Wendy's Journey - Pretty sure I've pissed off my Surgeon's office

[FlowerGalTX]

It really takes a lot for someone to be a button-pusher in my life but for whatever combination of reasons, the folks at Dr. Stewart's office irritated me to a point that finally I said something today. I did not yell or raise my voice but I was irritated and was very direct and to the point about what I was feeling.

For all four of my appointments, I made these appointments well over a month in advance, the times were their recommendations and I was there at least 1/2 hour before each appointment and every single time I have waited no less than 40 minutes and sometimes over 60 minutes beyond my appointment time to get in.

It would be understandable if the place were hopping with people but I have never seen more than 2 or 3 patients there at any given time. Today, I was mostly the only patient in the waiting room with the exception of another lady whose appointment was scheduled for Thursday but they went ahead and took her - AHEAD of me! ::sighs::

At 1/2 an hour past my appointment time with the nutritionist, I went up to the desk to ask how long it would be. I explained to them that although I work from home and am my own boss, every hour I am out of work costs me and my business at least $100 and that I had a conference call scheduled.

It would be understandable if their appointments running behind were one time or even if the appointments were 5 or 10 minutes or 15 minutes late but to be consistently pushing an hour late at 9:30 in the morning when I am one of the first scheduled appointments is not acceptable business practices in my opinion. It is basically rude and inconsiderate.

I brought up the issue with my nutritionist and pointed out that every time I've had an appointment I've had to wait on average 45 minutes past my appointment time (a total average wait time of 1 1/2 hours). She didn't even apologize. Correction, she spoke the apology language of excuses and justifications, citing that a pre-op class that starts at 8:00 was the reason why I was seen late. (Hmm, not the OTHER patient not on the schedule till Thursday that she took in front of me and who got to the office and checked in 15 minutes AFTER I did?)

She said that they all at the Doctor's office work hard on the patient relationship. I looked at her and quietly said, "Well, I don't feel that. In fact, besides one phone call from one of the representatives, I've felt unimportant and disregarded every step of the way. Everything seems to have been one difficult obstacle after another."

The lady even called me by the wrong name. ::sighs:: Seriously? You're holding my freakin' chart and it is my fourth time here.

When she told me that I needed to go ahead and schedule a 4th appointment with her, I felt tears come to my eyes. I literally gain NOTHING out of seeing her except losing 40 minutes in travel time from my home to their office, waiting at least 1 to 1 1/2 hours in their waiting room....all for a 10 minute - if that - "session" with the Nutritionist in which she asks me if I have any questions and we discuss nothing, she gives no real information - citing that what I really want to know about surgery diet she will tell me during the pre-op group lecture after I get insurance approval / fixed surgery date.

At this point, I have zero confidence in my packet getting done right or in a timely manner. I'm too tired to deal with another doctor and his/her staff and have a limited window of availability as far as suitable surgery times go for 2011 and I do not want a new year to hit because then my co-pay/deductible starts all over again and that would be my paying $5,000 towards the procedure .

A lot depends now on my surgeon's staff having their stuff together and getting my packet in and following up for approval.

I wish I were more comfortable with confrontation but events like this really drain me. I'm not hard-wired to be a B*tch.

I hate that now that I'm totally out of the picture as far as needing to DO anything to move this seemingly never-ending, curse-word-worthy, insurance approval process along, I've inadvertently pissed off the very people that I have to rely on to help me. ::sighs::

[accordingtome]

Take deep breaths and just continue with what your doing, that way you don't have to start over at another Doctor's office! Try to remember the big picture when they are treating you this way.

[Evie Sleevie]

Wow. They are SO incredibly unprofessional. I would report them to the AMA. That is no way to run a practice. And write a scathing letter to the doctor and office manager after you are done with your procedures and after care. Bastards!

[Rae]

Wendy,
I honestly don't think you did anything wrong. I am glad you expressed your unhappiness with their ability to follow a schedule they created because when someone like me comes in that doesn't wait until my 4th visit to explain CLEARLY I am not satisfied and that my time is just as vauled as theirs - they should not act surprised. I think you are being jacked around and if you are paying - and you are - for the nutritionalist you should receive information timely, that is informative, and pertains to your specific situation. Afterall, you are paying for PRIVATE sessions, not a group with a structured script.

Call the office manager and just as you have indicated to us explain it takes a lot for you to get upset what has happened. Honestly, if she doesn't correct it what happens when something goes wrong - will they again be full of excuses?

[FlowerGalTX]

Rae, because we met our $5000 out of pocket deductible earlier this year for my cancer surgery/treatment my insurance pays 100 percent of the nutritionist visits, Dr. visits, surgery, etc. for the rest of 2011. I think I would not tolerate as much if I were paying out of pocket.

I've thought about sending them a bill for MY lost time from work. 4 appointments / 4 hours lost in addition to reasonable wait times multiplied by my personal project billing rate of $50 - $100 per hour or my company rate of $100+ an hour. Hmm. =) It is a nice thought. lol

I think at a minimum I do need to write a succinct letter to the Doctor to let him know what happened and recommend that if the pre-op education class is consistently running beyond an hour and starts at 8 am, then they need to block 2 hours off their schedules for that class and not schedule patients at 9 am or 9:30 am and expect these patients to tolerate the inconsideration of waiting 1/2 an hour to an hour past their appointment time.

[Dana]

I think you should forward them this post. they should be made aware of how they make people feel. For a dr's office this is unacceptable. my Dr only sees patients on Monday and only 3-5. we know we get there at three (or earlier) and may not see him til 4. but we know that ahead of time, and they come into the lobby for coffee and wave and call you by name. AND tell you if there has been a delay in case you need to go. and chat a minute like you are family.
I understand that you can deal with a delay sometimes but every time is a bit much and not only that you were probably delayed bc they took in a patient with out an appt ahead of you. I personally dont see why you need to see a nutritionist again, I went once, and then my nurse reviewed everything and I had a packet that thanks to grade school i can read all by myself.
Just bc sometimes we take things well doesnt mean there isnt a problem and just bc we get upset doesnt mean we are wrong. you are going under the knife with these people and they need to make you feel more comfortable,
Im bad about if I ever DO take up for myself then I feel embarrassed to go face that person again. when they should be ashamed for pushing that far, bc like you it takes a lot to push my buttons to the point that I actually say something. and why do they have you seeing a nutritionist without insurance approval anyway? Is the insurance going to cover that? they are not very thoughtful.
I might add to my complaint that the fist time I decide to voice my opinion, I am brushed off with little or no concern over my discomfort.

[FlowerGalTX]

Dana,

Unfortunately, my insurance company - Aetna - requires 3 visits with a nutritionist over the course of 3 months...and more visits apparently as I was told today if I am still waiting approval to leave a paper trail that I am "still working on it". If I were paying out of pocket on this I would be more vocal, I think...but since we met the $5000 deductible with all of my thyroid cancer stuff Aetna pays 100 percent.

I think I will give them to Friday to give me a call to tell me they've submitted my packet and at that point I'm going to check with the insurance company and them every few days to see if I have approval. It will be my new hobby. lol

[TeddyTexas]

Have you thought about getting a second opinion with another surgeon? It may not be difficult at all to transfer your records. The staff at Dr. Kim's office is really caring and I have never experienced anything like you are describing. I think the longest I have waited for my appts is about 10 min.

Here is Dr. Kim's website: Bariatric Weight Loss LAP-BAND System Gastric Bypass Surgery Arlington Dallas Fort Worth (Ft. Worth) Texas (TX)

If you call the Fort Worth number 817-717-7447 (it's really Colleyville) ask to speak to Pam. She is the Bariatric Nurse Coordinator and I have always found her to be very helpful and informative.

If you stay with your current doctor, I would also recommend calling the office manager and hopefully you will listen to you, address your problems without giving you excuses, and then fix the problems. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Texas]

I switched doctors midstream of my insurance requirements and just got a copy of my medical records from the first doctor put in the records of my second doctor and it worked fine and did not delay me one day!

[FlowerGalTX]

Called Dr. Kim's office and scheduled a consult for next week.

Talked to Pam and it seems I won't have to re-do the Upper GI, EKG, blood work, nutritionist visits, etc. That my paperwork will just get transferred and sent in for the insurance approval for Dr. Kim to do the surgery.

THANK YOU all...especially "all y'all" from Texas. =)

[Evie Sleevie]

Called Dr. Kim's office and scheduled a consult for next week.

Talked to Pam and it seems I won't have to re-do the Upper GI, EKG, blood work, nutritionist visits, etc. That my paperwork will just get transferred and sent in for the insurance approval for Dr. Kim to do the surgery.

THANK YOU all...especially "all y'all" from Texas. =)

That is fan-freaking-tastic!

[Jkidz]

When you get to the office-order a pizza in front of the staff.....if the pizza gets there before your visit-they will get the hint!

[TeddyTexas]

I'm glad you got to talk to Pam. She is just the nicest person. There is a monthly support group meeting (the first Wednesday at 6:30) if you want to come. There are always people there who haven't had their surgery yet, along with people who have had all kinds of bariatric surgery. The next meeting is Wednesday, September 7th. Hope you can come. I plan on being there.

[BusyGirl]

I'm coming in on the tail-end of this thread, but good for you. Regardless of you being insurance pay or cash pay, that type of treatment is unacceptable. Places just kill me with that crap - medical offices, beauty shops, banks, whatever. It's like all those places think they're doing us a favor by providing their services. Screw that, I'm a paying customer. When they start providing their services for completely free, then and only then will they be doing me a favor. An appointment time is a freaking designated time slot. Honoring appointment times is good business/good customer service, not to mention just plain courteous.

But I digress... Good for you, friend, for leaving! If they have enough patients bail on them, maybe they'll get the picture. You deserve the best, and you surely deserve a team you can rely on.

[dale]

Wendy, I am so glad you decided to change doctors and that it all worked out for you. Who was that office that treated you so badly? I would think that everyone here who is in our area should know how they treat you.

I had a similar experience. My first doctor was seeing patients in Waxahachie. Since I live in Corsicana, that was much better for me and my husband as far as traffic was concerned. When I first went in, they told me that they could do my surgery at Baylor in Waxahachie, which was great, since we don't do Dallas traffic anymore. As time went on, he started trying to convince me to have a gastric bypass, but I had done lots of research and I didn't want that much messing around in my guts. I went to the group meetings and everything and was pretty set on doing the surgery during the Christmas holidays. Then he starts telling me that he can't do my surgery in Waxahachie but I have to go to this special place on NORTH CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY!!!!! WTF??!!! In the meantime, I have had my psych evaluation, a cardiology evaluation, and an EGD, jumped through all the hoops for insurance, and they are farting around about getting insurance approved. So, in January I call and they haven't got the insurance approval yet, and oh, yeah, the doctor is having surgery in February! In the meantime, I had found another doctor online that I knew and thought a lot of. He had worked in Corsicana, was a brilliant young general surgeon, and had operated on my mother-in-law several years ago. He was my original choice for this surgery, but I thought he had moved away. Then I found out he was in Arlington!! So, I go to him in February, and he agrees to do my surgery. I called the insurance company, and the rep tells me that they approved my surgery weeks ago. No one at the first office ever let me know, and there was no way I would have my surgery for months now that he had had surgery. The insurance rep was great, and said I could transfer to the new doctor without jumping through the hoops all over again. It took a few weeks to get all my records from the first doctor's office, but I am so glad I went with Dr. Harrison. I don't feel bad at all about leaving the first guy---he made plenty of money off me for the amount of service I got!

Anyway, Wendy, I am glad to see you switched to Dr. Kim. Hope they treat you right!