At my age, I've interacted with doctors of seemingly every degree of competence, compassion, and…read moreengagement. But until my experience with Dr. Kroll, I can't say I've ever been treated inhumanely.
I had come to see Dr. Kroll about a year and a half ago for intense hormonal symptoms that were making it hard to function. Anyone close to or experiencing menopause will likely relate. Women face a woeful lack of information and preparation for this stage of our lives.
Because Dr. Robin Kroll seemed to be running (or co-running) a dedicated menopause clinic, I felt a sense of optimism approaching my first visit--that "Oh thank god, here's someone who knows, and can help" feeling. Although I cannot describe her as a warm person, I did feel a sense of relief and gratitude after my first visit as I walked out with a low-dose HRT prescription which seemed promising.
And it did help! Subtly, but consistently, my disruptive symptoms subsided. I slept again. I realized it was possible to progress through this physiological transformation without the operatic tumult, the brain fog, and the strange loss of emotional sovereignty produced by volatile hormone levels.
At some point, perhaps six months later, Dr. Kroll transitioned to clinical research only, which made getting my prescription refilled very complicated, as she would routinely ignore the pharmacists until they called over and over. Although I asked my PCP to transition the prescription, she wouldn't do so without an exam.
Now that vaccinations are widespread, and people are more comfortable getting the medical care they've put on hold, doctors are flooded with in-person exams, and mine was scheduled for a month out. At the same time, my mom had gone into hospice and I was sitting at her bedside daily, accompanying her as she began the dying process. The last thing I wanted was an interruption in my medication as I went through such a brutal chapter in my life. Unable to transition my prescription to my new doctor, I would only need one more refill from Dr. Kroll,
When my pharmacist called it in, she was ignored for days, which by now we all expected. I spoke with the pharmacist and they said they had tried multiple times. So I picked up the phone.
Dr. Kroll's voicemail instructs you to hit a three digit extension if you are one of her former patients. That extension disconnects you. I tried it three times. I now believe that functionality is by design.
On the fourth time, I opted to talk to the receptionist. When I told her that that extension disconnects callers, she said in a way that struck me immediately as odd-- and which I now see was totally facetious-- "Ohhhh thank so much for letting us KNOW!"
I left a message with the receptionist asking the doctor for one final refill while I awaited my exam elsewhere.
The refill did not come. I asked the pharmacist to retry, and they did.
Finally, I called the emergency line over the weekend. At this point I had been off my treatment for two weeks. My mom was days, if not hours from dying, I couldn't think straight; couldn't sleep, my hot flashes had returned, and my days were a mix of blinding grief and blurry thinking.
The doctor informed me that she "couldn't" refill my prescription. I don't do that now, she said. I told her that I understood that she had transitioned to clinicals, and that I wouldn't be back to bother her after this one, as I'd begun with a new doctor, but they couldn't greenlight the prescription without an exam.
"You got a letter six months ago about my clinic closing." Had I? I don't know...? But I ask you, reader, who fucking cares? Dr. Kroll, are you still a licensed physician, or not? and do you anticipate that some people might not have had the pluck to go find a new OB/GYN during a pandemic?
To refill a scrip you literally have to click a button on an email. In fact, most doctors don't even have do that - that's why they have a staff. Dr. Kroll just wanted to be punitive--after all, I hadn't been attentive enough to her mail, that'll teach me! And let's give all the old patients an extension that sends them straight to dial tone so they can piss off entirely.
My new doctor cannot wrap her head around this kind of patient neglect. She said it violates core principles you're supposed to embody as a doctor, and abandoning your patients is a serious transgression.
It made quite an impact on me. It made my life harder, and for what reason--just so the doctor could needlessly flex her fuck you skills? What an embarrassment of a doctor, and what a strange type of person to entrust both your data and your health to in any type of clinical trial she may be running.
