Thank you for responding. I do need to correct several things in your response because they do not…read morereflect my experience of this appointment.
First, I was genuinely surprised to read that you spent 22 minutes one-on-one with me, in addition to 13 minutes with your technician. That is absolutely not how I remember this visit. From my recollection, the entire appointment -- including my time with the technician, my time with you, transitions, and waiting -- was extremely brief. I certainly do not recall anywhere close to 35 minutes of examination and care.
I was also surprised to read that you "personally emailed" me images of the back of my eyes. I have never received those images or any such email from you.
More importantly, though, my original review was not about the number of minutes you spent with me. It was about both the examination itself and the way I was treated.
In my experience, this was one of the least thorough eye examinations I have ever had. After more than 25 years of regular eye care, I have a very good frame of reference for what a comprehensive eye appointment feels like, and this did not feel thorough to me in any way.
I also need to address your characterization of this as a communication problem between the two of us. That is not how I experienced it at all.
I did not leave upset because we simply "weren't communicating effectively." I left upset because of the way you communicated with me. Your manner came across to me as abrupt, dismissive, condescending, arrogant and unnecessarily harsh. I felt talked down to rather than listened to, and I felt as though my questions and concerns were an annoyance rather than part of a normal doctor-patient conversation.
So I do not think it is fair to reframe what happened as though this were simply a mutual failure to communicate or an issue of "mutual respect." From my perspective, the problem was the tone and manner in which I was treated.
I was so upset when I came out that my husband, who was there with me, went back inside to speak with you himself. He was not questioning your medical expertise or objecting to a referral. He was trying to explain that I had come into your office genuinely excited about becoming a new patient and had walked out extremely upset by the way I had been treated.
Unfortunately, he came away feeling dismissed as well. He has now fired you as his provider. You lost 2 clients today.
I also want to correct the suggestion that this happened because I had "greater confidence" in my previous practice. My longtime doctor retired. That is precisely why I came to ForSight. I had heard good things, members of my family had experience with the practice, and I was sincerely hoping I had found my new eye doctor.
I never said that being referred elsewhere was itself a dismissal. The dismissal I was referring to was personal -- the way I felt I was spoken to, treated, and handled throughout the appointment.
Doctors and patients can certainly remember interactions differently. But I know what I experienced, and my husband saw how upset I was immediately afterward. His decision to go back inside and address it in the moment says a great deal about how strongly the interaction affected me.
I almost never leave negative reviews, and I take no pleasure in writing this one. But I stand by my original review. This was not about disliking a referral. It was about an examination that felt rushed and incomplete to me and, even more importantly, an interaction that left me feeling deeply dismissed, disrespected, and uncomfortable.
This was, without question, the worst eye examination I have ever experienced. I found the exam rushed, incomplete, and nowhere near the standard of care and professionalism I have experienced with other eye providers over many years. I also left with very little confidence in the care I received.
