My surgery is scheduled for next week. I am this-close to cancelling it. I am incandescent with…read morerage at the abysmal quality of communication, follow-up, incomplete and incorrect instructions, and the overall lack of professionalism dealing with Dr. Ilan Cohen and his staff.
First encounter: Ilan Cohen walks into the examination room, greets me by my first name, and introduces himself as "Dr. Cohen." I am a senior citizen, a woman and also hold a Ph.D., so I'm a doctor, too. I bit my tongue and did not insist he address me as Dr. [Surname], but should have. It was a tip-off to subsequent arrogant and disrespectful behavior.
After agreeing to cataract surgery, I received an 11-page binder of information, including a form for surgical clearance to be completed by my primary care physician. I made an appointment for a check-up within the allotted timeframe and my PCP submitted the form.
A full three weeks later, Cohen's office calls to say they won't perform the surgery unless my PCP submits EKG results. Nowhere was an EKG mentioned in pre-surgical information packet, in oral instructions, or most importantly on the form my PCP was required to fill out and sign.
Less than a week before the surgery, I am compelled to upend my schedule for an urgent EKG tomorrow. I told Cohen's office that because none of this was communicated until after the fact (weeks after), I expect any co-pay from the additional PCP appointment to be deducted from my surgical fee. Cohen's office manager countered with, "Is this a request or a demand?" I replied that, since she put it that way, it's a demand. This is an egregious waste of my time, my PCP's time, and there was zero mention of an EKG. This remains unresolved.
Multiple times, I was told a prescription for the eye drops I am required to use for three days prior to surgery would be called into my pharmacy one week before the procedure (i.e. today). This has been in my calendar for weeks. By 3 p.m., my pharmacy had not received a prescription. As recently as this morning, it was confirmed by Cohen's office that prescriptions would be called in today.
So I called the office back and was told no, my prescriptions would not be called in until Friday, a contradiction to what they confirmed multiple times. I must begin using these medications on _Friday morning_. The office told me prescriptions are not called in until after 5 p.m. Were the prescriptions to be called in late on Friday, there's no way could I begin taking the medication on schedule for a Monday procedure.
[Update: Prescriptions were called in. One medication is out of stock. Had they waited until Friday, there'd be no time to fill it prior to surgery.]
All this back-and-forth is by phone. I have begged Cohen's office to text or email me. They say they cannot. In a world in which the majority of medical providers use a portal to communicate with patients, Cohen's office calls...and calls...and calls. They call when I'm in the subway, in an elevator, in a meeting, and at midnight when I'm seven time zones away.
It's not as if the guy doesn't have a budget for digital, he just doesn't use it for the benefit of patients or staff. Instead he churns out video after video (60 and counting on YouTube, all SEO optimized to the hilt) to reassure patients that he's great, his skills are fantastic, and cataract surgery with him is a walk in the park. In reality, it's a master class in appalling communication, colossal inconvenience, and gaslighting (starting with the fake-academic name of his outfit).
My level of anxiety and distress dealing with this shitshow is sky high. I must now make a hard decision. If I cancel the surgery, insurance won't agree to start at square one with another ophthalmologist. I'll need pre-surgical clearance yet again, also not free. It would take months of additional time and boatloads more money than I've already committed to this absolute fiasco.