Some comments about Dr. Steven Rivers
 

I think Dr. Rivers is a competent doctor.

There are a couple of things that made me decide to change to another doctor.

# 1

I was seeing him for a throat condition and he suggested that I be referred to an Ear Nose and Throat specialist. I agreed and he said his office would set up the referral. After a couple of days, I heard nothing from the ENT. So, I called Dr. Rivers office. I was told that, "......it would be at least two weeks before they would make the referral." TWO WEEKS, I said. Yes, she said, we don't do it until the office notes are transcribed. I said, "do you know how ridiculous that is?" She said, "I'm sorry, that's our office policy.'

I told her to forget the referral and I made the appointment myself. I was in and out of the ENT in five days.

Can you imagine????????????? Two weeks before they can even make a phone call to make an appointment for me. I asked my new doctors office how long they take to make a referral, and they said it is done "THE SAME DAY."

#2


This past fall, he asked if I wanted a flu shot. I said yes, and it was administered. Since they are free in some places and $30 in others, I never expected to get a bill for $70. That's 110% higher than anywhere else.
I told them I would pay only $30. So now they are turning it over to collection. I guess I am going to pay the remaining $40.

These comments are my opinion.

JLK

$70 does seem high for just a flu shot (assuming you didn't get a pneumonia shot along with it).

Around here a flu shot is about $30 at a Walgreen's, CVS etc. Our family doctor charges $45. No charge at the time of the shot if you're on Medicare.

Jan.

Is it possible that you were given the name of the ENT to make your own appointment? That is how our GP handles referrels because you can schedule it to your own convenience. Usually on the intake form it will say " Who referred you?"

Certainly there was some kind of misunderstanding somewhere. If you needed immediate care, then that was deplorable. I have found that sometimes I get worried and don't take in information clearly especially when a referral is being made, because usually that triggers a minor panic in me.

We have had a LOT of health issues over the years, most especially with our daughters' open heart surgery and then cancer and we have been blessed with really awesome care from the medical community in Cincinnati.

I haven't yet made any medical connections in TV and I must say to hear this is very troubling.

There was absolutely no misunderstanding. I understood it perfectly clear. My coversation with his nurse was in great detail.

My bride used Dr. Rivers recently and was generally pleased. She had liked him when he was part of a practice here in TV. When he moved out to practice solo, she stayed with the practice. She finally decided, after having to switch doctors a few times due to comings and goings, to give Dr. Rivers another try. It took her almost two years to get an appointment - he was so booked that she had to go on a waiting list for new patients. Her chief complaint was that she wasn't seen for almost an hour after her scheduled appointment time. She has one follow-up appointment with him and then will decide if she wants to stay with him to move on to someone who is a little more diligent in seeing patients at their scheduled times.

Hi, We use to go to Dr. Rivers when we first moved to the villages three years ago. We were moved over to Dr. McKeon his asst. for no reason. We also have the same problem of a referal for my wife. When the referal doctor office staff called they could not get my wife in for a appointment until four months, we told them this is unacceptable and hung up. One week later, Dr. Rivers office mgr. called us and said we are causing trouble and Dr. Rivers will no longer will be seeing you..you have 30 days to find a new doctor. wow !!!!!!!!!!! We said doesn't Dr. Rivers run the office, she said NO I do. When we said we want to stop by and see Dr. Rivers about this problem, she said if we stop by the office she would call the POLICE !!!!!!!!!! REALLY.

We told her where to go.... if you know what we mean lol.

We now have Mr. Tufar and he is great...also chief of staff at the hospital..

O my, this is scary!
Am I going to have to move back to New York before I even move in to TV?

I walked out of an appointment with my "new", "new"Dr. (second since we moved here) today after waiting one hour. I told them that I had read their policy regarding their right to turn patients away that were 15 minutes late for an appointment, and charge them $50 dollars for a missed appointment. I am sure that after waiting 4 times that time I will get my $50 check in the mail. (Right)

I am interested to hear others experience with Florida doctors. Most of my Florida experiences have been better than those in NY (weather especially), but Florida medical care for me so far, not so much.

Read my most recent blog entry here on this subject:

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/blog.php?b=170

OhOh,

I am used to waiting at doctors offices here in Staten Island, NY, and somehow I thought it might be better in TV.... When I go to my doctors in Manhattan, I hardly wait at all.....maybe leaving and stating your reason willl shake then up.

RonJan,
I'm sure there is more to this story than you've written. No office staff would "call the police" unless they were pushed, aggravated or frightened. Perhap you were the individual I heard yelling in the office one time I was there.
I get to see the PA, Glenn Mckeon and the NP, Lori Eschary during the year as well as Dr Rivers. Glenn is a very capable physician assistant and Lori a whiz as the nurse practioner. Being a retired medical professional I found Dr. Rivers to be an intellegent, caring and sincere physician. It hurts me to hear someone give only one side of the story about an individual I respect.

Well, now that you mention it. I too, at one point, was shifted over to Glenn McKeon by the front office. I found him to be a most capable, caring and thorough PA. I was really getting to feel comfortable with him as my health care provider. After several months, out of the clear blue, I got a call from Dr. River office manager asking if I was going to continue to see Glenn or did I want to, once again, begin to see Dr. Rivers.

I was astounded by the call. I asked why I was being put in a position to make such a decision when it was not me in the first place who had switched me to a different provider. The office manager was nothing short of insolent. She informed me all she needed from me was a yes or no answer.

I said that I thought that seeing a "Physicians Assistant" was the same as actually seeing "The Doctor," that they worked in concert. It turns out that these two apparently have separate practices in the same building, each having his own patient list.

I asked her which of the two was a better choice for me. Of course she refused to offer an opinion. She said she makes these calls all the time and this is the first time time anybody has questioned her. HUH? Does Glenn know she is making these calls?

I have reread all of the posts, including mine. Nobody has called into question the ability of Dr. Rivers or Glenn McKeon as medical professionals. I think they are both very capable.

In my opinion, most of the problems we, as patients have with our doctors, are caused by the office staff. Of course this is a good time for office staff to jump in and tell us how unreasonable and difficult the patients are.

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 couldn't handle their job. I am a mean hearted smart mouth.

But my cats like me.

Sometimes.

My primary physician (HMO), is the goto doctor for all referrals. From time to time he will ask me how his staff is doing. Only once did I complain that one of the staff was less than professional. He stated that I was not alone in telling him about her rudeness. On my next visit, she was gone.

I think the thing that frosts me most about arriving at a doctors off is: when you arrive at the glass window (which may be closed), there is a clip board for you to "sign in." The receptionist may be less than one foot away from you and fails to acknowledge your existence. Many times that is the last communication you have unless they need to question your ability to pay. Then, if they need to speak to you, they slide the glass open, speak their piece, then slam it closed in your face, while immediately looking elsewhere.

It telegraphs the immediate impression that you are a mere walking piece of meat. (sick meat at that) I feel that many front office personnel believe their job is to protect the doctor from the hoards until they are allowed to funnel in one at a time. In fact, their job is to welcome the patient to the office and make them feel comfortable until their time to enter.

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. Not a word, nothing. Just, "sit there and wait until we are good and ready to see you."

We all understand emergency situations. What I personally don't understand is the failure to communicate with the human beings sitting in the waiting room. (sick human beings at that)

Not all doctors offices are like that, but many are.

Medicine is a "people" business. Every person who walks through the door is not only a customer, but a person as well. They deserve to be treated like an individual (a sick individual at that).

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 ?

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?

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.

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.

Rude or Incompetent Medical Office Employees
 

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.

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.

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!

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.

When i go to the doctor, thats who i expect to see
 

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. barf

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.

Shocked
 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A Good Doctor
 

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..