I took Miguel to see a new neurologist (since we recently moved to Houston, TX) in October. I was disappointed by the office, the location and the lack of STAFF. When I looked it up on BCBS PPO providers, it appeared to be in a great location with regards to work and home and on a notable street.
Side note: How sad? I picked a medical professional to treat my son based on location! It's like Russian Roulette, but I should be the one shot....uh, I amaze myself with my idiotic reasoning sometimes.
Anyhoo, it was a bit further out, away from the city, than what I had expected. In a nutshell, it had a "country-bumpkin" (sp?) atmosphere, the receptionist wasn't in so the doctor was doing EVERYTHING, there was an intrusive and barking "therapy dog" in the office, the office door was open so the doctor could hear patients coming in (as if the barking dog wasn't enough?) AND the doctor was hard of hearing so I had to repeat myself a lot and shout what I said so she, and the waiting room, could hear.
Alright, so my first thought walking in was "oh crap, Miguel will be on Risperdal and Clonidine FOREVER because this doctor won't keep up to date with new treatments in the field". I liken her to that of the Crypt Keeper (CK--for short). So the appointment went fine, aside from all the HIPPA violations and the heightened confusion in the office with new patients walking in and the doctor being both the secretary and neurologist. It was a basic intake with a medical and social history on Miguel, to be concluded with a much needed prescription of Risperdal and Clonidine. I explained to the Crypt Keeper my concerns of Clonidine, dosage history (.05mg), how I use it as a PRN and my concerns on Miguel's recent sleep pattern. She assured me that Miguel could take the full tablet (0.1 mg) every night and that it'd be fine.
We tootled home with the prescription and to follow up.....whenever....she never said, nor did she reschedule him. I guess I'll call for an appt. in 4-6 months like I did with his other neurologist in Chicago.
November came and his Clonidine was running low, so I whip out the prescriptions to mail them in to be filled for three months with 4 refills, as I use a mail order pharmacy to keep co-pays low. I look at the prescription and it says Clonidine .05 daily. Well, actually, it LOOKS like "Clonidine 005 mg" because she made the point (.) like an "0".
I call the Crypt Keeper and speak to her receptionist and explain the situation. She yells to the Crypt Keeper the issue and the Crypt Keeper shouts back, in a relay fashion, that she'll call in a month prescription and that I have to schedule an appointment to come see her next week if I want her to change the dosage. I continued to explain the situation, what the outcome of the initial appointment was and what I need. The receptionist stood firm in her orders from the Crypt Keeper and was incapable of independent thought or reasoning. I told her I would not come in to see her again and give her my money for something that was already accomplished a month ago. So, I ended the call with a "no thanks, I will find another doctor."
I decided to mail in the prescriptions even though one of the doses was incorrect, it'd hold Miguel over until I could schedule an appointment with another neurologist at a hospital.
Now, let's fast forward to Saturday (12/1/07).
I receive Miguel's Risperdal in the mail along with a letter from the pharmacy stating,
"we are unable to process your recent request for Clonidine because we were unable to get clarification from your doctor on the invalid drug strength prescribed"
I immediately call the pharmacy to inquire about this CRAP and they tell me that they had tried REPEATEDLY to get in touch with the Crypt Keeper to verify the prescription and never received a call back. They gave me a number for the Crypt Keeper to contact to verify the INVALID DRUG STRENGTH. I believe this is due to the "005 mg" issue, or the fact that there may not be a pill made for .05 mg dose.
Monday morning (12/3/07) I contacted CK's office and left a message with my number, the pharmacy's number and the reference number. I explained the problem and left it at that.
Tuesday morning (12/4/07) I contacted the pharmacy at 0900 to follow up to see if CK had called to confirm the prescription. They reported no and that the prescription had been closed out in the system because it had been open for too long without a response from the beloved Crypt Keeper.
I contacted CK's office and spoke with the receptionist, who, I believe, may almost have the intelligence of a dildo, and I was going to leave a message when she said, "the doctor is on the other line with the pharmacy now." I was put on hold so I could speak with CK in person.
The conversation went a little like this....
CK: "Hi, Ms. Favela."
me: "Yes."
CK: "This is Dr. Incompetent."
me: "Yes, ma'am."
CK: "You need to come in for an appointment."
me: "Why? We were just in there two months ago. You wrote an invalid prescription and my
pharmacy has been trying to reach you. I am not coming in to your office for an appointment so you can write me a script that you gave me in October."
CK: "I did not write an invalid script."
me: "According to my pharmacy you did because of how you wrote the dosage. (I read the
letter.)"
CK: "I did not."
me: "Well, they won't fill it until you fax them a new prescription because they closed it out."
CK: "I just talked to your pharmacy..."
me: (I interrupt)"I know because I called them before I called you. Miguel has been out of his Clonidine for over a week now and you need to re-write the script."
CK: "I'll call in one month supply and you need to come in for an appointment."
me: "When I left your office in October, you gave me a one year script for three months at a time and now you want me to come in for a one month script?"
CK: "No, I am not saying that you have to come in for a prescription. I want you to make an appointment because we made a change in his medication and I need to see him...see how he is doing. Then you can find another doctor."
me: "I am not making another appointment. You gave me a one year supply and now you are only giving me a month? My concern is his medication and he has been out of Clonidine for over a week now."
CK: "Fine I'll call in a three month prescription. Bye."
Yes, CK hung up on me.
While writing this, I didn't feel good calling Dr. Incompetent the "Crypt Keeper". I thought, if she read this, it'd hurt her feelings and maybe the label was too harsh. However, when I tried to substitute CK with "doctor".....I didn't feel good either. So, Crypt Keeper it is!!!
I think there comes a point in people's lives where they become ineffective as professionals and, well, plain ol' incompetent. Let's face it. Some people NEVER become COMPETENT but it is always helpful if someone would tap that individual on the shoulder and say,
"hey, why don't you give it a break? I mean, you suck."
Then the two could exchange a meaningful nod and a hearty handshake and the incompetent one could find a mindless job with the rest of us in the mindless masses of worker people.
"Humor is just another defense against the universe."--- Mel Brooks
No comments:
Post a Comment