Am I over-reacting????
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive June 2006:
Am I over-reacting????
Okay so mom had a doctor's appointment with her cardiologist to get her blood pressure medicine refilled. Her regular doctor was there but by the time we got back to see him he'd had an emergency over at the hospital and she had to see someone who is his associate.
She was also supposed to be seen by her normal doctor(I'd called earlier to see if we needed take her somewhere else or if he could see her for her cough and sore throat and they'd said yes that he would see her) for her HORRIBLE cough and congestion. We get back to the room and they do an EKG and then the doctor comes in. Mom asks where Dr B is and the doctor looks at her and says VERY rudely "he's at the hospital you can wait til 4 or you can see me" he was beyond rude and immediately mom and I looked at each other. Mom said that was okay after looking at me and I was like "okay I guess".
So he listens to her breathe, looks at the ekg report and tells us to follow him. I honestly thought he was taking her to another examination room for some reason, he then walks up to the front desk and walks off. He then asks the PA (physicians assistant) to bring him the drug book so he can look up antibotics. He fumbles through the book for a few minutes then copies down the dosaging for Z-pack and then writes out her script for her high blood pressure. I then ask him after he ignored her if he could prescribe her something to control the cough, he looks at me and says "no, have her take Nyquil or take some Benadryl. Now he's prescribed her an antibotic so we KNOW there's some sort of infection but he never once gave us even an inkling of what might actually be wrong. Mom and I both question the Nyquil and Benadryl because Dr B has always had her really watch she takes being on medication for high blood pressure. I asked the PA why he would say Nyquil and she just looked at me and suggested we try Robitussin.
Once we're out in the car we realize that he's written down the wrong medication for her high blood pressure so we had to have the pharmacy call them. We honestly didn't trust ourselves to go back into that office we were so frustrated and upset over the whole visit.
Once we're at the pharmacy I ask to speak with the pharmacist and she pulls up her history of medications and confirms that yes he wrote a completely wrong one AND I directly asked her about the Nyquil and Benadryl and she said NO she should not take those medications being on the medications that she is on for her high blood pressure. Now I didn't directly ask what could have happened if we'd taken his word and not checked into it but I'm LIVID.
Not only were we badly treated by the actual doctor BUT she was prescribed the wrong medication when her chart was right there AND was told to take medications that would interact with the medications that HE himself was prescribing!
Mom and I talked about it all on the way home and I've had the opinion for awhile now that Dr B is just getting two big. He stretches himself between 3 offices, you're only in his office for seconds literally, he's double booking (3 people were given the 2:15 appointment I saw on the sheet), and it's just not personal like it used to be. I don't know if he's gotten just to big, if it's the $$$ he must be making or what but we are going to look for her another doctor before she has to be seen again. I have one in mind already.
Now my question is: Should I write a letter complaining about our visit today, the possible error on the doctor with the benadryl and nyquil? I would write this to HER doctor (should this be it or should I make a formal complaint?) telling him what happened, my research on the interactions (once I finish it) and tell him that she plans to find a new doctor. I feel at the very least he needs to be aware that the doctor he has seeing HIS patients is being rude, nonprofessional, and in my opinion could have made a mistake today had we not been on top of things (not everyone is).
So what should we do? What would you do? If I'm over reacting PLEASE let me know.
Thank you for reading.
This is a hot button for me, I'll remain calm
1. Find out if he is in a "group" they have a complaint board, the Doc and the PA should both have a file started.
2. File a compaint with Medical Board, there is a form online you can fill out, just go to your state med. board
3. Switch docs, my inlaws go to a geriatrician even though they are "young" and healthy, the load isnt' as big and the waits are short, plus they are usually very efficient in multiple medications for patients, as most of their patients are on multiple rx's.
i hope your mom is feeling better
It sounds like Kym has great advice. I've never been in your situation but I think I'd be more than a little POed at that kind of treatment and the possible repercussions of his suggested medication combinations could have resulted in a lawsuit, if the reaction had been severe. {{{Christy}}} Good luck with a new doc!
Ditto Kym. And, if your mom is in an HMO and this practice is a participating practice, I'd complain to the HMO/health insurer.
Part of the problem, I'm sorry to say, is health insurance. The amount that health insurance companies pay primary care physicians has gone down - I heard something on NPR the other day that actual income has gone down for primary care physicians. At the same time, in order to handle all of the different billing requirements posed by different health insurances, doctors have to add staff just to handle the billing. And don't forget the referrals. Every time I see one of my specialists (all of whom I've been seeing for 10 years or more), I have to get a referral from my primary care physican's office, which takes staff time. And the health insurance companies pretty much control the amount of time a doctor spends with each patient because of the amounts they pay - some HMOs even dictate how long each kind of appointment should be.
Still, the kind of treatment your mother received is inexcusable. To prescribe the wrong medication with your mother's chart in front of him - and to recommend taking OTC medications that would either be bad for someone with high blood pressure or interact negatively with her medications - are both inexcusable, and someone needs to go on record about this bad medical treatment.
I want to add that you don't know that your mother has an infection. Yes, the doctor prescribed an antibiotic, but he did it without any tests that would detect an infection that should be treated with antibiotics.
I'm sorry your mom had such a bad experience, and really glad you were with her to watchdog what was going on - and that you have a pharmacist who took the time to go over things with you. Your mom definitely needs to change docs, which probably means going to an entirely different practice. That's a shame, but in the long run she will probably be better off.
ditto Ginny. I would write a formal complaint to the insurance carrier.
OMGOSH!! I would be so angry!!!!!!  Grrrr...good advice above and make sure you make copies of what you send!!!
Yes, ditto all of the above.
When you have a clear head, sit down at your computer and open a word document and type away. List everything that happened, how she couldn't see her regular doctor, how she was treated by the doctor who did see her, and how he didn't even know the dosage for Z-Pacs, which I know have been around for a while (At least since 1999- I got prescribed one for a real bad cold I had that year!) and how he recomended the OTC meds with her RX, and how he gave her the wrong RX. Just about like you did here, but you will have to sound reasonably calm and articulate.
Do you still have the RX slip that the doctor gave her? If you do, be sure to copy that, too. (Keep the original.)
Good luck!
I would be LIVID, and not only file a complaint to whomever is in charge of the office/clinic this doctor works for, but also the licensing board. He could have very easily caused your mom major harm, or even killed her, by prescribing the wrong medication and not considering the meds when telling her to take OTC medications. Thankfully, you caught the error, but that is completely unprofessional and dangerous!!
Thank you everyone, mom still wasn't feeling better today so we went to another doctor. She has an upper respiratory infection AND her ears and throat were both infected.
He had her stay on the z-pack and also prescribed a cough medicine and antibotic ear drop.
I told him about what happened yesterday and he was appalled about the nyquil and benadryl incident.
I am taking a few days to calm down and this weekend I plan to get my thoughts in order and do some research and write my letters this weekend to go out on Monday.
Thanks for all you guys' suggestions/thoughts/well wishes/etc.
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