Dr. Rieves was my doctor for about nine years, and during that time, she did some good things, like encouraging me to take up Yoga and use fish oil to reduce my cholesterol. But unfortunately, in the long run she proved untrustworthy and lacking in skill. Once, she wildly misdiagnosed a simple but painful condition as a life-threatening illness. She was very certain she was correct in her diagnosis, and literally told me I had a 50% chance of dying if I walked out her door and didn't immediately follow her orders to check into the hospital and get an IV put in. Talk about scary! A second opinion, which I pushed to get, revealed that the problem was really rather simple, non-life-threatening, and inexpensively and easily solved. Another time, Dr. Rieves prescribed a new, brand-name medication that cost $100/month. After I several months of scrimping to buy it, I finally asked if there was something cheaper she could prescribe instead, and she prescribed a medication that could be gotten as a generic at a cost of $4 a month, and it worked just as well. The pharmacist told me it was safer, too. I wondered why Dr. Rieves didn't prescribe the cheaper, safer medication right off the bat (kickbacks?). Then, last fall, Dr. Rieves sent me a letter saying it was time to come in for a physical exam. I duly went in and had the exam, which seemed routine in every respect. Near the end of the exam, she asked me if there was anything else I wanted to talk about. I thought for a minute, and brought up a small problem related to allergies. She looked in my throat, said she couldn't see anything or do anything about it, and concluded the exam. A week later, I got her bill. It contained a whopping additional $100 charge for a second, single-issue office visit. I called Dr. Rieves office to ask about the charge. I sure it was a mistake. I was told by her assistant that the $100 charge was for that moment in the exam when the doctor had asked me if there was anything else I wanted to talk about, and I had brought up the allergy problem. Dr. Rieves dismissed the problem in under 60 seconds, and did nothing about it, but then charged me an extra $100!
But that's not even the worst of what happened. Two days after challenging her huge extra charge, I got a registered letter from Dr. Rieves in the mail, telling me to go find another doctor.
In truth, trusting Dr. Rieves turned out to be a mistake, and being forced to find another doctor probably saved me a fortune in incorrect diagnoses, unnecessary tests and overly expensive medication.
I would definitely pass up Dr. Rieves and look for another doctor! read more
