My 7 year old child had an unusual nail condition and our PCP recommended that she see a pediatric dermatologist. I'm a PA myself and agreed, I would have referred my child to a specialist if she was my patient because the problem could possibly be a melanoma. When setting the appointment I was reassured that I was seeing the pediatric Dermatologist Dr. Simpson. When I arrived at the office after a month of waiting and after taking a day off work, I learned that someone decided to switch my child to be seen by a Mid level practitioner and I could no longer see Dr. Simpson because my child's case was not critical enough (this without seeing a potential melanoma on my child's foot). So basically I was expected to pay a specialist copayment for service for someone with less training than the Pediatric Dermatologist and the actual pediatrician who sent me. What??!!! I could understand if it was a simple skin infection, but this was something unusual and meant for a specialist! There was no apology's for one, and my appointment was rescheduled a month out again to no fault of my own, forcing my child to wait even longer. I Even offered to see the mid-level practitioner as long as the doctor walked in to see my child's condition during the visit and was turned down. I ended up rescheduling with a different specialist at different clinic . Bottom line, a specialist means that the provider has had additional, specialized and advanced education beyond medical school to treat unusual and rare conditions. It was unfair to prolong my child's care and expect me to pay a higher specialist copayment to see someone trained in general family care for my child's problem. I can describe this clinc in two words unprofessional and inconsiderate. read more
