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LYC rant click here (although, opinions greatly appreciated) -- sorry for the length.

Posted by Totally Fedup (aka fedup) Jan 5 '10, 15:10

I've been battling a cold/sinus thing for the past couple of days so I finally decided to go to my primary care doctor who I'm not a fan of.

The background:
There have been several incidents in the past 3-4 years which have lead me to not be very impressed by his care:
- He doesn't provide comprehensive care (as in dealing with more than one thing per visit...like if you have a cold and toe pain you have to make 2 different appointments).
- His appointments are set for 30 minutes, but he only sees you for 10 minutes. Thus, before you've actually thought of anything you want to tell him, he's rushing off to see his other patients. If you stop him, he'll sigh and grudgingly see you for a couple more minutes, but he then constantly reminds you how he's sacrificing his time to make sure you are well. (I don't know about you, but I can't afford to see the doctor that often so I usually save up a list of things I want to ask him.)
- His staff is rude and unreliable. They constantly make recording errors and are generally unpleasant people.

Anyway, the straw that broke the camel's back occurred last March when I had some blood tests done. He came into the room all serious and says this, "I think you have hepatitis." Of course, I'm shocked out of my mind and he starts going on and on about the effects and what this will mean for the future. Then as he's halfway out the door, he tells me, "Of course, this could be a false positive. If you had a vaccination before, you would test positive."

When I ask him if I've had a vaccination before, the guy doesn't have any of my old records. This shocked me for some reason, but as I'm learning, this is a common occurrence (doctors not having a patients old records).

After the appointment, I contacted my old physician and found out that I had indeed had the vaccination when I was younger. So I called my primary care doctor back with the news and asked him if this means I'm off the hook or if it means I still have Hepatitis. (I'm not a doctor, I don't know.) He never responded. (I found out later from another physician that I did not have Hepatitis.) Being young and scared and with his lack of care or wanting to provide care or interest in my well-being, I decided to never see him again even if I'm sick...

Well, I saw him today, and all of my ire for him poured out into a poorly constructed criticism of him...(yes, ranting in public...feeling rather embarrassed...)...but in response to my "lack of respect" he told me that he didn't want to provide care for me anymore or give me medication for my current ailment, which made me even angrier. I was like, "and you call yourself a doctor." To which, he realized that I was right and gave me my medication...grudgingly.

I guess the issues at hand are:
1) Is it wrong to expect a doctor to care about your well-being?
2) Should I apologize for being slightly bitchy? Especially since my parents also see this doctor...

Responses:

No, you shouldn't apologize. Mostly because not giving you the medication you need is dangerously close to malpractice. - the liioulu with enamel Jan 5, 15:43
My only question is this: If you don't like him that much, why not switch primary care phys? - musubi Jan 5, 15:21 1
- laziness on my part I suppose. I am mostly embarrassed for making a scene. The content was correct. -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:27
it is your fault you did not leave his care sooner. - groiny Jan 5, 15:21
Not sure I'd characterize him as "not caring about your well-being"... - Dr.Vermin Jan 5, 15:21 15
- Agreed on the first two points. According to him though, "all of my other 1000 patients have no issues with me". -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:24 10
  - If he's 1 doc with 1000 patients, it's no wonder he can only give you 10 minutes. - musubi Jan 5, 15:26 9
    - i will i will. i just think it's wrong for a doctor not to provide comprehensive care in one session and expect a person to have time to come back an - fedup Jan 5, 15:29 8
      - Actually, a lot of doctors don't. He scheduled you for 10 min based on the problem you told the receptionist. If you have more concerns, ask the - James Bond (aka Igor) Jan 5, 15:46
      - I'm not saying you're wrong. Maybe he does. But there are also possible legit reasons that he's under pressure to keep visits short. - musubi Jan 5, 15:36 6
        
        The doctor might just want fedup to break up with him. nm - ralph wiggum Jan 5, 15:39 4
        
        didn't know i could. will do that in the future. thanks! -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:48
        
        If that were the case, wouldn't he try and get an angry prostate exam in first? (nm) - musubi Jan 5, 15:42 1
        
        sometimes i do wish i could nab me a doctor...ah, the financial security... -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:45
        
        He's Just Not That Into Your Health. -- nm - Reagen Jan 5, 15:40
        
        thank you! (yes and my irritation escaladed bc he tends to brush people off with rude comments himself...which is still wrong of me to be rude...) -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:39
- The doctor specifically makes a point thatr he is "sacrificing" his time to spend more than 10 minutes examining a patient and answering questions. - TWuG Jan 5, 15:22 3
  - And I bet he bills for 30. -- nm - the liioulu with enamel Jan 5, 15:41 2
    - I think a doctor's billable activities extend to more than just the facetime with the patient. - Dr.Vermin Jan 5, 15:44 1
      - more like charting the shit out of the visit to cover his ass if he ever gets sued - dogbert Jan 5, 15:48
Any doctor that views interacting with patients who have legit questions and medical concerns as "sacrificing" his time - TWuG Jan 5, 15:18 1
- Yes ... there's a movement towards creating a profession of "healthcare advocacy" to prevent this kind of indifference. -- nm - Beryllium Jan 5, 15:19
1) In america? Yes. 2) In america? Find a different doctor, just like you'd find a different service provider for anything else. Never look back. -- nm - Beryllium Jan 5, 15:16 1
- Corollary: You know what they call someone who graduates bottom-of-the-class in medical school? - Beryllium Jan 5, 15:17
well... - b. Jan 5, 15:16 [Backboard] 3
- is there any way to rate a doctor? or to find out about people's past experiences? -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:21 2
  - there's a website for that. -- nm - Beryllium Jan 5, 15:21 1
    - there are, but some make you pay beyond number of stars. googling goes a long way these days - message board posts by patients, yelp sometimes, too; - b. Jan 5, 15:36
no, but yes. That was not an appropriate way to tell him. -- nm - loosilu Jan 5, 15:16
1) it's your fault or your parents' fault that your old records weren't xferred. NOT HIS FAULT. -- nm - amanda Jan 5, 15:11 9
- right, i know that now. for some reason it doesn't feel right though. to provide proper care, doctor's need old records. i just thought they seek t - fedup Jan 5, 15:18 8
  - sometimes records will be requested (if you don't ask that they be moved along yourself), but that's usually only when changes in certain conditions - b. Jan 5, 15:23
  - "are you allergic to penicillin?" "I don't know." "ok, here have some. let's try." *now* do you see? -- nm - amanda Jan 5, 15:21 5
    - but if you are allergic to penicillin and you try, couldn't you die...? -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:31 4
      - this is my point. this is why he needs your records to give you care. -- nm - amanda Jan 5, 15:34 3
        
        but if it's that serious, then shouldn't he seek out my records if he doesn't have them? or ask me to get them for him? - fedup Jan 5, 15:36 2
        
        he never asked? maybe he asked your parents and they didn't supply them. how do you know? -- nm - amanda Jan 5, 15:38 1
        
        true. never thought of that. but he didn't ask my parents bc i asked him not to mention it to them. -- nm - fedup Jan 5, 15:41
  - no, you have to do it. -- nm - loosilu Jan 5, 15:19

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LYC rant click here (although, opinions greatly appreciated) -- sorry for the length.

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