excuse for that is "We give you a small amount at a time to make sure you're not selling them on the street."
I heard the same B.S. 12 years ago when my doctor wrote a prescription for syringes. They would only give me enough for 1 week. When I asked why, the moronic clerk said "To make sure you're not selling them to drug addicts."
That's really funny because I get 500 at a time online without a prescription. And for 1/4 the cost.
 
Are there any other physicians available in your area? If i was in that situation I’d be on the phone tomorrow trying to find one, rather than go back to a provider whose office was dirty, apparently overbooked with rude staff, unresponsive to patients’ inquiries. The only possible obstacle might be the type of medication you are taking.
 
Do you have a Rate Your Doctor site? You don’t have to use your name. Just talk about the rude receptionist & lack of cleanliness. Say nice things about him. Doctors read or hear about these things (sometimes) and he may not have any idea about her.

adding, hope she’s not his wife. A grumpy receptionist here was the wife.
 
There's a gal that usually answers the phone at the drs office here but lately I've been getting some other gal and I don't like her. She's rude to me. I think next time I get that one I'm gonna ask for Rena. LOL
 

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