I went in to see Dr Bhatia for a routine skin screening and to have him look at a questionable mole on my abdomen. I liked the doc from the start. He was easy to engage and answered all of my questions. I had to have the aforementioned sketchy mole removed during that appointment because the doc thought it was concerning. No problem with that procedure at all. I was told by the office it would be 2-5 business days before I got results back. Sure, no problem I said. The removal was done on the 27th, when I heard nothing by the 3rd (five days later), I called the office to check on my results. One would assume this is okay to do. (People get busy, test results on paper get pushed around on a desk and forgotten about, other patients' crises happen, I get it.) There was no response when I was directed to the Medical Assistant's desk, so I left a message. Toward the end of the day, I received a return phone call. My sample was atypical and warranted further examination by a different doctor. This immediately would frighten any normal human being, I assume. As a critical care healthcare worker who deals frequently with Hem/Onc patients, alarm bells instantly went off in my head. Was the office just going to make me wait days longer with no update that my atypical tissue sample required further analysis? I felt glad I had called. I was told again, it would be a few more days before I heard anything further again. Well, based on the first ball that got dropped and information not getting passed along in a timely manner, I was a little on edge as to what my actual results would be from the second opinion.
Today, I called back to try and get the results from the nerve-wracking second opinion. I left a message again on the MA's machine and waited for a return call. I totally get that it hasn't been a full 5 days. I get that. When I call a doctor's office worried about my personal health and the fact that I may actually have some sort of cancer, I expect professional behavior on the phone. I was greeted on the return phone call from the MA with a curt, unprofessional tone that clearly communicated that I was bothering him (whose job it is to answer messages for the doctor, btw) by daring to call to get these results that are obviously important to me. He spoke as if he were angry with me and that I was being ridiculous. I listened to him talk and got madder and madder. Finally, when he seemed to be done berating me and speaking to me in a tone that inferred I was an idiot, I hung up after he said that they would call back when they got the results. He kept saying that they couldn't do anything until the sample results came back. One thing, I think he didn't understand was that I do know that, I am not an idiot, and by speaking to me in that manner it only made me want to call him every day after today just to inconvenience him until the results came back one way or another. You know what? Patients are a healthcare worker's reason for having a job. We are not an interruption from their work, we are the reason for their work. If I want to call every single day until those results come in, I can! As long as I am a patient in that office, I have the right to keep checking for my health's sake! There are many times when results are missed because patients do not advocate for themselves or family members do not advocate for them. The MA from this office needs to learn that. He needs to learn that I can and will call as much as I want to until I get my results back. This is my health, not his. If he were the one to have a biopsy done that the doctor was pretty worried about, he would probably be stressed too, but since it isn't him, he doesn't seem to care because he is not the one affected. He needs to learn professionalism, compassion, and how to talk to a patient on the telephone without having a truly pissed off tone to his voice because I was "bothering him".
This is such a shame because I really like Dr Bhatia, too. I will never go back to this office for any other visits because I know I will have to deal with his Medical Assitant and that, right now or ever, is not the extra stress that I need in my life when I could be facing a cancer diagnosis.
I know that the doc has privileges at UCLA from looking up his license, as I do with every provider I choose before I go to see them, and I truly hope him possibly being there did not slow down my results being communicated to me. read more