Dr. Samuel Bolivar was elected as our PCP on our Insurance for 2 reasons
He spoke Spanish
He was in the same group as the specialists that I wanted to see for my Thyroid problems
I had a procedure done last year to radiate my thyroid for hyperthyroidism, afterwards I was informed that the procedure did not work and that I would have to have the procedure done all over again (which was significantly difficult for myself and my family), until I redid the procedure I was started on medication to decrease my thyroid function. After weeks on the medication, I began to feel very sick, not sleeping, emotional, extremely exhausted, lethargic after over 10 days of feeling like this I called the Doctor, numerous times, my calls went unanswered, the Doctor was out, no one apparently covering for him, and I was referred a couple of times to the nearest ER, which I did go to. I was told to call my Dr. in the morning, which I did, I finally got an appointment for several days later, with my Dr. , during this time, I went back to the ER, called the Dr again and was at my wits end of not feeling well, not sleeping, not being able to function. My Sister flew in to help at home and accompany me to the Dr since I didn't feel I was in the right state of mind, my wife was unable to accompany me because we have 3 small children at home. The morning of my appointment I was called and notified that the procedure apparently had worked after all and that he had my lab work from a couple of weeks ago and that I no longer had any thyroid function and I needed to begin a thyroid replacement medication.
My sister drove me to my appointment and I asked her to accompany me in the exam room. When my sister started asking questions, Dr. Bolivar became upset and he and his staff were quiet rude to both myself and my family member, it was embarrassing as the patient that he acted this way. Apparently Dr. Bolivar became upset because my sister asked to see copies of my lab tests. He thought she was questioning him but in reality she was just concerned and told him she had never seen me like this before, to which DR. Bolivar answered, "he has a lot of problems at home, are you aware of all his problems with his wife?" My sister explained she had known me all her life and when she hears and sees me like this it is beyond having problems at home and that there are physical problems. I thought that was completely unprofessional but I was in no condition to bring anything like that up at that time.
Months have gone by, there has been little improvement in my condition, I have requested several times to see a Thyroid specialist, to which he responds I am managing this just fine, which is not fine, as the patient I should be able to see a specialist and get a second opinion, I am the one who does not feel well, I am the one who is affected by this. Dr. Bolivar is unprofessional, not caring, his bedside manner is lacking, he keeps patients waiting for HOURS just to be seen for a few minutes, leave us with unanswered questions, become upset if we ask a question, he is sarcastic, most of his staff is nice, however something has to be done about the way he treats patients. After waiting months to see him again (few visits since my problem began) I just went to have bloodwork and in the middle of treatment I get a letter stating that he is dismissing me as a patient.
I do feel I am better off seeing another provider, truth be told, I was going to switch Providers just as soon as I could get my medical problem under control, seems that with this Doctor, that may never had happened, he is rarely in the office, if there is an emergency we are referred to the nearest Er as he does not have someone cover for him, I was informed several times. I have a tentative appointment scheduled with a new Physician, hopefully things will improve and the new physician will not become angry if we have a question. read more