Well I went to my surgeon appointment yesterday and angry was not the word can you say POSTAL!! Everything started out going good until my PCP did not send my results for the EKG, Adominal ultrasound, and my chest Xray. ALL of the other test were there my GI, and my blood work, and he went over it with me and it was really good. He asked me so when are you trying to have this surgery and I said before the end of the year, and he says "What is your rush?", I said " because I have been working really hard since March,2011, and I would like to have it and get it over with!" He said well I am filling up with dates and I have people who are in really ruff situations and there insurance is going to run out by the end of the year, he goes on to say I try to be fair to everybody, and understand each and everyone situation, can you understand?"( NOW THIS MAN DID TELL ME AT MY LAST VISIT THAT IF I GOT EVERYTHING DONE HE COULD SCHEDULE ME AROUND THE MIDDLE OF DEC!) So I said OK at this point I am desperate to just get a date, so he said I can put you in around the 1st of JAN I said ok cool, But he said I need your test results, so I called my PCP, and got them to fax it! My surgeon assistant came back into the room and said well they have not sent nothing yet and I am going to call you by the end of the day to give you a date, I said you promise, and she said I promise! So I went to work, and I was dissappointed, pissed, hurt, all of the above! I called my Pcp and verfied that they sent the results, and they said yes we sent everything!, So I called back to the surgeons office at 330pm, and they said yea we got it and a nurse has to review everything and we will call you back! So I got off at 4pm, and I called back to the surgeons ofice, and THEY WERE FREAKIN CLOSED!!!! So here is my Monday mission, I am going to call my surgeon office and ask if the other surgeon in the office have any open dates in DEC, and get transfered to him, and then express the way I feel, I mean I am entitled like everyone else, Me and my husband both work Govt jobs, and I pay for health insur, and he pays too, so I am doubled covered I want what I pay for GEESH!!! Just pissed the hell off!

I am sorry your day didn't go so well.  However, it was just one day and WLS is a long process.  It is unreasonable to expect them to interrupt their schedule to review your records later in the day when it wasn't their fault that your records weren't there during your scheduled time.  If I was a patient later in the day and they cut my visit short to process your records that weren't timely submitted, I would be upset.

If you are this upset for a one day delay and you tell your surgeon's office, they WILL see you as a difficult patient and you won''t have any surgeon that will want to touch you.  Perhaps focus on being grateful that you and your husband both have government jobs and health insurance this Thanksgiving. 

Thanks Chris for your comment it does help alot, but however I am very thankful for me and my husband Govt jobs everyday not just Thanksgiving, because there are alot of people who are unemployed, and The surgeon office had got the info they needed around 11am, so they had enough time to look over it like they promised they would! My Pcp was dead wrong to not have my info over there like they should, but I have had numerous problems with them threw out this WLS process, and my surgeons office I have been very cooperative, and doing what they tell me to do, but they are not holding up to there promises! So I have been being very nice to them, and I have been speaking to them with kindness and respect, but I think they are looking past me! That's all, and Thanks again I appreciate your concerns.

 Just so you know changing surgeons may set you back farther then a few weeks. They may have you start all over again with the process or part of it anyway. 


there are about 5 surgeons at my practice and one women tried to change and had to redo alot of the stuff...she was set back like 3-4 months she said. 

Yes Cherylkas I did think about that and I definitely don't want to get pushed back further than what I am now Geesh, so I think I am very upset and dissappointed that my appointment did not go the way it was suppose to go, I am going to wait until Monday to see what they say, and I will take it from there, but I am trying to be very patient I have been patient all along. Thanks for the advice I needed to hear that!

Donna, thanks for your lovely reply.  Ahhh, the looking past me sure would bother me too!  :)  I wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving. 

Awwhhh Thanks Chris whishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving too!

Oh, I can completely feel your pain.  I sub at a Dr's office where there is a person who essentially quits working after noon on Fridays.  She leaves things on the fax, doesn't respond to phone calls.  Will even say she finished everything when she leaves early (she is a bestie with her doc)  I'll walk in and find refills, referrals, emergency requests etc.  She "decides" what is important and won't tell the doc anything else.

She totally cannot put herself in the patients place....it can wait the weekend....they don't really hurt that much or they would go to the er.

Because of that when I sub for her I call the pt back and tell them "I faxed that over- at 0830- I checked and they received it"  Rather than them sitting by the phone waiting for a call and then finding the office is closed and nothing was done.

Can you tell it honks me too??


I was also double covered for my surg.  Paid nothing out of pocket!

Pup

Thanks Pup and this is exactly what is happening! My pcp are not following threw with things on there end, and so far my surgeons office are not following threw on there promises ie; you can have your surgery around the middle of Dec if you get all of your test completed (Which I did do), I promise I will call you back by the end of the day as soon as the results come over from your PCP. So I feel like I am being passed over, because I am being so nice! I have been very patient, and understanding, I am even willing to accept the Jan date for surgery after I was promised a DEC date! Oh and yes I will not be paying anything out of pocket either due to me being doubled covered! Now that is something to celebrate, and be thankful for! Thanks for understanding! lol

 Unfortunately, your experience is not that rare. Medical offices are swamped with records requests and limit staff time devoted to this task. It can take several calls to get what you need from them. From my experience, a little sugar goes a long way. Try to be pleasant but consistent in your requests, and keep your cool in dealing with them. The facts are you need them a lot more than they need you. Requests from people they don't get along with have a tendency to find their way to the bottom of the stack!

It's not right. It's not fair. It's frustrating to be sure...