[RonJan]

We did not yell in the office, my wife was not going to wait four months for a referal to a doctor up in Ocala. I told the referal doctor office person that was unacceptable over the phone, and she called back to Dr. Rivers office and spoke with Dr. Rivers office Mgr. aka Hillary C. aka know it all. We were on vacation in GA. when Dr. Rivers mgr. called by phone, and that's when I told her where to go. UNDERSTAND NOW ?

[Talk Host]

Interesting new comment made from their office today. My wife was discussing the high price of the flue shot with Dr. Rivers office this morning. She was told that it has been discussed with the Doctor and he believes we owe the full $70 for the flu shot.

My wife said we would pay the remaining $30 to keep our credit clean but that I should have been informed prior to the shot that the flue shot was 110% higher than just about every other place.

The answer from the office was "Well, we can't post all our prices on a list on the wall."

So, I guess all you poor saps out there, should be aware that you don't need to know the prices, just accept whatever is handed to you and like it, or else.

Oh....and ......ah.....why can't they post he prices on the wall?

[Hawkwind]

Wow, $70 for a flu shot, you have to be kidding. The company that I work for brings in a nurse and they only charge $20.00. I think the going rate here in northern Ohio was around $25.00 to $30.00 and free if you have medicare.

[conn8757]

My flu shots are always free under my health insurance if you are high risk (diabetic, heart problems, etc.). The company I worked for also provided them to all employees who wanted them free of charge.

[njgranny]

We've left more than one doctor due to rudeness and/or incompetence of their office staff. I think the staff definitely can "make or break" a doctor.

Luckily, our GP has a wonderful staff. I've only had one minor problem in the 30 years that we've been going to him, and that was readily solved.

There was one specialist that my husband used to see, and I almost went over the counter to get to the worker in his office. She was rude and incompetent and kept repeating the same misinformation over and over.

Most of the problems we've had deal with insurance payments and/or paper work.

[musicman]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

It doesn't matter how unruly and difficult patients are. It is the duty of the office staff to be PATIENT, POLITE and if caring is somewhere in their pocket, use that too. The patients are the Paying Guests at their establishment.

I never understood this way of thinking. Yes, office staff (waiters, clerks, cashiers, landscapers, whatever) should be patient, polite and caring. However, I have seen patients, customers and guests yelling, cursing and threatening the folks that are there to help them. There ARE situations where the "guest" crosses the line. I have always taken the approach that, yes, we should do everything in our power to accomodate those that come to us to spend their money. I always give them one raise in voice or profanity, inform them that I am here to help and yelling and profanity are not appropriate and then work to fix the problem. But, one more voice raise or profanity and they are no longer a "guest". And threats of physical violence are handled by reaching for the phone and calling the authorities.

The receptionist may be less than one foot away from you and fails to acknowledge your existence.

Bad form! They should greet you immediately. The glass is there to help keep sensitive information from drifting through the waiting room. I once was sitting in the waiting room with my wife and had to here about a patient's rather...umm...delicate rash and how she should apply the ointment to cure it. The conversation drifted out to the waiting room and was rather embarrassing. A window would have been welcome in that situation!

How about those offices that are running 1/2 hour or 1 hour late, and there is no attempt whatsoever to communicate with the poor saps sitting in the waiting room.

I hate this, too. I always expect that I will have to wait. It doesn't bother me, because I know that the doctor will spend time with me when it is my turn. But a word that the doctor is behind is nice.

[diskman]

When i go to the doctor, that's who i expect to see, if I wished to see a PA or Medical Assistant that is who i would have made my appointment with. I always make it clear "I only want to see the doctor" the one who went to medical school, the one who did the internship, the one with the license on the wall!
nuff said.

[SUNNYMARYANN]

it was a physicians assistant who marked the wrong knee for arthroscopy which resulted in my having to have both knees scoped instead of the scheduled procedure.

We have never used a Dr. Rivers and this is in response to the question regarding Florida Dr's. We moved to the Village from a community in which the Walk In is incredible. The Dr. made you feel as though you were the only person in the world, even though he had a few in the waiting room and he was, as one Dr. friend said to us as close to a family Dr. as you will ever get. His rates were low and he actually cared about his patients. In fact after we moved to the Village I actually drove the 3 hours to see him as I did not know anyone here and trusted him. When you went to his office the staff were pleasant, happy and treated you as though you were the only one in the world and a good neighbor.
Having said that we just visited an Walk In unit and it could not have been further from what we expected. In the end my wife was also told not to come back and god knows she is the kindess person I know. After she was prescribed meds she was told not to come back and was concerned about what she should do if she has a reaction.
It is a long story and I will not go into detail but to say we were shocked at the treatment would be an understatement. We are happy to hear that LSL is such a good Walk In and will use them in the future. As a backup we will drive the 3 hours if there is time and that is the only way to get care.

[TrudyM]

I know someone (who is a lawyer ) who called 1 hour before his apt. and asks if the doctor is running late. They said no no all is on time. After waiting in the waiting room for two hours. he went up and asked what the hold up was. Oh the doctor had an emergency at the hospital and had to leave. When was that? 3 hours ago. Realizing that when he called on the phone the doctor already left the building the guy got really mad and left. He billed the doctor for his hourly rate. $300 an hour and guess what the small claims judge awarded him double. It cost that doctor $1200 for his clerks attitude.

[SUNNYMARYANN]

Trudy your lawyer friend did what we all need to do. Defend our time as being just as important as anyone elses time. In the event that the doctor is running late or called away and not available, either a phone call (my doctor in Panama City, Fl had her office staff call when she was not going to be there in time for our appt. and gave us the choice of another date or to wait) or at least letting the patient know upon signing in that there is a delay in seeing the doctor.

I for one dont want to sit in a waiting room with sick and coughing people if I can avoid it.

Recently after sitting 30 minutes in the waiting area of my local clinic, the receptionist called me to the window and asked me if I had an appointment because everyone before me had been called in. When she check the computer we learned that I was there a day early. She was able to have my doctors nurse fit me in between patients without having to delay anyone elses appointment since my visit was only a follow up to go over results of a test and would take only a few minutes.

[Number 6]

For a number of years I managed a very successful medical practice back North. Let me wade in on some of these issues.
- $70 for a flu shot is simply outrageous. Explain to the office manager that this greatly exceeds the “reasonable and customary” charge for this procedure. Tell them that you will be glad to pay Blue Shield rates. It is a deal I always took.
- A Physician Assistant works under the direct supervision of a physician. The Physician Assistant, by law, does not have a practice of his/her own. Ask the office manager about the Physician Assistant scope of practice. Heck, I understand that in Florida the PA does not carry their own malpractice insurance.
- “I will only see the doctor!” is very short sighted. Many mid levels that I know far exceed the physician on simple, every day ailments. Most times, I contacted the PA or NP when I had something wrong nights or weekends. The use of “physician extenders” allows the physician to see more patients. You may think that this is a bad thing, but it prevents a worse physician shortage than we currently have.
- I have also heard horror stories of the practices of physician staffs. All I know is that the office culture comes from the top. You are being treated as the physician wants you to. I know that I couldn’t get away with that stuff.
- A lawyer successfully suing a physician for his time waiting has to be an urban legend. I just don’t see the statute that would support it.

[scotsman]

My wife and I have been patients of Dr. Rivers since 2004. We have never had a bad experience there either with the doctor or his office staff. We have always been treated with courtesy while in the office or in contact by phone.

I had written a note to TOTV regarding some poor emotional treatment my wife had experienced with a Dr. at one of the Walk Ins. In fact I had written him a letter describing my concerns. I was surprised that he took the time to call me, explain what happened, that he may have missed a point and thanked me for the letter and that he would be more than happy to see me and my wife anytime we needed medical attention. It was a pleasure to see that a Dr. took the time to discuss our concerns. I will not go into the details of the concerns or our discussion as that would be unfair to him. The net is that he took the time to go over our concens and as we left it, "it is in the past"..There are good Dr's who, in the end really care..