I called ahead today to find a doctor who is confident with having patients take videos of their eye exam. Legally, you don't have to get a doctor's permission to record, and you don't have to record if the doctor allows it, but the question is helpful for finding the competent and reliable doctors.
Early into the call, a woman put me on hold without giving a reason and transferred the call to eye doctor David Weininger, who effectively said he's going to decline just for me, later tried to deny it, and then he abruptly hung up on me.
Here's the text of the phone conversation with David Weininger:
Weininger: "Good afternoon, this is Doctor Weininger, can I help you?"
Me: "Hi, I was wondering if it's alright if I take a video of my eye exam?"
Weininger [after a pause]: "Why?"
Me: "Oh I was just asked why, and I said that a video [...] helps ensure that the truth is told in my medical record, it also helps with sharing information with other people, and it serves as a future reference." The woman who transferred me asked this same question and I was repeating what I told her earlier.
Weininger: "Ahhhh...I'm gonna decline."
Me: "Okay. Is that for everyone who wants to record?" Acceptable answer; now I'll see if he's consistent.
Weininger: "What do you mean everyone?" Everyone means everyone. I think he is looking for an opportunity to reinterpret the question.
Me: "Are you going to turn away all patients who would like to record?" I rephrase the question from "everyone" to "all patients" while keeping the meaning.
Weininger: "Ahh, I'm not sure where you're going with this conversation." A doctor who turns away patients who would like to record is turning away revenue and is probably going to do a worse job.
Me: "So, if you're going to decline is that going to--"
Weininger: "I'm declining for you."
Me: "Why would you decline for only one person, isn't that biased?"
Weininger: "Cause that's my--that's my prerogative." Here he admits he's declining to examine me, a single person.
Me: "That's what I said to another person, that's my prerogative. So are you going to turn away--isn't that biased for you to only turn away one person?" I said "my prerogative" to another doctor's office. Maybe he's listened to that conversation.
Weininger: "Ah, I'm a private practitioner, I don't have to accept everyone who walks in the door, or requests an appointment." Here he's trying to change the question. I didn't say what he had to do; I am looking for consistency.
Me: "Okay, so you're going to turn away one person who would like to record, but for other people it's fine."
Weininger: "Ah I didn't say that." It was his previous answer and now he's changing his position.
Me: "That's what you said."
Weininger: "Okay, is this conversation going to come to an end pretty soon?"
Me: "Maybe if you give a straight answer."
[Weininger hangs up]
Me: "He hung up." When someone hangs up on me, I immediately state that that person hung up to make it clear for the future.
This conversation shows that I'm assertive and not overly aggressive. I've spoken to many eye doctors about recording before and this conversation shows a doctor who is not truthful, straightforward, or consistent. I solved the Erica Nicole Baker missing person case many years ago and have been the target of a harassment campaign. It is not a coincidence for me to have solved a decades old missing person case, be harassed for years as well as having a man from Europe physically attack me on video last week, and have an eye doctor decline having a video taken during an exam just for me. Our conversation is not only about bias, but serves as an indication of helping the pedophiles and human traffickers who kidnapped Erica. To put it succinctly here, I recommend you seek out another doctor. I welcome a response from David Weininger here as well as the woman I spoke with earlier. read more
