Posted by Penny on April 16, 2004, at 11:21:49
I am nearly in tears - I haven't been feeling well for a while now, achy and what-not, and I thought, "maybe it's allergies" - so I went to an allergist. Well, that's not it. Then I came down with a nasty cold, so I thought, "Ah ha - I was just getting sick..." Well, the cold is nearly gone, and I don't feel any better. If anything, I feel worse right now. Achy and joint pain and occasional numbness in my hands, etc.
But that's not my problem. That's not the source of my frustration.
I work at a major University, and my GP is a physician at the family practice center on campus. Well, two or so weeks ago, I called for an appointment - the receptionist couldn't make an appointment with MY doc for me because all her appointments were filled and she wasn't in the system past that amount of time, for some reason. I said I'd call back, instead of being forced to see someone "on her team," which, to me, defeats the purpose of having *my* doctor.
I called back yesterday and made an appointment for next Thursday afternoon at 2:50 p.m. Well, after I got off the phone, it occurred to me that I may have to do some testing that would require fasting. That means, of course, that I would have to go BACK to the doc on a different day for the tests, or I could change my appointment to a morning one and only have one visit (which is much easier on me and my schedule!). So I called back this morning and the receptionist, who wasn't at all helpful, said, "Well, she doesn't have any morning appointments open. I can make you an appointment with a member of her team." I told her to just cancel the appointment and I would call back another time.
So I called another practice, not affiliated with my university. By this time I was in tears anyway and frustrated that I can't even make an appointment with the doctor who knows me... The doc I called is someone my wonderful pdoc has worked with, but the receptionist put me on hold, and, after nothing for 3 and a half minutes, I gave up and hung up. So, here I am, I feel bad, I'm worried that I may be on the verge of developing Type II diabetes (if I haven't already) and I CAN'T EVEN GET AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY DOCTOR. WTF???
I'm sorry...just had to get that off my chest. I'm so angry right now I could scream. And what I want to do ... well, I won't go into that.
I guess I'll eat lunch now, try to calm down, and try to call again. Perhaps I'll be able to get someone HELPFUL on the line.
P
poster:Penny
thread:336880
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040414/msgs/336880.html