Okay ... so you all know that I am very health care sensitive after not having health care insurance for a year. It was a good experience because it has made me really conscious of doctors that just go through the motions and then charge you an arm and leg for their crappy service. And it has made me more likely to not go to the doctor for every little thing ... and when I do go, I get annoyed really quickly when I don't get good service.
So a few months ago, I went to the doctor about my shoulder. It had been bothering me for a couple of months. I don't know exactly what I did to it. I have some thoughts about it ... but nothing concrete. I thought it would get better on it's own ... which, of course, didn't happen. So I finally broke down and went to my regular doctor.
She poked around, got something to pop and caused me some pain and then said that she thought it would get better with a coritsone shot. Then she said she needed to see it on an x-ray. Okay .. fine. I get that ... I guess. But I had questions. Like for example, what was the x-ray going to tell her that poking around didn't? And why a coritsone shot instead of physical therapy? Why not physical therapy?
After she answered my questions sufficiently, she said she was going to refer me to an Orthropedic specialist to administer the shot because she had only done it once -- on a manniquinn. This I pondered a bit because ... she's in a clinic with at least 50 other doctors? Couldn't one of them do it instead? Why do I have to pay extra money to have an orthopedic specialist look at my shoulder and stick a needle in it? I never actually agreed to go see the specialist, but two days later, her nurse called me with an appointment time anyway.
So here is where I really really became annoyed about this whole process. My appointment was at like 10:45. I got to the office 15 minutes early because I figured there would be some paperwork I needed to fill out. Then I stood in line and waited for 20 minutes to check in. All the while I'm standing there, one of the receptionists was talking to another person in the office about her vacation!! Loudly, I might add. Finally after about 15 minutes of me being in line, she noticed that I was standing there and finally opened her window to see if I needed help.
At this particular Dr's office, the check in window is about chest height ... which is fine if you're over 5 feet tall and you're standing ... but there was a woman in line in front of me in a wheel chair. So when the receptionist asked if I needed help, I said, yes, but I'm not next in line ... she is. And I pointed at the woman in the wheel chair.
So what did the receptionist do? Rolled her eyes, stood up and yelled at the woman. (I guess being in a wheelchair means you're deaf) Maybe if their window was more "patient" friendly ... the receptionist's sitting on your ass time wouldn't have been interupted by a handicapped person.
When I finally got to check in .. sure enough I had a ton of paperwork to fill out. Which I did quickly. By the time I got it all turned back in, I was 15 minutes past my appointment time. While I was waiting to be called, wheelchair lady rolled up the counter again and had to yell at the receptionists several times before anyone acknowledged her. (I and two other people actually got up at the same time to help her ... because god knows the medical office staff wasn't going too).
Roughly 30 minutes later, I was finally called into the dr's. office. The nurse made me put on this stupid halter top thing which I swear was designed for a 10 year old. I couldn't even tie it because the strings were so short. And why I even needed it on is still lost to me. The doctor came waltzing in the office 15 minutes later and stayed all of FIVE minutes. He moved my arm around, just like my primary care doctor did and then said I could either do some stretches or get the shot. Then he said I should take 4 advil every 4 hours for the next three weeks whether I felt like I needed it or not. He told me to do that just seconds after I said that I'm not a fan of taking pills. Does he ask why? No. Does he offer an alternative? No. Does he tell me what my x-rays said? No. Does he say what's wrong with my shoulder? No.
He also, clearly, didn't read any of the forms that I fill out about my medical history and he didn't listen to anything I said. I try to ask a couple of questions and he gave me the brush off. I even baited him with partial information and he just skimmed over it. He asked me if I wanted the shot and I said no -- because no way in hell am I letting someone that doesn't even listen to me stick a needle into my shoulder. Are you nuts?
Then he said, "Ok, I think this can be managed with some stretches, so do the stretches and come back in 3 weeks if its not better." He gave me some really lame directions on how to do the stretches ... but did he give me instructions on paper - like every other doctor or physical therapist that I've ever seen in my life has done? NO.
I left the office not making the follow up appointment because there is no way in hell that I was every going back there.
After thinking about it for a couple of hours and feeling more and more crappy about that visit, I call the other clinic in town (the one that I hate because they are mean to people without health insurance) and talked to the Ortho department. They were able to get me in the following day to see a shoulder and hand specialist. I called my primary care doctor to get a copy of the x-ray and my doctor's nurse, after I tell her about my appointment experience, apologizes to me for him -- !!! She didn't need to do that ... not her fault. She doesn't even work in his office.
The next day, I went to the other doctor and had a much better experience. In fact, its probably one of the best visits I have had at that clinic -- considering that I hate the place. I told him that I saw the other specialists and that he told me to do some stretches. My new doctor asked what kind and when I told him ... he chuckled and said: don't do those, they'll make it worse. Oh great! That's nice. Then I asked the new doc all sorts of questions and he answered every single one of them and then some. I asked him if he thought I needed to get the shot and he said: "No, I think you need to go to physical therapy for a couple of times." The shot would be a last resort before surgery in his opinion. (which is what happened before I had back surgery too ... so I know the guy wasn't lying to me).
Okay, so that was one bad experience which in the end turned out pretty good, because I went to physical therapy for 4 visits and now my shoulder doesn't hurt at all. But today, I had another horrible bad crappy doctor's office experience.
I had to go to the eye doctor and normally I go to the Eye Clinic at the University of Iowa. -- and I love going there because they are always so nice. But I decided to go somewhere local because going to IC requires me to take vacation time and I'm not going waste any of my last 4 days on an eye doctor appointment. I should know better though ... last year about this time, I went to a local eye place to get some glasses and the doctor was a complete and total DICK and I could never see out of those glasses -- in fact they give me a headache every time I wear them. Thank god the insurance paid for them.
So to avoid another rotten appointment, I schedule my visit at this eye clinic here that I've been too before. So the last time I was there was probably about 1997 -- but I had been going there pretty such since the age of 5 ... so I'm no stranger.
My appointment was at 2. I got there about 5 minutes early. I checked in and waited about 15 minutes to be called, which put me 10 minutes behind the 8 ball -- and oh, by the way, I told my manager I would only be gone an hour. (because that's all it should have taken -- I've been to enough eyes doctors to know the procedure). So, I'm called in and a technician asks me a bunch of questions , then does some tests and then takes me to the exam room. By now, it's 2:30 or so.. and I haven't even seen the doctor yet. After another 10 minute wait, he shows up and does his eye doctor thing and then decides he wants to dilate my eyes.
So I stop him here ... because you only need to have this done once a year and I had it done in March. There is really no benefit to having it done ... eye doctors have enough gizmos in their office to refract your eyes without it. So I express my dissatification with his doing this because it's now 3:00 and umm... I've been gone from work an hour. The eye dude assures me that "it won't take much longer" so I relucantly agree and go sit in the hallway.
3:15. I'm still sitting in the hallway waiting. Another technician calls me in to do some bogus test on my eyes and then tells me to go back and sit in the hall. So I nicely ask, how much longer is this going to be -- and explain that I needed to get back to work since I told my boss I would only be gone an hour. She literally snapped at me that I should have allowed for a 2 hour appointment. Two fricken hours? Are you nuts? I didn't say that of course, but I thought it. It didn't even take two hours for me to see the eye specialist in Iowa City or have eye surgery ... freaks.
After that, she wasn't very nice to me and dumped me back in the exam room again. Then after I heard the eye doctor dude and a female have a muffled conversation in the hallway, I heard him go into the room next to mine and start a exam with another patient. I listen to this for about five minutes and look at my watch. It's 3:35 .. and as it is, I'm going to have to stay at work til 6 to make up all the time. So I fricken put my contacts back in and left.
I stopped at reception before I walked and told the girl I had to go and she acted like I was committing some deviant act. Yeah, well, too bad. Maybe you should tell people to allow for 2 hours of horse shit crappy service when they make an appointment in your clinic.
I cannot think of one time since I've been doctoring at IC eye clinic where my entire visit was over 90 minutes. And they see a ton more patients there. But.. clearly customer service is more important to them .... where here, they think you are their exam room prisoner because you have limited choices. Whatever ... I will not be forced to endure bad customer service or lamo doctors that just go through the motions.
So ... I still don't have eyeglasses. But maybe that's not meant to be.
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