Every three months I go to my cardiologist for a check-up and periodically have to get a stress test (the one with the treadmill). They also require having blood drawn for a panel of results.
Their office used to draw the blood while I was at the check-up appointment, but since you have to fast, I couldn't wait that long to eat. By the time I drove the 17 miles and waited at least an hour, I was a wreck, got weak and dizzy. So, they would just give me a script to go to a lab at my convenience.
The lab took appointments and there was hardly no wait. It was great. Our health insurance dropped that lab, so a different one was prescribed. Also, the doctors office no longer draws blood.
The medical assistant to my cardiologist is a very caring woman, married and a couple of kids. She has drawn my blood, administered EKG's and seems very professional in every way.
When the insurance carrier dropped the lab, I asked her if the Dr's office could draw the blood, and that's when she told me that they don't do that anymore, but may make an exception. She said when the Dr. got back from vacation she would ask him and call me.
After a week of waiting, she never called. I called her voice mail, left a msg. Two days later she called and said she was sorry for not getting back to me but was busy and tied up. Another week goes by, I call her again, and then she remembers that the Dr said no and said she was sorry again.
So, I asked her to mail me a script to go to the new lab, and she said OK. That was a over week ago. I believe that good healthcare is more than a doctor being competent. It is a combination of their complete handling of patients.
I have the Dr's personal email address. I could email him with this dilemma, since you can't actually get him on the phone if you call there. If I tell him that his personal medical assistant fails to be prompt and do what she promises, she may get fired. If I just call her again, the same lame handling of my request might happen.
Other than the wait in the waiting room, the doctor himself seems competent and caring (he's kept me alive).
This is somewhat of a moral issue with me. I realize that in the doctor/patient thing there are waits and delays due to the volume of patients. This is not the first administrative problem I've experienced. On a more serious note, about six years ago, had some red stuff in the yellow stuff. My primary physician at the time said she would refer me to a urologist right away that was on my health plan. Two weeks go by and my wife said I should just go to one on from the insurance listing book from our provider, and not wait for the referral.
The urologist made the appointment for the next day, and after that scheduled me for emergency surgery the next day. Found out I had bladder cancer and if not treated I had about 3 months.
My gut feeling is just do whatever I have to do to get good treatment. I do have some reservations about getting the assistant in hot water.
So my question is this: Should I email the doctor with a strong message to get some results, or keep trying to get the medical assistant to do her job?
A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER - John Keats
Their office used to draw the blood while I was at the check-up appointment, but since you have to fast, I couldn't wait that long to eat. By the time I drove the 17 miles and waited at least an hour, I was a wreck, got weak and dizzy. So, they would just give me a script to go to a lab at my convenience.
The lab took appointments and there was hardly no wait. It was great. Our health insurance dropped that lab, so a different one was prescribed. Also, the doctors office no longer draws blood.
The medical assistant to my cardiologist is a very caring woman, married and a couple of kids. She has drawn my blood, administered EKG's and seems very professional in every way.
When the insurance carrier dropped the lab, I asked her if the Dr's office could draw the blood, and that's when she told me that they don't do that anymore, but may make an exception. She said when the Dr. got back from vacation she would ask him and call me.
After a week of waiting, she never called. I called her voice mail, left a msg. Two days later she called and said she was sorry for not getting back to me but was busy and tied up. Another week goes by, I call her again, and then she remembers that the Dr said no and said she was sorry again.
So, I asked her to mail me a script to go to the new lab, and she said OK. That was a over week ago. I believe that good healthcare is more than a doctor being competent. It is a combination of their complete handling of patients.
I have the Dr's personal email address. I could email him with this dilemma, since you can't actually get him on the phone if you call there. If I tell him that his personal medical assistant fails to be prompt and do what she promises, she may get fired. If I just call her again, the same lame handling of my request might happen.
Other than the wait in the waiting room, the doctor himself seems competent and caring (he's kept me alive).
This is somewhat of a moral issue with me. I realize that in the doctor/patient thing there are waits and delays due to the volume of patients. This is not the first administrative problem I've experienced. On a more serious note, about six years ago, had some red stuff in the yellow stuff. My primary physician at the time said she would refer me to a urologist right away that was on my health plan. Two weeks go by and my wife said I should just go to one on from the insurance listing book from our provider, and not wait for the referral.
The urologist made the appointment for the next day, and after that scheduled me for emergency surgery the next day. Found out I had bladder cancer and if not treated I had about 3 months.
My gut feeling is just do whatever I have to do to get good treatment. I do have some reservations about getting the assistant in hot water.
So my question is this: Should I email the doctor with a strong message to get some results, or keep trying to get the medical assistant to do her job?
A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER - John Keats
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