The United States has the lowest life expectancy in the US despite paying THE MOST compared to other 1st world countries, and Dr. Jeffrey Nekoba's office plays its small role in that
source: https://ourworldindata.org/us-life-expectancy-low
Let me explain.
I've been going to Dr. Nekoba's office for maybe a year or two, since it is in my local neighborhood. Very old little office, been there since '94. Jeffrey himself now in his 60s or so, probably looking to retire soon.
Here's my problem with his office from both an ethical perspective, and a healthcare perspective: In my opinion, his practice looks to squeeze as much money from patients as possible, while providing little to no benefit from a health perspective, at least in my case.
Details: I have been taking the same mild medication, an uncontrolled substance, for the past 20 years. Despite this, his office still requires me to make an appointment every 6 months to ask for a refill. This is done for "my safety, and to see how I'm doing." However, after making an appointment which takes a day or two, and after taking off from work, driving over there, and sitting in the waiting room for 15 minutes, a nurse checks my weight, height, and blood pressure, leads me to a patient room, where I sit another 15-20 minutes. At that point, a nurse practitioner comes in, asks me how I'm doing, and if I need a refill, to which I typically reply, "Yes, I do." She says "Great! We can take care of that!" And the appointment is done. I'm out a couple hundred bucks to make a useless appointment, as well as some valuable time that I could've spent otherwise elsewhere. There is simply no desire to do what's best for the patient.
The last time I called to request a refill, the admin picked up, and I asked for a refill, to which she replied that I needed to come in; despite having visited his office 2-3 other times this year for another matter...I even did full blood draws. But she said "it is policy for your safety, and there's nothing we can do."
By the way, this lady (admin) is extremely unprofessional and somewhat nasty. She is this older (maybe in her late 50s) white lady, who is a bit overweight, and has light eyes with long hair, a sharp long nose, and a sharp tone. She started becoming confrontational and raising her voice at me when I expressed my frustration about the refill policy. In fact, she starts getting nasty with me, so I do the same to which she says "Oh my God, I'm going to so hang up." What a ridiculous old lady that acts like an overprivileged pre-teen.
Now back to the bigger picture. This is the state of the US today. Many offices such as Dr. Nekoba exist in this country. That offer little to no useful medical advice, that see you in and out like a McDonald's, and charge exuberant fees to either the insurance or your own out of pocket costs like you're at a Ferrari dealer. All the while the average patient suffers from a health perspective, as well as a financial perspective. In fact, the sicker you get because you can't get the proper care, the more money you will spend in the long run...a vicious cycle.
I understand his practice's point of view...they need to charge customers more, charge insurance more, because the insurance gives them a fraction of the total work they do/did...and so they raise their total prices/costs for their medical services to offset some of those lost costs due to the insurance nickel and diming them. That is likely one of the reasons why they are wanting to see someone like me or you for no apparent reason, to bill up the total costs, so they can squeeze out a profit. Welcome to the new healthcare world in the US.
My advice is: If you have non-life threatening symptoms, use Google, or better yet ChatGPT to figure out symptoms, problems, and solutions. If you need a REAL doctor like for example a broken arm, lacerations or other life threatening situations, look up real doctors in your area before such things happen so you can be somewhat prepared. If you need a refill or other things, use Telehealth. I used GoodRX telehealth and was able to talk to a doctor, explain my situation, and got my refill the same day within 15 minutes, with a total cost of about $30! There are new ways to find doctors using technology and other methods that will save you time and money. Unfortunately, the best you can do for your health is to become your own expert vs relying on general practitioners such as Nekoba.
Unfortunately, for little ol' Dr. Nekoba's office, his practice is quite dated, with rude old staff, and probably looking to squeeze out a few more bucks from his patients before his practice ultimately shuts down as he retires. A sad little tale from a small town in the big game of insurance and doctor's offloading on the average citizen. read more