When Should You Complain About Your Doctor?

Mr. Al thinks it should complain now.  I’m not so sure.  And really, my problem is with the receptionist more than with the doctor.

See, the doctor said I had to see a specialist, and that the specialist in question would have his office contact me to set up an appointment.  It never happened.  So I called today to let my doctor know the specialist’s office didn’t call, which is what my doctor told me to do, and to see when the results of my poop samples would be back.

What I got from my doctor’s receptionist was the phone number for the specialist, which I already had, and a vague comment about the results being mailed to me when they were ready.  Pardon me?  I was in the hospital for 10 hours over this.  I think a brush off is a little cavalier.  But I dutifully called the specialist to make the appointment and let the rest slide.

I got an answering machine saying the office of the specialist would be closed until February 26th.  So I called my doctors office back and asked whether or not my condition was stable enough to wait that long or if I should seek a different specialist.  Without consulting anyone or even hesitating long enough to flip open my file the receptionist said I should leave a message on the specialist’s answering machine and wait for them to call me to make the appointment.  In other words, she gave me the brush off.

I’ll have you know that I am no wimp.  My doctor knows this, and has had words with her receptionist in the past for giving me appointments weeks after a medical emergency.  I don’t go running off to the hospital for no particular reason, especially at 5 am.  And I really dislike the brush off.  But I consider it par of the course and generally let it slide.

Mr. Al doesn’t see it that way.  He thinks the receptionist is negligent for giving out medical advice to patients without consulting a doctor.  He thinks I should write a letter to the doctor with a carbon copy to be sent to hospital, for which she is a member of the board of directors.

What do you think?  Is it worth rocking to boat, or not?  Or maybe what I should really do is find a doctor with a good receptionist.

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Alice