I switched over to one of the dr's here a few years ago, drawn by the convenience of an onsite lab for bloodwork.
There were definite red flags from the beginning with the general vibe always being very clinical. A few times my interactions were odd enough that they garnered a later conversation with my partner. Little things like telling me to stop running because it was bad for my knees, questioning my morals around birth control methods, etc. Usually in a dr setting, the dr will tell you best practice and then try to help you cope with your lifestyle by supporting your health, but my dr's approach seemed to be one of me needing to change my lifestyle to accommodate her points of view. Little by little it created issues of trust from my part. At some point a year or so in, I convinced my partner to go see her, and his response after the first meeting was that it felt like being examined by a robot. I can't say that i disagreed.
For me the final straw was when I wanted an annual woman's exam because I felt I was at high risk, and rather than accommodate me and run the test, she informed me that I was not to worry, that that type of cancer if it was there was slow growing (what???) and that insurance only paid for the test every three years, so if she was to run it, I would have to sign a waiver that I would pay for it if the insurance didn't (you know, a waiver like the one I had to sign when I started seeing her originally). Ok fine....DONE! Even if she would have told me, "hey, let's do a preliminary run through your insurance company and see what you are looking at out of pocket"; that would have been acceptable. Literally the conversation became non productive.
Most of that conversation took place through her nurse where she conveyed the info to the doctor, until finally the Dr. got on the line, and instead of seeing the interaction as an opportunity to provide me piece of mind, or to have a valid conversation about my health, she took on the tone of being annoyed with having to take a call from me at all (in three years I think we spoke on the phone twice).
It was at that moment that I realized I could never rely on a doctor to take an active interest in my health as an individual, when I felt my healthcare was being approached as an insurance reimbursement rate sheet. I've never been back since and have transferred to a new doctor where not only was I able to get the test I requested performed quickly, but it was also covered in full by my insurance (Imagine that...).
There are soooo many doctors out there, I think that we have to advocate for ourselves and not settle. If a doctor makes you feel uncomfortable, then you owe it to yourself to find one that works for you. I do not believe that the doctor I saw here was a bad doctor. I just think she was a bad doctor for me. read more
