Outdoorsy Type Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Is this normal? :confused: We are not "trouble" patients and have not had an issue. Last week my 8yo had severe intestinal bleeding and had to be admitted to the hospital to remove a polyp. Today we were supposed to get followup blood work done as some of us blood panels were abnormal. When we called, the Office let us know that 8yo was not a patient, never had been, and they were not accepting new patients. At all. :glare: His brothers are in there, and we HAVE filled out all paperwork for 8yo to be in the computer. Why on earth would they do that? :confused: I really want to get a hold of the Dr. himself and ask him why this would be. I guess we are looking for a new pediatrician for all three boys now, and will have to use Urgent Care Clinic for his follow up blood work that needs done today. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 That is SOOO weird. Usually all family members are entered when one is, or at least all are accepted. Can you show that you've paid for stuff there before? I'd ask to talk to the DR.... or Nurse.... That's crazy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I would suspect they changed computer systems and if they had never seen your 8yo, there were no billing records for him and he just "disappeared". However, it's very odd that if they see your other boys as patients that they would refuse to see your 8yo - even if they aren't taking new patients. That's quite unusual to refuse to see siblings in a pediatric practice. If you like the doctor, I would call back and talk to the office manager. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 However, it's very odd that if they see your other boys as patients that they would refuse to see your 8yo - even if they aren't taking new patients. That's quite unusual to refuse to see siblings in a pediatric practice. If you like the doctor, I would call back and talk to the office manager. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 We could call back and talk to someone else. I was just shocked that they don't care enough about their patients to fix their own glitch in the system. :confused: I have never heard of an office doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Goldwater Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 That's a very big deal...I agree it might be a computer system changeover or something, but they should still be able you find his records. You might have just got a lazy staffperson on the phone...I'd try back again...And if being nice doesn't work, I'd tell whoever answers the phone that if they don't find his records, you're calling the state licensing board to report their carelessness and challenge their license. I'll be you get results fast. ...from someone that just went through this with vaccination records... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 (edited) Call and talk to the business manager. If you have immunization records or payment records at all at that office, get them out and give them dates and specifics. The thing is, if your boys have been seen there at all, even if you switch doctors, you will need their files sent over to the new Dr's office. Also call your insurance company. They will have records of when you've used this Dr. before. And they should go to bat for you. Often a Drs. office will listen very closely to the insurance company when they call because they don't want their preferred status to be yanked. It could be something as simple as a mispelled name. Edited January 31, 2011 by Jean in Newcastle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I would call back and ask to speak with a supervisor. It has to be an oversight somewhere. I always keep everything medical in a file. Do you keep your statement of benefits from your ins? Ours lists the doctor, which would prove he had been seen before. The doctor is also listed on their ins card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonNative Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 That is awful! I hope something can be figured out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Call and talk to the business manager. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomemom Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I would not want to take my child to an urgent care facility with all of the viruses going around now. I agree with the others, I'd call back & demand a decent response. On the otherhand I would consider changing physicians if that's the care my boys were receiving. It is so frustrating dealing with physician offices lately. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 The only medical file he would have is from when he had a plantars wart taken off. DH filled out his paperwork, but we haven't seen a bill from them, so it must have never gotten filed. :glare: We will be sure to get all paperwork from there, and take it with us! I do hate making another change of Dr's as we have gone through six or seven of them over the years. I really hope we find a great Dr. and can stay with him for the rest of their childhood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuirkyKapers Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Wow- I have never heard of that. I agree with others that it seems weird that they would have all your other children in the system and refuse your son. Ugh- looking for doctors is a hassle. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 The only medical file he would have is from when he had a plantars wart taken off. DH filled out his paperwork, but we haven't seen a bill from them, so it must have never gotten filed. :glare: If you can narrow down the date that you saw the Doctor for that - even within a couple of days, and the Dr's name, they should be able to see who te Dr. saw on that date. I really wonder if they mispelled his name in some way so now it is not coming up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 DH went over there to get the paperwork etc. and asked to speak to the Dr. They went over, whispered something to the Dr. and then came back and said "he's busy, sorry". :glare: Seriously, we haven't been bad patients. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 If you can narrow down the date that you saw the Doctor for that - even within a couple of days, and the Dr's name, they should be able to see who te Dr. saw on that date. I really wonder if they mispelled his name in some way so now it is not coming up. They are refusing to work with us at all now. They refuse to help us fix the problem or look up anything more. On the bright side, I have found while researching new Pediatricians, that I'm not the first to have a bad experience there. Maybe it's good to just not go anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 They are refusing to work with us at all now. They refuse to help us fix the problem or look up anything more. On the bright side, I have found while researching new Pediatricians, that I'm not the first to have a bad experience there. Maybe it's good to just not go anymore. Even if you decide to go to another doctor, you need to call your insurance company and let them know about this. They need information like this so they can decide whether to keep this Doctor's practice as a preferred provider for their customers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I am stunned they would act like that. I would take my kids to the office, sit in the well child waiting room and demand to see the Dr. Surely the doctor remembers you if you have been patients. My first thought is that someone screwed up and doesn't want to let their boss, the doctor, find out about it. Eliminating you eliminates the evidence. Maybe I just have an unusually good relationship with my doctor, and with 4 kids I feel like I should have my own chair in the waiting room, but it would be laughable for them to suggest that we have never been patients. They know me and my kids by name on sight. On the other hand, if that isn't the case with your doctor, it sounds like it would be no big loss to move on to somebody else but I think you should definitely let the doctor know personally what his staff is saying and I agree with reporting it to the insurance company. We had a very bad experience with one of the junior doctors and sent a certified letter to the senior doctor to let him know about our experiences with his partner and why we were leaving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Jean, I will make sure our insurance is notified. We actually have a Health Savings Account, and can pick our own Dr's, but they might want to know for other policy holders. I don't really know that sitting in the waiting room would help at this point. I don't know what the office manager or others have told the Dr. about us at this point. He might have been told that we said things we never said. It's our word to theirs. The walk in clinic is at least clean and has a good Dr. there. We just really need to find out his platelet count today as the lab result was 50,000 last time and that is not a good indicator. :001_unsure: We need to make sure that ITP or other problems weren't to blame for such a huge blood loss. It's fairly serious to be just turned away. :thumbdown: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 Ummm, you need to speak to someone with a brain.... That's simply preposterous! Didn't the doctor see him when he was in hospital or receive reports on him, at least? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I would suggest also filing a complaint with your state licensing boards. Doctors have professional standards to which they're expected to adhere, and one of those is not dismissing a patient from a practice without first notifying them and giving them time to find another doctor. I would also write scathing reviews of the practice on all of the local review websites I could find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted January 31, 2011 Author Share Posted January 31, 2011 Dh is going to talk with the Insurance Company and ask about all billing from that office. Something really weird is going on. The information was sent to both the Ped. and the Pediatric G.I. Dr. that did the operation. We see the G.I. Dr. again in a few more weeks. He's at the Urgent Care with Dh right now which is frustrating to go too. Of course if we were going to get sick from a waiting room it probably would be from waiting for 7 hours in the Children's Hospital E.R. last Wednesday when this whole thing started. We actually called the Ped. that day for an appt. and that's when we were first were told we weren't patients. If they had seen DS they probably could have admitted him/referred him and saved us the 7 hour wait, plus 5 hours in triage waiting for a room to open up. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 I would suggest also filing a complaint with your state licensing boards. Doctors have professional standards to which they're expected to adhere, and one of those is not dismissing a patient from a practice without first notifying them and giving them time to find another doctor. :iagree: Denying that he was ever a patient is extremely unprofessional behavior, and should be reported to the state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted January 31, 2011 Share Posted January 31, 2011 DH went over there to get the paperwork etc. and asked to speak to the Dr. They went over, whispered something to the Dr. and then came back and said "he's busy, sorry". :glare: Seriously, we haven't been bad patients. :tongue_smilie: I once had an office give me the run around and I switched doctors. It is a pain, but in the long run it could be the best decision for your family. You may need to be looking now though. My dr retired and I still don't have another doctor. To 'be placed in the system' at any of hte offices accepting patients will take me at least 5 weeks. I don't understand why it takes that long but when I was sick last week I had to go to a critical care place because no one could see me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 We found a bill! We have proof he was a patient. The front desk would not let us talk to the Dr. and refused to deal with us still. The thing is that because of THEIR error which they refused to fix (wouldn't see my son that day) my 8yo had to spend 12 hours in the ER. Now they refuse to apologize or speak to us at all. We have not been angry or over the top with them. I think they are upset because we were right. :glare: They do not care about my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 We found a bill! We have proof he was a patient. The front desk would not let us talk to the Dr. and refused to deal with us still. The thing is that because of THEIR error which they refused to fix (wouldn't see my son that day) my 8yo had to spend 12 hours in the ER. Now they refuse to apologize or speak to us at all. We have not been angry or over the top with them. I think they are upset because we were right. :glare: They do not care about my son. Have you talked to the Office or Business/Billing Manager? Not the front desk (who unless this is a really small practice is different from the billing office) and not the Dr. (who again, unless this is a one man show would have nothing to do with billing/registration type issues). Look on your bill, there should be a line there that says something like "to discuss your bill" call: ***- ****. It usually is a different number than the Dr's office. Call them and ask to talk to the manager or supervisor. That's who would handle issues like this. But the front desk should have referred you to the manager and not treated you like this in any case. So for their behavior, you ask to speak to the Medical Director - I think (or perhaps an office manager) but it should be someone who has ultimate authority there. If you pursue this you might get a grudging apology. But I think I'd switch Drs. anyway. Otherwise you're going to have to deal with sullen (just this side of polite) behavior from being who have gotten away so far with appalling behavior. My main concern at this point would be finding out who is in ultimate charge so that you can get copies of all medical records to transfer to a new practice. I hope that your son is stable now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 This happened to me once, with an OB. I had *delivered a baby* with the doctor, c-section no less, and they were adamant that I had never been to their practice. It was incredibly frustrating. I couldn't get past the office lady. (I found a good midwife, all was well in the end.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Is this normal? :confused: We are not "trouble" patients and have not had an issue. Last week my 8yo had severe intestinal bleeding and had to be admitted to the hospital to remove a polyp. Today we were supposed to get followup blood work done as some of us blood panels were abnormal. When we called, the Office let us know that 8yo was not a patient, never had been, and they were not accepting new patients. At all. :glare: His brothers are in there, and we HAVE filled out all paperwork for 8yo to be in the computer. Why on earth would they do that? :confused: I really want to get a hold of the Dr. himself and ask him why this would be. I guess we are looking for a new pediatrician for all three boys now, and will have to use Urgent Care Clinic for his follow up blood work that needs done today. Sigh. Do your kids see the doctor on a regular basis for all of the recommended check-ups? Many doctors will drop you if you do not come for their prescribed regular checkups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 We found a bill! We have proof he was a patient. The front desk would not let us talk to the Dr. and refused to deal with us still. The thing is that because of THEIR error which they refused to fix (wouldn't see my son that day) my 8yo had to spend 12 hours in the ER. Now they refuse to apologize or speak to us at all. We have not been angry or over the top with them. I think they are upset because we were right. :glare: They do not care about my son. I would certainly file complaints about this doctor everywhere you can, but frankly, given what you have said here, there's no way I would want this doctor for my children. Time to find someone new. Sorry you have to go through all of this. No one should be treated that way. I hope your son is alright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Do your kids see the doctor on a regular basis for all of the recommended check-ups? Many doctors will drop you if you do not come for their prescribed regular checkups. We are new patients. My youngest has been in about 3x this year and the older two have been in once each. They are older boys and he never asked us to set up an appt. for well child visits. I was about to do this, but I will now be getting them done elsewhere I guess. My kids are healthy, and this Dr. didn't do vax on location anyway. He told us to go to the Health Dept. if/when we needed them. I'm so NOT looking forward to going over there and getting my kids records. I hate confrontation. :001_unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jilly Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 I had this problem a few weeks ago when I was trying to get my daughter's records from our doctor's office. They had both of my son's records, but not her's, so they said she had never been a patient. They told me I must be wrong. I asked them why would I take one twin to this doctor, and the other twin to a different one. That didn't make sense. Anyway I got quite angry, and they finally admitted that they had just changed all their paperwork to a new system, and they may have lost her records. They looked for them again and found them for me a few days later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 You said you have been nice to the office staff and they still treated you this way? Hmph...yeah, it wouldn't be pretty when I came in to get my kids' records. They would probably want to clear the room of patients before I started screaming at them. A nice security guard to throw me out would probably be best too. GRRR! I would be LIVID! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoorsy Type Posted February 1, 2011 Author Share Posted February 1, 2011 Rebecca, DH didn't yell or call names. He did tell them that it was patient abandonment and they could be written up for treating us this way. We honestly don't want to fight any more on this as DH is a professional himself and doesn't want retaliation of any sort. This person could easily say she was a patient of my DH's and lie/tarnish his image. :001_unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted February 1, 2011 Share Posted February 1, 2011 Walk in there with the bill in hand and use the term "patient abandonment". And whatever you do, file a complaint with your state medical board and include a copy of that bill with the complaint. ETA: Oops, saw you already did that. Sorry. What a mess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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