I should have listened to the other Yelp reviews and to my mother who has been telling me to change doctors for over a year. I'd tell her it's not the doctor as much as it is her staff. Yes, the doctor is nice and does take time to listen to you, but that's about where it stops. I'd been having issues I'd never experienced before and she put me through a battery of tests starting several months ago. I was able to do each one, but the last one had to be cancelled because my mother was taken to the hospital just a few days before. Since then, she's been in and out of the hospital and because she now requires care 24/7, it's been up to her husband and I to care for her. It's been extremely hard finding time to get away to get chores done as I've got a job to do where everything is on deadline. I advised the office staff, but the response was they wouldn't refill my prescriptions until I went in to have my blood work done. They know my insurance is in the midst of changing and it may be a while before I'm able to get in to see another doctor. I was given the impression they don't care and the only thing I could think of to do was to hold back and not take the medication daily so I could spread it out as long as I could. Surprisingly, when I called the pharmacy to refill the medication and knew they had to contact the doctor's office for approval, the doctor's office actually did approve the refills. Well, all except for one -- a blood pressure medication I need to take daily. So here it is a Saturday and I'm ready to pick up the other meds, but on Monday I need to get back on the phone and find out why they haven't approved the one. More wasted time that I really don't have right now and it appears I'll have to make yet an additional trip to the pharmacy to pick up the final medication which I'll be completely out of by then. If they don't approve it, then I'll have to make an appt with a clinic doctor in town just so I can get that one medication. Yes, I'm beyond frustrated!
I understand the office requires someone like me to have blood tested every three months so they can keep track of my health but, ironically, those times where my numbers did change, my medications weren't adjusted accordingly. I've had so many issues getting my medication because they refuse to write the prescriptions for even three months; most, not all, of my prescriptions are on a month-to-month basis which requires me to call the pharmacy 48 hours in advance so they can contact the doctor for approval. I can't tell you how many times in the past two years that I've gone to the pharmacy after being told by the doctor's office that something was called in, only to find out that it hadn't. More than once I've had to call the doctor's office from the pharmacy to find out what was going on. Too many wasted trips, wasted gas, and time wasted that I could have used more productively.
Oh and don't bother asking them to sign a form that needs a doctor's signature. I handed them one at least three months ago and stopped in a week or two later when I was in the area. It hadn't been signed and I was told they'd call me when it was ready to be picked up. Not only have I not heard from them about the form, I also haven't heard anything about the results of the tests I underwent to try to find out what was causing me trouble. Before I underwent those tests, however, they suggested I take an over-the-counter medication to help with the symptoms, which I did. Shortly thereafter, I happened to be talking to my veterinarian friend who, when she learned what the doctor advised me to take, ordered me to stop taking it immediately because the FDA determined it contains a Cancer causing ingredient and ordered it recalled. Great! I was fortunate that one of the tests I underwent was conducted by a doctor who was able to tell me what he was seeing as he performed the test. If he hadn't told me, I'd have no idea because I sure haven't heard anything from the doctor's office.
Again, the doctor herself is a nice woman and I know she's very busy. It's become the norm where you have to stay very proactive, but unless you've got an abundance of time to waste attempting to get small things accomplished like picking up prescriptions, I'd suggest you save yourself the frustration and attempt to find another doctor. read more