On the War Path...
A couple weeks ago, I followed my neurologist's orders and went and gave bodily fluids for testing. My neurologist typically will call me with my test results after a week or so but it'd been a few weeks so I decided this afternoon to give a call over there and have my results sent to me. Given my naturopath has me on a rather high vitamin D supplement, I was curious to see what my current levels were and to report back to her.
The receptionist/scheduler lady (remember her?) called me back about an hour later and told me she could fax me a copy of the document. Well, I do not have a personal fax machine and prefer not to have my blood test data faxed to my work fax number (which is then scanned and emailed to me) so I asked her - quite reasonably, I thought - to just stick a copy of them in the mail. Another receptionist/assistant person had done that for me previously and it was no big deal. Our conversation went as follows:
Self: Could you just stick them in the mail to me?
Her: Yes, but I'll have to charge you a fee.
Self: For what?
Her: Well, it takes up my time to stand at the copy machine and address the envelope and put a stamp on it.
Aside: I swear I am not making this up.
Self: Rolls eyes. To do your job? OK, how much will it cost to do that?
Her: I don't know.
Self: So you're going to charge me a fee for standing at the copy machine to make a copy of one sheet of paper but you can't tell me in advance how much you are going to charge me? And it's free for you to stand at the copy machine to fax one sheet of paper?
Her: Yes. Why don't you have a fax machine?
Self: Can you just tell me what the results are? I just want to know my vitamin D level.
Her: No, I'm not a nurse.
Self: Can the nurse call me?
Her: We don't have a nurse.
Self: Pulls out the largest knife in the house and prepares to perform hari-kari...
To end the world's most inane conversation, I told her to just stick the damned results in the mail already, while telling myself that regardless of the cost or consequences I wouldn't be paying an extra charge for her to do her job.
Seriously, though, how much is she going to charge me? It takes 2 minutes to make a photocopy, another two minutes to write an address on an envelope and 3 seconds to lick a stamp and stick it on there. (Even less time if it's self-adhesive...) Even assuming she makes $50 an hour - which is unlikely - we're still only talking $4. And what collections agency is going to take on an outstanding balance of $4?
Anyway, the bigger problem here is their attitude: here I am, trying to take care of myself and be my own advocate and get the best possible care I can and both my neurologist and his receptionist are being jackasses! I mean, I'm sorry. But I don't feel good a lot of the time and I am paying them to take care of me and they're behaving like dumbasses. I don't care how much attitude you've got or how famous you are or how much prestige your clinic gets: I want someone who's going to respect the fact that I'm an intelligent human being.
So I'm on the hunt - for a new neurologist. There are a few in my area that are covered by my insurance so I'm thinking I'll make a few appointments and meet with a few folks before switching...
Anyone have recommendations or suggestions for finding a new one I like?
Comments
Yes, but [dripping sarcasm] if we changed to a non-private medical system in the US, we'd get bad service, like those poor Canadians! [/dripping sarcasm]
Our providers have no motivation to please the patient, only the insurance companies. It's the worst of both worlds.
I remember this one time my wife was straight out of a med she really, really needed to not miss. She had called to get her prescription renewed about four or five business days earlier, and hadn't heard back. Every time she called the office, the receptionist would tell her that she'd call her when the prescription was ready, and she didn't know when that would be. Eventually she also sternly insisted that she stop calling in, that there was nothing she could do. Eventually, after much hand-wringing, it turned out that the prescription had been ready for days, only it was stuck in some file that she hadn't bothered to look in. Christ.
I could go on. I could mention how little time the doctor (who I liked) spent examining or even talking to my wife during a routine appointment the evening before she died of the heart attack she turned out to be in the middle of, instead having to spend 90% of the session just trying to get their wonderful new computer system in the examination room to work. I could, but I won't. Wait, I just did. Rats.
Posted by: Scott | August 1, 2007 04:56 PM
oh my god, my only advice is to get a new doctor AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. that is untenable.
my neurologist has a nurse practitioner as his assistant, who is amazingly helpful and available to write prescriptions, order tests, answer my questions, and bring my issues to the doctor directly when necessary. i think that kind of accessibility is essential to my care. that's the kind of thing i'd look for if i were you. i also feel better knowing that my doctor is associated with a major teaching hospital, because i know that he is up on the latest knowledge and also i have the resources of the hospital available if i need them. for instance, once i went to the emergency room of that hospital and the ER doctor was able to speak directly to the doctor on call from my neurologist's office and then during my follow up with my doctor they were able to get my medical records directly from the ER.
Posted by: jen | August 1, 2007 08:17 PM
Honey, my advice is to speak directly with your doctor before you give up on him. I've had probs like this before and when I explained what happened to the doctor, things changed. OTH, if you're otherwise unhappy with him, I'd just consider this the proverbial straw...
These little add-on charges make me crazy -- like they're not already charging enough for the office visit, etc. Truth is, everyone is pinched in the current health care system. Even the term "health care" has become an oxymoron in my opinion. It's now a business (nobody's even pretending otherwise anymore) and the more expense/work they can push onto the patient or other entities, the more $$ they make.
Have you seen that commercial where a guy is sitting at his kitchen table with a knife and a surgeon on a monitor is telling him where to make his own incision? The guy says to the surgeon -- "shouldn't YOU be doing this?" That kind of sums up the whole sad, sorry situation.
Hang in there.
Posted by: Aunt CJ | August 1, 2007 08:53 PM
I've said it before and I'll say it again...Neurologists are a dime a dozen...much like circus monkeys...LOL
If you were closer to Seattle, I'd hook you up with one of OUR local circus monkeys!
Linda D. in Seattle
Posted by: Linda D. | August 4, 2007 03:19 PM