Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group MY RHEUMATOLOGIST DUMPED ME!!!

Yippee Mike. Hey Doc. wish you were in my hometown. You are right you know. One hundred percent. Things are changing these days. Not always for the good. Keep that good opinion you have won't you.
~Kewanee

Hi Ellyn,

I think I'd be rather upset, too. Out of courtesy, I'd certainly always notify my doc well in advance if I have a real need to cancel an appt, however reasonable notice is not always possible. And likewise, I expect my docs to have in place reasonable policies that I'm made aware of in advance.

I understand their interest and need to discourage last minute cancellations, but every employer out there faces lost productivity/revenue due to illnesses and storms and that's just one of the costs of doing business. My GP has a policy of charging a nominal fee if not given 24 hrs notice/ or in absence of a valid reason. I once had to cancel with my GP, as that day I had an iritis attack and you take whatever appt you can get when the Ophtho is kind enough to squeak you in. Murphy's Law that it would overlap with my GP appt. Kindly, they didn't charge me, and were perfectly understanding about my predicament.

Rheumies (over anyone else on the planet) should have a deeper understanding for how difficult it can be for us spondylitics to venture out in pain and in midst of a snowstorm. The recent snowstorm in T.O. equated to > 400+ car accidents in the span of a few hrs! Personally, I don't go out in serious weather unless I must.

I sure hope your Enbrel will not be interrupted by this.
mig

Thanks for all of your replies! I have never cancelled except for Friday with the weather. The other times I have re-scheduled in advance well before the 24 hour policy. I totally understand that this is a business for them.
Mike, I thought it was odd that she (her secretary) had NO info on other docs for me, she actually told me that I would have to find another rheumatologist. Do these doctors realize that there are people with feelings behind the disease??? I don't think so. You are all so helpful. THANK YOU.
Ellyn

Hey Ellyn

I dont think that they can cancel the refills once the script has been written. You may want to double check, but you may be safe.

I would start working on the next script as soon as you can though...

Lori

ellyn, aloha

i bet your doctor doesn't even know what his receptionist is doing...lots of doctor's offices have 'dangerous'
receptionists/supervisors...just a petty Witch with a bad attitude...some people are just mean.

write your doctor, don't phone- it leaves no record...and send the letter by 'registered mail' so the office staff
can't just lose it...inform him that you only canceled one time because of the storm...you know his receptionist
will document every prior cancelation as 'last minute'...and demand a referal to a competent and more used friendly,
more professional care provider, if he does indeed want to dump you.

and he can't unwrite the scripts.
best of luck
aloha Ben

Hey Lori!
Thanks! Long time no chat! Hope you and Eric are doing well!

Ellyn

Hi Ben,
OK, thanks. I will put it in writing to the Doctor. I bet the secretary didn't even relay the message that I wanted a call back and, of course, I waited all day for the return call! Thanks for the advice!
Ellyn

Hi Ellyn

Yes, Eric and I are doing very well. Thank you.

I am going to be in your neck of the woods today. Meeting up with a girlfriend that lives down there to do some shopping....Should be fun getting everything home on the train.

Good luck, and even if I dont post here much any more, I am still always around. Give a holler if needed.

Lori

Hey Ellyn

start giving your doctor a cell number if you have one. That way you dont need to sit around waiting for a call that may never come....You can get it on the go!

keep smiling, things will work out.

Lori

A lot of people who "seem" nice use real pieces of work for their office staff so they can continue the charade. You don't know what the real story is, and I would easily wager you money that the receptionist didn't bother to relay your message either.
My first thought was have you just changed insurance or employment? Because this sort of thing is common when they don't like your insurance but they are on the list of Preferred Providers, but they don't want that many patients from certain insurance groups, so they're doing a little cherry picking.
As hard as it is to get an appointment, and as long as they make you wait in the waiting rooms, this "crisis" when a single patient cancels because of weather or whatnot is just a fabrication of convenience on their parts. Come on, give me a break, why don't they just see the next person within the hour of the appointment instead of making them sit there 2 or 3?
I got an incredibly nasty letter from a doctor's office a few years ago that said if I cancelled one more appointment I would be "dropped from patient care"...guess what...it wasn't ME that was cancelling the appointments. Since she had also done some very unethical things like lie to me about test results (yes, I have proof, I got the nastygram after I obtained copies of my medical records from her office...strange coincidence, that) I dropped the ******.
I'm pretty sour on doctors, I just haven't met very many ethical ones in the past 6 years since my husband changed jobs and we moved to a different state. We just got a letter recently saying my PCP is leaving his group so I've been "assigned" to someone else again. Oh goody. I have no idea what this person is going to be like, and it was hard enough finding someone who didn't act hostile, inept, or wierd.