After reading the thread on how long to wait for a Dr. it reminded me of a current dilemma. I go to a well respected hospital “outreach” clinic. The first Doc I saw there I didn’t like. Luckily (I thought) my next appt was changed to Doc B. I love Doc B. I saw Doc B 2 more times. The next appt with Doc B I was told I couldn’t see Doc B. I had to go with Doc A since that was my original appt. I said I didn’t want to see Doc A, I wanted Doc B. They said too bad. And I said “Quite right and I left.” Now I need a Doc for blood pressure meds and some other stuff.
Can the clinic really tell me I can’t see Doc B? What do I do?
TIA
Um… of course? If Dr. B is fully booked, at lunch, or gone to Uruguay, what are they supposed to do? Conjure him up for you?
Have you spoken with the clinic and laid it out for them: *I am willing to see Dr. B and only Dr. B. Is there any way I can guarantee to see only Dr. B in the future? * They will probably say “no.” And you will have the choice to occasionally encounter Dr. A or find another clinic.
not quite right, I guess I wasn’t clear. The clinic wouldn’t even let me make an appt with Doc B. Said my first appt a year ago was with Doc A and now I can’t change from Doc A to Doc B as my primary care Doc. So I guess it’s off to find another Doc…
That seems really bizarre. I think, in your shoes, I would say “pretend like I’m brand new patient, never been to your clinic before, and I’d like to see Doc B” If they still say no, then tell them you’ll be changing to a new clinic. The next thing I would do is two fold. I would call the next day and ask to speak to Doc B’s P.A. or one of his/her nurses. You’ll probably have to wait for a call back. When/if you get to talk to them, nicely explain that you are trying to schedule an appointment but reception is refusing. Explain that you’ve seen Doc B the last several times and you’d prefer to switch over entirely, but they won’t let you. See if you can bypass reception that way. Hopefully, Doc B will hear about it and make it happen for you.
Also, if this clinic is part of a bigger group, call or email them and lay everything out just like you did here and see if that makes a difference. You don’t have to give them any details, just that you’ve seen both doctors, you prefer B or A and they are refusing to let you see B, if that’s they way it is, you’re going somewhere else.
At least around here, the big hospital/clinic groups take complaints very seriously and look into each and every single one of them.
Doc B may not be taking new patients, and when you saw him he was just filling in for Doc A on a very short term basis. That happens, and is annoying.
For them to lock you into a primary for no reason is very strange. I would assume they have a reason that isn’t apparent to you (“Doc B isn’t taking new patients,” “Doc B doesn’t take your insurance” etc.). Try and figure out the reason, and you will be closer to finding the solution.
And while unsatisfying, those would be legit reasons. But saying telling the OP that she can’t see Doc B since she saw Doc A first and then saying “too bad” just isn’t right. Like I said, earlier, I’d complain about that. When you tell them that you don’t like your doctor and they say ‘too bad,’ that’s a problem. That’s how clinics lose patients.
Docs employed by a clinic like that one are probably “on incentive”, meaning that they get paid for each patient they see over a certain number. So while the docs have to work together to cover one another and keep things running, they’re essentially competing for patients.
It’s extremely unprofessional in this context to try to take another doc’s patients, but sometimes even if you don’t try you may find that patients want to switch to you. (You may just be a better doctor or a more friendly person, or you may be looser with the pain pills/benzos/unnecessary antibiotics.) That sucks for the other doc, but it also sucks for you since you need to work with that doc if you don’t want to take call 24/7/365. So the best way around that is to actively discourage switching from one primary doc to another, or prohibit it outright.
Your best bet is to ask to speak with the office manager. Doc B won’t want to look like he’s poaching Doc A’s patient, and the front desk can only do what they’ve been told. The office manager can break through it if you explain that you’ve really established a rapport with Doc B.
I think that this is the reason, they don’t want Docs “poaching” patients. OTOH, Doc A is really unfriendly, unattentive, and just not my kind of person. I’ll take this advice and call the office manager to explain my rapport with Doc B and see what happens.
Thanks!