TL;DR
The gyn doctor I saw spoke English well…read more
It took me just over 5 hours to see her, despite arriving before several other patients not requiring emergency care (who also had Überweisungs/referrals from physicians).
A thorough gynecological medical history was NOT taken.
A wholly unnecessary exam WAS performed.
Ultimately I did NOT schedule a minor surgical procedure on the insistence that I have 2 other exams performed first.
Lastly, neither "prerequisite" exam is used to differentially diagnose my condition, which has been diagnosed by 3 different gynecologists: my OG doc in the U.S., and 2 here in Vienna.
---Longer Version---
I had a brief, internal debate about whether or not I should give this hospital 1 or 2 stars. I opted for 2 for the following reasons:
1. When I was finally seen, the doctors attending me seemed competent, and offered to speak in English instead of stumbling along in German. At least one of the doctors spoke English fairly well, so I give the hospital props for that.
I think that's where my 2-star reasoning ends, actually. Now the reasons I wanted to give this place only 1...
1. I presented to the hospital with an Überweisung (a referral, if you will), for a minor surgical procedure. I knew I would have to wait a while, since emergency cases are mixed in with "normal" ones (I think this is typical of hospitals here, at least that's how the system worked at AKH).
I waited very patiently for 4.5 hours (several people who arrived after me were seen before me, and I had no qualms about that - they required some degree of emergency care, whereas I was going for a brief consultation and to schedule a procedure). After over 4.5 hours, the last few people waiting to be called started chatting about how long the wait had been, and how it seemed like there really weren't enough doctors on staff that day. It was abundantly clear that none of us required urgent care.
Then not one, but three people who arrived after me, were called before me.
People.
When you've been waiting nearly 5 hours at a hospital, on one of your precious few days off of work, to be "snubbed" like this is a real bummer.
2. While the doctor(s) I saw seemed quite competent, they asked about only half the questions I would expect them to ask. I'm not a physician, but if you're in the GYNECOLOGY department, knowing a patient's full gynecological history is important.
These doctors did not collect much information and were hasty, yet they insisted on performing tests that had been performed not 5 days ago. I told them this. I have no idea why they wasted more of my time (and theirs, apparently), doing this and subjecting me to the awkwardness that is a gynecological examination.
3. They then informed me that because of so-and-so (all of which I had already told them, and information which could have been further verified by my gyn here), they decided that I must have such-and-such further tests and examinations (some of which are invasive) performed, before I can have the minor surgical procedure, recommended by 3 separate physicians.
They didn't ask if I had had any of the "prerequisite" exams performed (one of which I had, in September, when I presented to AKH, and the physicians at AKH told me to see a gyn, because their differential diagnosis pointed to a gynecological issue).
The icing on the cake? When I came home to read about the one (invasive) exam that I hadn't had already, I discovered that neither are used (like, ever), to differentially diagnose the condition for which I am being treated, and for which the minor surgical procedure was to be scheduled.
---
I won't type much more of this novel for you to read. I imagine this hospital provides good care (given its other Yelp reviews); however, I wanted to alert English-speaking women in Vienna to the following:
(a) as a Christian (Catholic?) institution, the hospital asks about your religion. I left the line blank on my info sheet, and the receptionist asked me what it was so she could fill it in. I said "keine Religion" (none), and while I certainly hope this wasn't the case, I'm not ruling out that not being Catholic/Katholik (or even Protestant/Evangelisch) didn't slow down why I was seen, when the other ladies seen before me were there with Überweisungs as well (not emergency cases).
(b) even if you aren't trying to conceive, if you tell the doctors that at a gynecology department, they immediately begin to see you differently, as if you are less important and your problem is less interesting, less relevant, less urgent. It's as if it doesn't really matter what condition you might have or symptoms you experience - if it's not *really* affecting your life, you know, aside from missing work here and there (!?!?), then it's not a big deal. My advice? Tell them you ARE trying to conceive, because otherwise you (and your problem) aren't worth the trouble.
