Making a Stink

Finding a new doctor is never easy. If I could have brought my physician with me when we moved, I would have. She was fantastic and personal. I loved her. Unfortunately, she would not move with us, so I have to find someone new.

I found a doctor that accepted our insurance and made an appointment for an initial visit. A couple of days after I first called them, I realized that I needed to be seen sooner for a medical issue. After explaining this to the receptionist, here is what she said: "I'm sorry. You need to go to the emergency room or urgent care. You are not an established patient here and we cannot see you. We'll see you on August 12."

Against my better judgment, I kept my 'initial visit' appointment which was yesterday. When I arrived, I was told that my doctor went on maternity leave early and someone should have called me. I received an automated message confirming the appointment two days prior, that's it. Also, no one could see me yesterday. They were short three doctors and did not even have any sick visits to squeeze me in. Wow. The soonest that they could see me was next Tuesday.

I left there in tears and drove straight to a different doctor's office to schedule an appointment. When I got home, I decided that someone needed to be held accountable for treating me this way. I wrote a letter and sent copies to the doctor's office, the overseeing company and this company's foundation. Then I emailed my letter to the vice president of the company.

He wrote back this morning and apologized. He forwarded my email to three different people in different departments who deal with quality control and said that someone would be in contact with me to follow-up.

If only everyone in this company was as classy as him.