Patient Advocate

 I need advice. I am pre-op and I am extremely frustrated with my patient advocate. I can Never get her on the phone. I have left multiple voicemails and messages with the front desk. I have questions about my reports coming back and if she has submitted my paperwork. The front desk says they can't access that information but I can't get in touch with her!!!! She is the only advocate for my surgeon. I'm afraid to complain that she might put my case off even more. I am so mad!!! I have so many questions for her and can't even get a response. Any ideas??? Her email is not public also.

What kind of patient advocate doesn't make herself available to the patient?
You can always call your insurance company and ask them.

I had *a lot* of problems with my doctors office too. Finally I went to the office manager and I also filed complaints with my insurance company.  My next step was to walk to another surgeon after I showed up and sat in the office until *someone* came out and talked to me.

I called my insurance company directly to see if any forms had been received from the doctor for me. (I didnt want status, I just wanted know if they had any correspondence). Thats how I found out they had faxed all my medical records to the wrong insurance company.

Thankfully getting the office manager was as far as I needed to go to finally get most of my questions/ problems resolved.  I still drive 60 miles to the doc's secondary office though, rather than his closer office becasue I'm so PO'd at the staff inthe one 20 miles closer.

hope you get someone,
tamie

Is this a Bariatric Center of Excellence? If not, then I would look elsewhere.

*Mine* is a bariatric center of excellence.  That doesnt stop mistakes from being made, though.  "shrugs"

Honestly, I think we all just need to be our *own* best advocates. 

I did have a similar problem. They would always tell me that THEY would contact ME and not to bug the office so much....so finally I stopped and tried to be patient... well MONTHS went by and I still hadn't heard any news so I bombarded them with calls...finally got someone on the phone and found out that my files were misplaced and that I was now 4 months BEHIND in the process... NOT FAIR AT ALL. I could have had my surgery 4 months sooner but because of them I was behind.


If i could go back in time I would have continued to call and call until my questions were answered. I don't care if it seems pushy or overbearing...because obviously being "patient" only led to them forgetting about me. I knew someone who was literally 3 months behind me in this process and her surgery has already been done... and I'm still waiting for mine. I don't call that fair.

MY advocate did the same thing. I cut her out of the equation and started talking to her superiors and that got the job done. They are never in any rush for us unfortunetly.