Thursday, October 23, 2014

Doctor, Doctor

Let ME give YOU the news.

I don't trust you. I don't want a pill thrown at me for anything. I see how you sit there leaning to one side because your wallet is so fat you sit lopsided. And I know who's putting the fat in that wallet. And I don't like that either.

I don't like the way you sit there with the look of judgement on your face. Fake concern doesn't cut it. If you do not possess true, real, compassionate feelings for your patients, why are you a doctor? Perhaps you should consider research. Although, pharmaceutical company supported research is still fattening up your wallet in an effort to make people just well enough but not cured, so...

I realize that this does not apply to ALL doctors everywhere. But it certainly seems to apply to most doctors around here. I base this on personal experience and stories from friends. The doctors in our area seem to cater to those patients who do not ask for second opinions. Those who accept everything the doctors tell them without question or hesitation.

That is not the type of patient I am. Nor do I want to be that type of patient.

And all that waiting in the waiting room? Doctors tell us, "Some cases take longer than others and, if you was you who needed more time, you'd want me to spend it with you." That is a stupid statement spewing from the mouth of Dr. Obvious. Trust me, Dr. Obvious, it's not that we mind your willingness to spend that extra time with another patient or that emergency that comes up. I, personally, do not even mind if your family needed something because they should come first and I'm certain they respect your occupation and would not be contacting you if it wasn't necessary.

The problem with the waiting is your office staff. They are rude and tell us nothing. The last doctor I visited had a sign in the waiting room: If you have been waiting longer than 20 minutes, please let us know. Apparently the rest of the sign--SO WE CAN SHOW YOU HOW MUCH WE REALLY DO NOT CARE--had been cut off because giving these women the information they asked you to give them is a HUGE mistake. I discovered this as they reamed an older person a new butt-hole for POLITELY mentioning they had been waiting for over an hour. Perhaps it was because she did not go up to the desk at the 20 minute 1 second mark or perhaps the office staff was not interested in knowing how long any of us had been waiting. The sign was, shall we say, false advertising? They were trying to make us feel that they care about how we feel and how long we're waiting. Maybe that they are using this to make the scheduling more efficient. But I doubt that.

NEVER do we get a general statement informing us that an emergency has happened. NEVER do we get any statement informing us that the doctor is running x number of minutes or hours behind followed by giving us the option of rescheduling. Of course, that could be partially due to the fact that they now take your money PRIOR to your turn.

I confess that I do not know the reasons for these procedures. What I do know is that I do not appreciate nor respect the current policies. I do not find them patient friendly. My first thought was that this is ridiculous because it's our money that pays all their salaries. But now I think that we just pay for a few little things like staples and pencils. Most of their money seems to be coming from their support of pharmaceuticals.

This is a huge trust issue with me. And the trust is no longer there.

Do you have one you can trust? And, are you healed? Or are they keeping you coming back time after time after time?

16 comments:

  1. Hi Pam,
    My eye doctor was the first doctor I have went to in a long, long time. One I didn't feel was just there to get my money. That is it though.
    The other doctors were jokes and treated me like was a freak because I didn't want nor need pills. That was what people were there for, their meds.
    I don't trust them either. Not by a long shot. Someone told me a long time ago, it is your health and you have to manage it. Never leave it to the professionals. They are there to make money.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank goodness you found a good one for your eye surgery! How's the weather over there? Did you ever get any rain? Cooler temps?

      Delete
  2. Healthcare is so depressing, these days! Gone are the days of having people taking care of us who actually care about us :( Heck, you're lucky if you can even get in to see a doctor at all! If you get sick, usually you have to settle for seeing a 'Nurse Practioner' around here, and I trust Ed's opinion and advice more than theirs, since he's been working in healthcare for almost 45 years. The government's involvement in healthcare is ruining it, with no end in sight!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the whole thing started getting bad before the government stepped in. Not that they aren't making it worse. I would trust Ed's opinion more too!

      Delete
  3. I do not trust the doc's either. Several years ago when I accompanied my grandmother to one of her doctors appointments...I witnessed the office staff treat her like vermin. She was a little hard of hearing and WOW! I couldn't believe how they treated her. Little better than garbage in a can. They talked down to her as if she were a 2 year old. Here was this responsible, well respected, hard working 73 year old and they were treating her like she didn't have a brain in her head, all because she couldn't hear them properly. Big Pharma is a whole other story 'round here.
    I was blessed this past month to visit a holistic doctor a few towns over...she stated they did NOT support big pharma companies. They don't prescribe those things! I couldn't believe it and told her she was my new favorite doctor an actual MD who practices medicine like it is intended to practiced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recently heard of one holistic doc around here that doesn't even take insurance. I'm thinking of checking her out. I know what you mean about the way your grandmother was treated. I witnessed the same situation in a doctor's office a few years ago. I wanted to smack the crap out of the office staff.

      Delete
    2. I am very lucky that this holistic doctor does accept my insurance. Still it is not cheap...but I would rather pay a little more for some peace of mind! ;) I know what you mean about smacking them...I've wanted to smack the smirk off of their bureaucratic faces more than one time. Good luck with the new doc.

      Delete
    3. The one here charges $100/month for unlimited visits. And I think you can stop at any time. I'll have to make sure though. She seems very good and I do know several people who go to her. I don't know why those office people are so rude and arrogant. But I know I don't like it one little bit.

      Delete
  4. I am old enough to remember our family (FAMILY) doctor, Dr. Peyton, coming to the house when we were sick. Doctors used to make house calls. That was back when families only had one car, and dad took it to work each day. Some moms didn't even know how to drive. The bread man, the milk man, the egg man, and the doctor all came to the house. Dr. Peyton delivered all four of us Kelly kids and got us through all kinds of sniffles, stings, and childhood diseases that we had no vaccine for back then. Penicillin was the drug of choice for practically everything. We just knew we would get a shot of penicillin when Dr. Peyton arrived with his black bag.

    I asked an urgent care doctor, a few years ago, why he couldn't just give me a shot of penicillin for my malady, like they used to? He told me no one wants needles these days, but he would be happy to give me a shot if that's what I wanted. Duh!!! Get that medicine into my body this minute, please, and I'll be feeling better tomorrow instead of 10 days from now, after the antibiotic pills are gone.

    Yes - I'm with you on this one, 100%. The federal government has no business being in the health care 'business'...which shouldn't be a business as all!! This has to be fixed soon or it will only continue to get worse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Uncle Dick was our family doctor when I was a wee thing. His office was in the back of Charlie's Drug Store and Uncle Dick was not a huge believer in handing out medicine unless absolutely necessary. Though he would threaten children who were faking it with Castor oil. No one wanted that based on the stories our parents shared about it. LOL Nobody wants it? Right. More like doctors don't give it because they don't make as much kick-back money from shots.

      Delete
  5. Amen. Hate doctors, Hate their offices. Hate dealing with the whole scam. But sometimes I need one. So my BP rises when I have to go and deal with that nurse who smirks as she lists off all medicines I have received from CVS - I mean everything remotely medical, even if this particular dr didn't prescribe it. (HOW the heck do they know that stuff if I wasn't the one to tell them)? The only thing I hate more is the insurance company. Last night I went to see if I had received an email back from the doctor's office - yes, I have to send an email if I have a question. No answer yet (I sent another email because I really need an answer), but there was a list if "advice" - including why I should take Vitamin D (yes, I know, I've BEEN taking it 2 years), and a paragraph on Obesity (Now? Really? After I have lost 30 lbs that the doctor knew about in July)? Hmm, the more I write, the more I realize that I need a new doctor. The stuff I am describing is more impersonal and just plain poor care than anyone should deal with. Now I have to deal with the insurance company that wants to change my meds because this one I take is too expensive. 5 years later and now they want to change my meds. Because the insurance company knows more about me than any doctor.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And that's what I'm talking about. The more impersonal and less caring, the more money they get is the way I see it. I need to get myself under control so I don't need one.

      Delete
  6. Welll...just my two cents again, grain of salt, many reasons...they just don't train dr's and nurses anymore like they use too, thanks to the new Obamacare (keeping it real!!!!), etc etc etc etc...I could go on and on. Do you we all ahve to drive over an hour to see a dr???? YEP..THANKS TO THE NEW MANDATES! KEEPING IT REAL!!! Hour so so in traffic, wait for ever in the sitting room, see the dr for what, 5 min? Hour drive home...oh never mind...see what you got started (lololol). wink

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have an overabundance of doctors in our area. I can drive 3 minutes or go further and it won't matter. They will see you for 5 minutes and not truly listen to what you say or decide that you need a specialist or whatever but it doesn't matter because they don't listen and you are going to keep what ails you. The last good doctor I remember was the girls' pediatrician. He was amazing! And he liked a lot of the old school treatments before he'd just dole out a script. Those days are, obviously, over. Sad. Thanks for sharing your two cents! I like it when you do that! :)

      Delete
  7. Oh don't get me started!! LOL. Actually, I don't know what's worse. Waiting forever in the waiting room or being called in and getting left to sit in the exam room without proper air circulating, nothing good to read and the door shut so you haven't a clue what's going on. I try to be patient but I once was forgotten in an exam room and always remember that when I'm sitting there in that little confined space!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes! There is that sitting in the exam room after you've waited forever and a day in the waiting room. Forgot about that. Good grief.

      Delete

Welcome, friends! Please spew forth some wisdom for me. I'm quite certain I need it!