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Ped Problems- ROTD

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  • Ped Problems- ROTD

    Insurance costs are affecting the quality of our health care and I find it very disturbing! I am very unhappy with my kids' pediatrician. This person came recommended by several people, but I have yet to determine why. During our three well-child checks for the girls, I felt our physician was rushed, didn't do an appropriate exam and didn't give us time to ask questions. She also missed a diminished range of motion on Ella's left side because she went through her exam so quickly and then stood out in the hallway drinking coffee. (Ron noticed it at home and we have been working on correcting it.)

    The office is pretty unaccessable with poor customer service. Today I called to speak to a nurse, went through the phone menu only to hear a recording that they didn't have one and to call 911 if it was an emergency. I called the receptionist and asked to speak to a nurse. She said there wasn't one. When I pressed on, she put me on hold. Then I got a woman who said she had some medical knowledge and maybe she could help. She never identified herself and I assumed she was the secretary. She became upset with me when I refused her help stating she may not have an RN after her name, but she was a CNA.

    I think we were spoiled with our previous pediatrician who spent time talking to us and examing more than our child's heart, lungs and reflexes. She even administered vaccinations. I asked my DH to ask around for other names of pediatricians since we are both disappointed in our current choice. He came home after talking to some local peds and was told that many of them are getting out of primary care because the only way to make money is to see patients every ten minutes. Doing that they lose some of the patient contact and the work loses some of its rewards. So now the peds are working for the insurance companies and possibly providing diminished care? That irks me!

    After today I have lost my patience because I expect a certain level of care and even though we didn't have an emergency I had to have my concerns relayed through my pediatrician by a CNA who reads from a manual. Our insurance, being an HMO, doesn't offer us too many options for PCPs. Also, many offices in our area are taking newborns as new patients but not older children. Would you confront your pediatrician if you were unhappy with the care you received or would you just move on?

    This turned out to be a long post. Sorry!

    Jennifer
    Needs

  • #2
    Jennifer,
    That just stinks.
    re: the peds offices only taking newborns, maybe Ella is still close enough to being a newborn and they will take siblings of newborns as well??
    There has got to be a better option out there!
    Ugh! It can really be hard to find a good doctor in a new location. Good luck!

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    • #3
      Jenn....I hear you....I have noticed the exact same thing. We were to have an appointment with our pediatrician for Aidan the day after we were discharged from the hospital. The appt. was at 10am. We were brought back into a room at about 10.30-10.45. At 11.20 I finally LEFT....I had to find a nurse to tell her I was leaving. I was really ticked off...and suffering from some major post-partum exhaustion. When I left, the nurse said to me "she is almost done and will be to you in a second...can you hold on a little longer?" NO....I understand being behind, but I didn't feel well still and was just exhausted. What stunk is that I had already had to give up that $20 co-pay. My husband was actually ticked off at me for leaving "what is wrong with you...why didn't you just wait".....This is the same guy that complains if he has to wait in line at the grocery store for 5 minutes .

      I rescheduled and my husband called back and made sure that they rolled over the co-pay. When I went back, they didn't want to see me because I told them that the co-pay was supposed to roll over and they didn't want to do it....I also waited for an hour to see her.

      From what I understand here now though, this has just become the norm...you have to expect that if you have a ped appt. at 9am that you won't be seen until 10am....The doctors are just expected to see too many patients in too short of a time period and it is unfair to them. When I did see the pediatrician that time she apologized profusely...I told her it was no big deal and that I was sorry that I had left but that I wasn't feeling well and I just wanted to go home...she told me that she had been scheduled for 15 minutes with a depressed adolescent who was suicidal....obviously that wasn't something that she could address in 15 minutes......

      On a wider scale outside of pediatrics, our internists here are having to take a 10% pay cut this year 8O and will have to see more patients. Now...no administrator is having to take a pay cut (and these people have bachelor's degrees and earn over 100k/yr). The expectations are just ridiculous.

      kris
      ~Mom of 5, married to an ID doc
      ~A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

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      • #4
        I don't have much to add but sympathy to you all! That is just terrible the way you are all being treated. We've never had our children seen by pediatricians, just family docs, and I know those guys are just as hurried and pressed by the insurance companies/administrators to rush through patients. Before my husband joined the military, our insurance was through an HMO that wasn't even a well-liked HMO in our area, but at least it was widely accepted and our doctor accepted it. I know that we had to pay over $400 a month for this, not to mention copays and outrageous copays on drugs... But I guess I always felt it was worth it because the care we got was always good, except for one time when the nurses were on lunch break and the receptionist airhead told me to call back in 1.5 hours to talk to a nurse about my son who was currently showing symptoms of anaphylactic shock. Besides that episode, no complaits but I really hope things go better for all of you!!!

        Jenn- if I were you, I would look around for another doctor. You may even try a family doc if there are more options. I understand a doctor being in a hurry, but still I think they can at least do a thorough examination!

        Kris- I've had to leave Dr appointments a couple of times for whatever reason, and they have always rolled over the copay without a problem. It's some kind of scam if they don't, because they only bill insurance 1 time for the appointment!
        Peggy

        Aloha from paradise! And the other side of training!

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        • #5
          Update- DH asked around and got some referrals for new pediatricians and we found one across from where he works. It turned out that many of our neighbors also take their kids to this practice and they are very pleased with them.

          The practice is set up differently than our previous and our dr has daily call hours from her home before coming into the office and nurses answer their phones during the day so I already feel better about the accessibility.

          I had a family physician as my PCP growing up and I was very happy with him.

          Jennifer
          Needs

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          • #6
            That's great news Jenn! Sounds like this might work out for all of you!
            Peggy

            Aloha from paradise! And the other side of training!

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