Tuesday My Gastro’s office called to remind me that I have an appointment Friday morning and to remind me that my insurer requires a referral from my GP. I then called my GPs office to request the referral and they assured me that they would transmit it immediately.
So tonight I got home and there was a message on my phone from my Gastro’s office. It was an angry sounding voice saying “we need you to call your doctor’s office for a referral”.
I go through this same damn game every 6 months. This has happened 3 or 4 times now. No matter how far ahead I ask for a referral, when I go in the day of the appointment, guess what? No fucking referral.
Every.
Damn.
Time.
So now I’ll go in tomorrow, they’ll tell me I don’t have a referral, I’ll tell them I called for it and I’ll call right there from my cellphone. The kicker is that when I call then they always immediately put it through with almost no delay.
Hey, doctor’s staff. If you can put it straight through with no delay when I call you at 8:30 in the morning, why the hell can’t you get it done when you have 2 days, 3 days, or even a weeks notice? Are you fucking playing games with me? Once is an honest mistake. Twice raises an eyebrow but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Three times? Four times? WTF?
By this time the specialist’s office must think I’m an idiot who forgets to call every time and then lies about it.
Seriously, what is your problem?
My appointment is 8:30 AM tomorrow. I am going to call my GP’s office from my car for a referral right before I enter the professional building. Maybe this time your plan to make me look like an idiot will fail!
This will probably be the one time they fail to put it through immediately on the morning of the appointment.
I should have added: The last time I went to my Gastro’s office and went through this, I saw another patient go through exactly the same thing, and I overheard (unintentionally) that he has the same GP as me. Just like me, he had called for a referral and it had never been sent.
Well, this at least is evidence that it’s not you being the idiot, it’s the GP’s office. I’d bet they do know about this doc and don’t blame the patients.
Lack of coordination like this is infuriating… My roomie had to switch doctors when the old doc retired. He got a referral to a new doc. He makes an appointment and shows up…on Good Friday, as it happens…and the old doc’s office is closed for the holiday (the new doc’s office is open – Godless heathens, I guess)…and the old office hadn’t forwarded his records. Waste of an office visit.
If the loss of the efficiency of the free market medical care system is the thing they threaten us with when we ask for a government health care system…they ought, at least, to provide us with that efficiency!
The thing is, I like my GP. I’ve been seeing him for years and he’s familiar with my somewhat unique issues, so I really don’t want to just leave. But the practice’s office staff infuriates me with this kind of stuff.
Getting renewals on prescriptions is another thing that’s like pulling teeth. Since my meds are mostly for GI issues I started a while ago having my Gastro write them all, solving that problem. His office staff is great.
My appointment was 8:30 this morning. At 8:00, right before I left the house, and the earliest my GP’s office would be open, I called to ask them to please send the referral. They said that they had already checked and it had been sent.
So I proceeded to the specialist’s office. This involved discovering that a road was closed and having to detour around it (with no detour signs posted) through traffic jams and school zones… but that would be another rant.
Anyway, I got to the office about 5 minutes late. I apologized to the receptionist and she said “oh, you know Ron (the doctor) is always late anyway, you’re not holding anything up.” Then I started to tell her that I called my GP’s office this morning about the referral and before I could even finish she told me that it had come through and everything was all set.
Also, a weird mixup with my medical insurance that I’ve been trying to get resolved for years has apparently been finally straightened out, at least according to their computers.
And, the doctor has agreed to try a medication change that I’ve been wanting to do for a while.
So I guess I’ve not only resolved this rant, but a couple other potential ones have resolved themselves at the same time.
And it all happened on a Friday the 13th. And I did my taxes last weekend. And the weather is beautiful for this weekend…
I’d be looking out for a large, smoking hot, tremendously heavy part off a passing airplane to be falling directly toward your head. Sounds like you’re due.
Yeah, that might do. Assuming it’s something truly noxious.
My GP put in a referral for me to get an MRI. That was Tuesday morning. We were careful to specify my cell number as the primary contact, with my home land line as secondary. So I wait all week to hear from them for an appointment – nada. I get home tonight and there on the land line answering machine is the “We’re trying to schedule your appointment…” message, in an annoyed voice. Of course it’s after 5pm, so I can’t even call back until Monday.
Can you send me a can of your office air? I think I’m gonna need it.
Yeah, that might do. Assuming it’s something truly noxious.
My GP put in a referral for me to get an MRI. That was Tuesday morning. We were careful to specify my cell number as the primary contact, with my home land line as secondary. So I wait all week to hear from them for an appointment – nada. I get home tonight and there on the land line answering machine is the “We’re trying to schedule your appointment…” message, in an annoyed voice. Of course it’s after 5pm, so I can’t even call back until Monday.
Can you send me a can of your office air? I think I’m gonna need it.
QUOTE=davidm;14963863]How about, everyone in the office has a headache and now building management is testing the air. :eek:
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that might do. Assuming it’s something truly noxious.
My GP put in a referral for me to get an MRI. That was Tuesday morning. We were careful to specify my cell number as the primary contact, with my home land line as secondary. So I wait all week to hear from them for an appointment – nada. I get home tonight and there on the land line answering machine is the “We’re trying to schedule your appointment…” message, in an annoyed voice. Of course it’s after 5pm, so I can’t even call back until Monday.
Can you send me a can of your office air? I think I’m gonna need it.
I’ve had the same problem with my GP’s office. I like the doctor and I like the nurse. I also like the receptionist/secretary personally but I’ve had a few occasions where paperwork didn’t get handled.
