This was quite possibly the worst doctor we've ever been to. My husband takes medication daily for his thyroid and our previous doctor required he have his blood work done every three months in order to make sure the medication was doing it's job properly. The time to have his blood work checked coincided with our annual physicals so we made appointments to do so. We went into the examination room together and he saw both us. Neither of us disrobed and he simply asked us some questions. I'm a breast cancer survivor, yet he gave my husband a "breast exam" over his shirt but not me. He wrote up the forms for our blood work and sent us to an offsite lab when we were told when making the appointments that there was a phlebotomist on staff. This was important to us so that we didn't have to make multiple trips and increase the time a doctor's appointment takes.
The office didn't call us when the results were ready and I called and left three messages before I was told that my husband's blood work was fine and that he could still take his medication. I asked them to call in his prescription, as per the norm we are used to with our previous doctor and was told that in order to get a prescription, for his medication, he would have to come in to the office for another office visit. This didn't make sense to me, since we were very clear when we visited Dr. Martin that our wellness exam needed to determine if my husband should still take the dose of medication his previous doctor had him on for the past two years.
When Dr. Martin eventually called back, he was very blunt when he shared that he can't make money by calling in prescriptions over the phone and that his policy is that my husband would have to come back in for his prescription. I have never, ever heard of a reputable doctor requiring two doctor's visits, one for blood work and the other to simply write you a prescription. We, of course, decided that this was not the doctor for us and found another one who would do things in a more efficient manner as we believe our time is as valuable as his.
When we called to report these practices to our insurance company, we were shocked to find that my husband's charges for his appointment were more than twice the amount of my appointment when we went in together and basically had the same appointment except for the "breast exam" he gave my husband.
Dr. Martin comes across as a charming doctor and we'd hoped we were finished looking for a new doctor. We were highly disappointed in the entire process and wonder if his frustration, which he candidly spoke of during our visit, with the current state of medical insurance is more important to him than what is best for his patients. My level of frustration at his holding my husband's prescription "hostage" based on his receiving another fee for a doctor's appointment to write a prescription based on the blood work results from the first appointment, was extremely high. It also should be noted that we went online to the lab's site and downloaded the results to take to the doctor who wrote his prescription.
I would never suggest anyone go to Dr. Martin, unfortunately. Charm can only get you so far as a doctor. read more