Dr. Steven Rhee's response was wholly inadequate. It was unnecessary, unpersuasive, and failed to…read moreresolve any aspect of the situation.
His conduct reflects a clear lack of interest in addressing a serious operational failure within his practice.
As anticipated, his response relied on the same pattern of excuses and justifications he presented on the morning of December 13 at his Hawaiian Eye Clinic in Wahiawa.
Dr. Steven Rhee had more than twenty-four hours to contact me and address the incident in a calm, professional, and non-confrontational manner. He failed to do so. This failure indicates an absence of accountability, as well as a lack of regret or acknowledgment of what occurred at his Wahiawa clinic.
This entire incident was preventable. It arose from a failure to ensure that front desk personnel on duty the morning of Tuesday, December 13 were properly trained to interact with preoperative patients who are, by definition, often anxious, vulnerable, and physically compromised. I was in precisely that condition. The situation escalated only after his staff demonstrated negligence in handling required paperwork, which was not available at the scheduled start time of my 8:00 a.m. surgery. Under those circumstances, my response was a direct consequence of both the operational failure and my medical condition.
The refusal to invest in adequate staff training, particularly where patient care and preoperative procedures are concerned, constitutes a systemic failure. When staff commit an avoidable error of this magnitude, they are obligated to respond with professionalism and corrective action. Instead, they abandoned professional standards. My reaction does not justify or excuse that conduct.
In this instance, the patient was a disabled American military veteran, an individual who previously served in defense of the United States, its citizens, and its national interests. That fact heightens, rather than diminishes, the expectation of professional and respectful treatment.
Dr. Steven Rhee's failure to correct his staff during the incident, and his decision to align himself with their conduct, is significant. It demonstrates a disregard for the patient and undermines any claim that patient care is his primary concern. The evidence supports a different conclusion: that financial considerations take precedence over patient welfare.
If Dr. Steven Rhee genuinely prioritized his patients, and particularly disabled veterans, the conduct observed would not have occurred. There would have been no excuse-making, no deflection of responsibility, and no hostile or unprofessional behavior. Instead, the situation would have been addressed immediately, competently, and respectfully, restoring order and allowing the scheduled surgery to proceed.
As a direct result of this failure, I did not receive the surgery for which I had waited nearly one year, despite the significant time and effort I invested in preparing for it. On the morning of Tuesday, December 13, at approximately 8:50 a.m., I was dismissed and sent home by Uber by the administrative head, identified as "Jocelyn."
This incident represents the most severe failure of healthcare delivery I have experienced in over sixty years.
