What gets me about the whole thing with doctors, is that everyone seems to forget that the patient is basically a paying customer with no rights. It's not like you can go interview them and decide if they are right for you or if they provide decent service. Noooo, you have to pay for a visit, and the first one is always so expensive and takes so long. And then, you're kinda stuck.

I had a situation with my first really bad pain episode. I went to one big group practice. Saw one doctor first, then another the next time. They gave me migraine meds, which caused an incredible burning, searing pain in my brain, which I later learned was a common reaction although no one bothered to mention it. I thought I was having a stroke or dying or something terrible. I called the office to ask what to do. I remember crumbling to the floor, crying, cradling the phone in my arms, curled up in a ball, waiting for a callback. Nope, they never called. So, I went back to my last family doctor - I had switched because of insurance and he wasn't participating with my new coverage. He immediately had me admitted to the hospital for tests and consults and all that. After I was feeling somewhat better, but still no real diagnosis, I went back to the big group and asked for the one that seemed half-decent. I told her the story and she screamed at me that I was "doctor-shopping" and that's illegal and she could have me arrested. WTF?

Seriously, in any other kind of service, you can try it once and if it's not a good fit, then go somewhere else. We all do it everyday with restaurants and travel agents and accountants and whatever. But when it comes to the medical profession, nope, not allowed.

Then, there is the issue of basic customer service. I know, it's a dying practice throughout all facets of our economy, but I just hate it when I find a good doctor, but the office manager is a rude bitch, ya know?

Sorry, I'm babbling again. This topic gets totally under my skin. Should I share the story of the doc that put me on an antidepressant to help with the pain and I wound up with suicidal thoughts? I talked to the office manager and she said she'd tell the doc, again, never a callback, nothing. And, she knew that I lived alone. Again, WTF? What if I hadn't realized what was happening and even acted on these thoughts? The kicker was a year later when I received a bill for about $200 from her. I wrote a very detailed letter explaining, first, the situation with the lack of follow-up, next the rudeness of the office manager, third their failure to file with insurance and pursue payment with them and how I no longer even had the phone number or information to talk to do it myself, fourth the way they did not complete the claim form for short-term disability until the day after I told them it was due, fifth, if anything, she owed me about $3000 due to lost wages from the denied disability claim and the loss of my job. Again, no response, although I never received any further bills from her.

Argh. Sorry, I guess I told the story after all. Do you think this is might be hot issue for me?