I have been seeing Dr. Lee since my insurance was changed to Health Net in 2005. I was very…read moreconcerned about having to change Primary Care Physicians after having the same one for 15 years. Also I was taking some very strong pain medication for chronic lower back pain and I wanted to see if she had any problems prescribing same. Since it was still open enrollment for PCP I felt it would be better to get these things cleared up before signing with a doctor.
I stopped by to meet Dr. Lee and her staff a month before my insurance took effect with her and her staff had a very difficult time with that since technically I was not insured to see her yet. Anyway, I briefly spoke with Dr. Lee and discussed the medications I was taking. Even though she appeared to be rushed and concerned about how this office visit was going to be paid, she assured me there would not be a problem.
Okay, great, I thought this went much better than I expected.... Wrong! Come January, when Dr. Lee was my PCP, I dutifully made an appointment for an examination and all the rest that goes on with a first time doctor's visit, she had absolutely no recall of me nor my visit a month earlier and now, the medications became a problem for her since she did not know me or my problems. Ultimately, she did provide me with the prescriptions I routinely required.
At this time I need to point out that the pain meds required a special prescription blank and had to be prescribed 30 days at a time, unlike my other meds that could be prescribed for a 90 day period.
The first month passed and I again scheduled another appointment to see Dr. Lee. This time she was extremely short, did not seem to remember anything about me and again expresses great concern about prescribing my pain meds. This continued for two more visits whereupon she said, "I cannot continue to provide you with pain medication without knowing more about you."
Now, we really locked horns! At that time I was 66 years old and in poor health with asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and chronic back pain and she is going to cut off my meds. It was not like I was shopping for a doctor to just provide pain meds and I had already shown, for the time I had been with her, the pain meds were not abused.
Dr. Lee did provide me with one last prescription and a referral to a pain management specialist, one more doctor to see and one more copayment, but what choice did I have.
I was at the point in time where I wanted to change PCPs but that would mean having to start all over again with another doctor so I decided to do as she recommended and see the other doctor. Actually, it was the best thing that ever happened. This group of doctors work with people in pain day in and day out.
Now, back to Dr. Lee; the next time it came time to schedule an appointment, I decided to ask Dr. Lee to spend more that 3-5 minutes with me and allow me to introduce myself and maybe we could get off to a better relationship. Needless to say that is how things went and we both now have a very good patient doctor relationship. In the last 5 years, I have come to learn that Dr. Lee is actually a very caring individual who can take the time to know her patients. She can spend a few extra minutes with me and again, she truly does care about my health.
I first thought that the entire office staff was cold, rude and just wanted my copayment. I also felt out-of-place, being the only white person in the waiting room. All the rest were Chinese, as was the staff.
My relationship with the front office staff is also much better and they do remember me, even on the phone.
I would highly recommend Dr. Shu May Lee as a physician, as I am very pleased with the treatment I receive.