Update:
I drove to pick up my medical records this week. Interesting, the very questions I asked of the doctor he had used an ink pen to flag issues on tests in my file. It was disheartening to see because I could not get answers to questions which is why I decided to get a new PCP after 11 months of being ignored. Frankly, a provider operating like a 20th Century practice with all these paper files when other medical offices have electronic records of some sort makes it impractical to recall and address many issues without digging through pages and I saw patient files in stacks, not on shelves. I never would have been so confused if there were a patient portal with notes and diagnoses.
Located in a hospital setting, I could not believe there was no unit to draw blood on-site. Patients had to drive to outside labs which the patient had to schedule.
Understanding numerous imaging reports and blood test results is something for a medical professional, not the patient to figure out on Google. I could not believe on my last visit I got a flippant reply after asking the same question on several visits. The man forgot that he phoned me concerned in May 2022 saying it was best to discuss these in person and wanted to know when my next visit was scheduled - 10 days away, I told him. Then he forgot everything on all visits. As he said, he updated paper files of patients on Mondays. Most MDs would do it on the day of visits or during visits.
As I look at my records and my notes, while he ignored serious health issues, he was DETERMINED to change my prescriptions to 'newer' ones which are far more expensive. He beat the drums for those on more than one visit. They cost my insurance far more over $400 for one and another to be taken with the other $400 one I declined that would have cost me $90 co-pay when the prior prescription for years with other providers only cost $3 co-pay. He was not happy that I was not willing to just go for newer ones for prescriptions that WERE NOT for life-saving conditions. Other providers had given me one that was less than $70 for years with a co-pay of $3. I also take other prescriptions that are for life-saving conditions. The key word is "newer" as he said several times.
When I complained that everything had gone up in price and gasoline was over $5/gal., he replied that he knew because his sushi had gone from $60 to $90 for two people. What an analogy. After I hit a cap, my insurance would then charge me 25% for all prescriptions, so I had to make wise decisions for a low cap.
A great medical assistant, Alyssa, that he said he hired at 19 was able to get me referrals to several specialists (unrelated to the questions not answered), but I frankly don't think he cared about the results of those visits. He never scheduled to see me again after the last day in August 2022 when I declined the "newer" prescriptions. I was not on his radar any longer for 8 months.
Before ending with him I reached out several times and was totally ignored. He was rude, disrespectful, and arrogant and frankly it was UNETHICAL.
I missed a red flag when he came into the patient room and said some other male patient he passed had said something to him and he did not know who the man was because he had 1,000 patients.
Frankly, he took more vacations in 10 months than our former President so I doubt the 1,000. Calls to the office said dates he and his MA would return, and it wasn't a few days here or there. For a time I thought something was going on in his life with the absences, but the man is just all into himself. On visits he could talk my ears off about himself. Another Yelp review also mentioned him 'talking her ear off' and not taking her symptoms seriously and promises and excuses.
I never knew he had a stethoscope until I had to go for an EKG for a pre-op in October. I saw him for 3-4 minutes as it was the first time he pulled out a stethoscope on a visit, and the assistant gave the EKG. He completed all the paperwork after I left to fax to a specialist.
I now know my questions were in-line with what he had flagged in my file but ignored on visits. I could not believe my eyes. It is 2023 not the 1900s. He just got his first smartphone so it was like dealing with the Flintstones.
It was the best decision to cut ties with him. I have a great PCP now who also has a patient portal. In addition, specialists I am seeing all have patient portals and sent messages to create an account and uploaded their info of visits. Bravo. read more