Thursday, July 9, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Doctor Rant
To borrow a phrase from the great Dennis Miller, "I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but..." How is it that some doctors think their time is more important than mine? Why is it some of them can get off treating their customers like trash, yet their customers continue to come back for more and more? It's because we let them. Now not all doctors are bad. Being an insulin-dependant diabetic since I was 12, I've got several specialists that my general pratictioner insists that I see now that I'm 33. And every doctor specialist or general pratictioner I've ever been to I've had to wait for some amount of time in the waiting room. But endocrinologists are in a league of their own. Endocrinologists are specialized in thyroid and diabetes. I've lived in towns without any. I've lived in towns with just one. And presently I live in a town, Tallahassee, Fla., that happens to have three. (That's important later in the rant.) And while endocrinologists have always provided the worst office customer service of any type of doctor I've been to, I've had enough with at least two of the three in Tallahassee.
About a year ago I fired one of these Tallahassee endocrinologists. I arrived for my appointment at noon. Not another soul was in the waiting room. I stayed there for 45 to 50 minutes. Not a soul walked out of the doctors offices and only one other person entered the waiting room while I was there. I was finally called back for the prep work -- my blood pressure and blood sugar were taken and I was weighted. I was then shown to a patient room. There I waited until 1: 35 p.m. At that point I walked out of the office of one Dr. Celeste Hart, M.D. I walked up to the receptionist, cause God knows I hadn't seen the good doctor that day, and I said, "Would you please tell Dr. Hart that SHE'S FIRED."
I don't know if this was a shock or not to the receptionist, because I promptly turned around and headed out the door. But I've never heard of anyone firing their doctor. And that's a shame. Becaue that's why they continue to get away with this. Now if you think I maybe over-reacted, this was not a first time occurance. I had never left Dr. Hart's office after seeing her half a dozen times in less than 90 minutes and many times it was two hours after my appoitment time when I was done. Not a big deal perhaps if the visit with the doctor herself had not on EVERY occassion lasted 15 minutes or less. Why would a doctor schedule someone an appoinment 75 minutes before they could be seen CONSISTANTLY? We'll get back to that. My general pratictioner insistaed that I go see a kidney doctor. Which I did. In and out in an hour and more than half that time was with an actual doctor. The doctor said basically, that I had nothing to worry about and he'd see me again in six months just to keep an eye out. My general practitioner also suggested I see a new endocrinologist.
So today I took a visit to Dr. Terry W. Sherraden, M.D. I had an appointment at 2 p.m. I arrived ten minutes prior. I filled out paperwork. Finished paperwork by 2:10. And then I waited. And waited. And waited. There were two patients in the waiting room when I arrived at 1:50 p.m. One of them had been called back by 3:15. I got up. Went to the receptionist and told her I wanted to reschedule. A doctor's assistant behind her said that I was next. Wonder if the other patient there before me heard that and what he thought. I ignored her. The receptionist told me that it would be September before they could reschedule me. Now this is mid May. I said, "That's fine." As an aside, as a new patient I was given a "practice policies" sheet. On this sheet, for which I had to sign, it stated that I would call and give 24 hours notice if I was unable to make an appointment. So, the receptionist scheduled me for a 3 p.m. appointment in September. I said, "Does the doctor always double- or triple-book? Does this mean I should show up at 5 p.m.?" She replied that the good doctor spends time with each patient and ensures that they get a dutiful evaluation and that "no stone is left unturned before he leaves the room." Heard that one before. I told her that I understood that and that it was a good thing. But asked again does that mean I shouldn't show up until 5 p.m. She said that I could expect my first appointment to be two hours.
Wow, I thought, he's going to spend two hours with me. Actually I didn't think that. I thought at most he would spend 30 minutes -- cause I've NEVER been to a doctor not conducting a procedure in which they spent more time than that. So I was being told that for my first appointment I should expect to wait for 90 minutes. I asked, "Why do you guys double-book? I've never had this problem except with endocrinologist before." She replied, "Well there's only three in town. So you are going to have that problem with all of them."
Bingo. Got my answer. They have so much "business" and have a semi-monopoly on thier patients that it gives them all an excuse to provide the absolute worst customer service known to man. Shocker. Now, I understand that if you have a broken arm and you need to get it set and have a cast put on it that an hour or two or three is not too much to ask. I understand if you've almost cut off your leg with a chainsaw and you have to wait an hour or two (as long as you have a tourniqut) may not be too much to ask. Cause, I mean what are you going to do wrap your arm in Plaster-of-Paris yourself or sew up your half sawed off leg? As long as you live, you don't really care how long it takes in those situations. But I'm waiting for a doctor to tell me what I've known and been told by countless doctors before...I need to check my blood sugar more regularly and inject the cooresponding amounts of insulin. Unless these guys have a cure for Type 1 diabetes behind their sactomoneous walls, no thanks. And I'm pretty sure I would have read about such a cure in one of the six-month-old newsmagazines I catch up on by reading several issues cover to cover every time I sit in one of their waiting rooms. Still think I'm overreacting? Why do doctors get a pass? If you make reservations at a nice restaurant for 5 p.m. and you arrive 10 minutes prior. But at 6:15 p.m. you still haven't been seated, would you go back? Maybe if you are a massochist. But I wouldn't. I might give them a second chance as I am Dr. Sherradan.
If you are a business person and you set an appointment for 3 p.m. with a possible business partner and they don't call and don't show for more than an hour, does that give an impression that it's someone you want to enter a business relationship with? Most likely you would never meet with them again. If you booked with an airline and they were constantly an hour or more late in their departure time, would you continue to book with them? Don't think so. So why do Americans put up with this? "Well there's only three in town. So you are going to have that problem with all of them." Ahh..the monopolistic-my-time-is-more-important-than-yours-syndorme. Plus, Americans put doctors on a pedestal. Why? I propose that if we all declared that we are "Mad as Hell and Aren't Going To Take It Anymore" things would probably change. Have you ever fired a doctor? I don't mean the passive, just go to someone else, I mean fired them? They don't' understand or consider themselves in the customer service business. They don't understand that they are independant contractors hired by you. Have lawn service that continually does a crappy job? Doesn't come on time? You fire them. Maybe you haven't showed up on work on time consistantly and you've gotten fired. Why do we put up with this madness from doctors? We shouldn't.
I hate unions. I think the evidence rests in the Detroit automobile industry with how they can crush a country's industry. But yet, I propose a patient's union. But not a patient's union that will bankrupt an industry -- no, I propose a patient's union that will instill the bare minimum of customer service back into the doctors office. I understand that doctors can have complex cases. Some cases can run long. But then again some cases should also run short. And some doctors may take a 90 minute lunch when their schedule only allows for a 45 minute lunch. My issue is that they should have a pretty good idea of this. Just like the restaurant that can get you seated within 10 minutes of your reservations, there is an allowable margin of error that should be allowed with doctors. But a consistant hour or more wait is ridiculous. This is my proposal. If you show up on time for your appointment, and you have to wait for more than 45 minutes before you SEE a doctor (not before you are called back to waiting room No. 2), then you reschedule. And if you are "called back" before 45 minutes and they do that preliminary take your temp or blood pressure or weight crap and you still haven't seen a doctor, you walk out and rescedule. And then you call your insurance company and tell them not to pay the bill. And if the doctor comes after you for that bill, you sue them. Small claims court, but you sue them. Imagine the look on your doctors face when you invoice them for an hours worth of lost wages. I did say reschedule. If it happens a second time you fire them. You may have to tell the receptionist that you fire them. But if you can simply ask where exactly is the doctor and fire them in person even better. That's what I wish I would have done with Dr. Hart. Imagine the look on the patient's face when you barge into the room and say, "Doc, you're fired." And then close the door and go on your merry way. Would it be rude to barge in on a doctor while counseling another patient? Yes. But it's a five second inturruption. Isn't it just as -- if not more -- rude for a doctor to make an unwritten contract to see you at 3 p.m. and not actually see you until 4:30 p.m.? I say not only is it bad customer service, not only is it rude, but they are quite frankly being an asshole to you.
They are saying their time is more important than yours. Perhaps I have a more develeped sense of self-worth than most people, but I say, "Bullshit." I really don't care if you think six more years of college makes you more important than me. I don't really care if you think that you making $100,000 more per year than me makes you more important than me. Because my free time...the off time from work I could be recieving if I wasn't using it to sit in your waiting room is priceless to me. We only have a finite amount of time on this earth. And the hour or more I spend waiting on your sorry ass to see me is an hour or more I'll NEVER get back. So fuck you, doc. Start treating my time like it was your own and we can make a deal (ie. I'll let my insurance company pay you). Otherwise, you're fired.
About a year ago I fired one of these Tallahassee endocrinologists. I arrived for my appointment at noon. Not another soul was in the waiting room. I stayed there for 45 to 50 minutes. Not a soul walked out of the doctors offices and only one other person entered the waiting room while I was there. I was finally called back for the prep work -- my blood pressure and blood sugar were taken and I was weighted. I was then shown to a patient room. There I waited until 1: 35 p.m. At that point I walked out of the office of one Dr. Celeste Hart, M.D. I walked up to the receptionist, cause God knows I hadn't seen the good doctor that day, and I said, "Would you please tell Dr. Hart that SHE'S FIRED."
I don't know if this was a shock or not to the receptionist, because I promptly turned around and headed out the door. But I've never heard of anyone firing their doctor. And that's a shame. Becaue that's why they continue to get away with this. Now if you think I maybe over-reacted, this was not a first time occurance. I had never left Dr. Hart's office after seeing her half a dozen times in less than 90 minutes and many times it was two hours after my appoitment time when I was done. Not a big deal perhaps if the visit with the doctor herself had not on EVERY occassion lasted 15 minutes or less. Why would a doctor schedule someone an appoinment 75 minutes before they could be seen CONSISTANTLY? We'll get back to that. My general pratictioner insistaed that I go see a kidney doctor. Which I did. In and out in an hour and more than half that time was with an actual doctor. The doctor said basically, that I had nothing to worry about and he'd see me again in six months just to keep an eye out. My general practitioner also suggested I see a new endocrinologist.
So today I took a visit to Dr. Terry W. Sherraden, M.D. I had an appointment at 2 p.m. I arrived ten minutes prior. I filled out paperwork. Finished paperwork by 2:10. And then I waited. And waited. And waited. There were two patients in the waiting room when I arrived at 1:50 p.m. One of them had been called back by 3:15. I got up. Went to the receptionist and told her I wanted to reschedule. A doctor's assistant behind her said that I was next. Wonder if the other patient there before me heard that and what he thought. I ignored her. The receptionist told me that it would be September before they could reschedule me. Now this is mid May. I said, "That's fine." As an aside, as a new patient I was given a "practice policies" sheet. On this sheet, for which I had to sign, it stated that I would call and give 24 hours notice if I was unable to make an appointment. So, the receptionist scheduled me for a 3 p.m. appointment in September. I said, "Does the doctor always double- or triple-book? Does this mean I should show up at 5 p.m.?" She replied that the good doctor spends time with each patient and ensures that they get a dutiful evaluation and that "no stone is left unturned before he leaves the room." Heard that one before. I told her that I understood that and that it was a good thing. But asked again does that mean I shouldn't show up until 5 p.m. She said that I could expect my first appointment to be two hours.
Wow, I thought, he's going to spend two hours with me. Actually I didn't think that. I thought at most he would spend 30 minutes -- cause I've NEVER been to a doctor not conducting a procedure in which they spent more time than that. So I was being told that for my first appointment I should expect to wait for 90 minutes. I asked, "Why do you guys double-book? I've never had this problem except with endocrinologist before." She replied, "Well there's only three in town. So you are going to have that problem with all of them."
Bingo. Got my answer. They have so much "business" and have a semi-monopoly on thier patients that it gives them all an excuse to provide the absolute worst customer service known to man. Shocker. Now, I understand that if you have a broken arm and you need to get it set and have a cast put on it that an hour or two or three is not too much to ask. I understand if you've almost cut off your leg with a chainsaw and you have to wait an hour or two (as long as you have a tourniqut) may not be too much to ask. Cause, I mean what are you going to do wrap your arm in Plaster-of-Paris yourself or sew up your half sawed off leg? As long as you live, you don't really care how long it takes in those situations. But I'm waiting for a doctor to tell me what I've known and been told by countless doctors before...I need to check my blood sugar more regularly and inject the cooresponding amounts of insulin. Unless these guys have a cure for Type 1 diabetes behind their sactomoneous walls, no thanks. And I'm pretty sure I would have read about such a cure in one of the six-month-old newsmagazines I catch up on by reading several issues cover to cover every time I sit in one of their waiting rooms. Still think I'm overreacting? Why do doctors get a pass? If you make reservations at a nice restaurant for 5 p.m. and you arrive 10 minutes prior. But at 6:15 p.m. you still haven't been seated, would you go back? Maybe if you are a massochist. But I wouldn't. I might give them a second chance as I am Dr. Sherradan.
If you are a business person and you set an appointment for 3 p.m. with a possible business partner and they don't call and don't show for more than an hour, does that give an impression that it's someone you want to enter a business relationship with? Most likely you would never meet with them again. If you booked with an airline and they were constantly an hour or more late in their departure time, would you continue to book with them? Don't think so. So why do Americans put up with this? "Well there's only three in town. So you are going to have that problem with all of them." Ahh..the monopolistic-my-time-is-more-important-than-yours-syndorme. Plus, Americans put doctors on a pedestal. Why? I propose that if we all declared that we are "Mad as Hell and Aren't Going To Take It Anymore" things would probably change. Have you ever fired a doctor? I don't mean the passive, just go to someone else, I mean fired them? They don't' understand or consider themselves in the customer service business. They don't understand that they are independant contractors hired by you. Have lawn service that continually does a crappy job? Doesn't come on time? You fire them. Maybe you haven't showed up on work on time consistantly and you've gotten fired. Why do we put up with this madness from doctors? We shouldn't.
I hate unions. I think the evidence rests in the Detroit automobile industry with how they can crush a country's industry. But yet, I propose a patient's union. But not a patient's union that will bankrupt an industry -- no, I propose a patient's union that will instill the bare minimum of customer service back into the doctors office. I understand that doctors can have complex cases. Some cases can run long. But then again some cases should also run short. And some doctors may take a 90 minute lunch when their schedule only allows for a 45 minute lunch. My issue is that they should have a pretty good idea of this. Just like the restaurant that can get you seated within 10 minutes of your reservations, there is an allowable margin of error that should be allowed with doctors. But a consistant hour or more wait is ridiculous. This is my proposal. If you show up on time for your appointment, and you have to wait for more than 45 minutes before you SEE a doctor (not before you are called back to waiting room No. 2), then you reschedule. And if you are "called back" before 45 minutes and they do that preliminary take your temp or blood pressure or weight crap and you still haven't seen a doctor, you walk out and rescedule. And then you call your insurance company and tell them not to pay the bill. And if the doctor comes after you for that bill, you sue them. Small claims court, but you sue them. Imagine the look on your doctors face when you invoice them for an hours worth of lost wages. I did say reschedule. If it happens a second time you fire them. You may have to tell the receptionist that you fire them. But if you can simply ask where exactly is the doctor and fire them in person even better. That's what I wish I would have done with Dr. Hart. Imagine the look on the patient's face when you barge into the room and say, "Doc, you're fired." And then close the door and go on your merry way. Would it be rude to barge in on a doctor while counseling another patient? Yes. But it's a five second inturruption. Isn't it just as -- if not more -- rude for a doctor to make an unwritten contract to see you at 3 p.m. and not actually see you until 4:30 p.m.? I say not only is it bad customer service, not only is it rude, but they are quite frankly being an asshole to you.
They are saying their time is more important than yours. Perhaps I have a more develeped sense of self-worth than most people, but I say, "Bullshit." I really don't care if you think six more years of college makes you more important than me. I don't really care if you think that you making $100,000 more per year than me makes you more important than me. Because my free time...the off time from work I could be recieving if I wasn't using it to sit in your waiting room is priceless to me. We only have a finite amount of time on this earth. And the hour or more I spend waiting on your sorry ass to see me is an hour or more I'll NEVER get back. So fuck you, doc. Start treating my time like it was your own and we can make a deal (ie. I'll let my insurance company pay you). Otherwise, you're fired.
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