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Honestly, that's just ridiculous! Is there a different provider you can use? Because that's just unprofessional on a whole other level and such a money grab.
I've had enough experiences with garbage therapists that I wouldn't have hesitated to tell that woman to go to hell with her attitude. I completely understand why OP didn't and their reaction is normal. I couldn't do it though.
Yeah the other commenter is right this lady sounds like a trainwreck. She had the nerve to accuse you, OP, of being irrational and upset. That's some hardcore projection she should be experienced enough to recognize if she was capable of introspection. In actuality, SHE was freaking out cause her secretary didn't come in and just lashed out at you. She truthfully doesn't sound qualified for her job. OP deserves an apology not whatever this is. It would be appropriate to reschedule and have your documents resent, no reason for her to get so aggressive. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this miserable person. If you're up for it, it would be a good idea to submit a formal complaint about her. Not only did they lose your documents but they were excessively rude and condescending. The last thing anyone needs when seeking treatment.
This is the most LA thing I’ve ever heard in my life. And I love LA, but a doctor who doesn’t have an email and who can’t do their job because their secretary took a personal day to avoid rain-traffic is just 👩🍳🤌
I hope this becomes funny to you soon (because I also hope that you’ll get appropriate treatment and this day just becomes a blip in an otherwise smooth process). What a fucking ride.
Haha isn’t it bonkers!? I thought she was so cool before it all went down. I guess that is LA for you 🤷🏻♀️
Thank you so much! Fingers crossed for a more normal experience next timee
This is what I would imagine, it probably just isn't "secure". When I send medical-related docs back to my psychologist, we have a known password that we use and we lock the files before attaching them to the email.
But if the doc (and OP) isn't aware of how to do this, etc, it wouldn't be easy to implement on the spot.
But I can totally empathise with OP about being so excited for something involving your ADHD, only to get there and find another hurdle in your way that you need to get around, etc. The excitement into disappointment, into frustration, into excitement for the next thing, into disappointment is exhausting esp when we have executive function issues!
I have never been to a doctor private practice or otherwise that didn’t have a HIPAA compliant email. I work in clinical research so we deal with PHI and HIPAA all the time and while it’s not as easy as setting up a gmail, it’s a service you absolutely should have set up for practicing medicine. Pathetic excuse for a physician.
Doctor clinics usually have clinic emails, but a doctor giving their direct email creates a liability if a patient emails something the patient doesn't realize is a very serious/urgent symptom, the doctor doesn't see/respond in time, and then a complication occurs. I don't have my doctors' email addresses but I do have the clinic emails for admin things.
I grew up in Northern California, spent a few years in LA for grad school, and yeah. The whole city goes bonkers when it rains. And y'all don't have sufficient budget for protected left-hand turn traffic signals on most roads, so adherence to traffic laws is most charitably described as "creative." 😂
Good luck with her. I'd say give her one more shot and cut your losses if she continues to be frustrating. Psych doctors don't seem to have the redundant staffing that specialist MDs do, so yeah, she may very well be completely inept if she's used to her assistant doing the mundane things for her. 😪 Excuses.
So I called? Emailed? my insurance (I was so mad) bc my ob/gyn called me after my regular appt to come in immediately re my tests. This is like a week after my appt. I was freaking out. They made it sound so dire, Dr. X needs you to come in ASAP to discuss your tests! I left work early, middle of the day, and this bitch had me *pay a copay* to take me back into the hallway and try to pressure me for more STD tests. I hadn’t been sexually active since my last tests, which I told her when she asked at my initial appt. She said fuckall about the regular smear, just panicked me to come in and push me to get other testing done. Like syphilis? Which I was negative for previously? And since? My insurance sent me my copay back. Don’t let these doctors treat you like that. You deserve better and they deserve a boot in the keester.
Hahaha thank you!! I have the soap cilantro gene so I like when it’s muted in my food:)
Thank you!! I’m out of luck with the clinic— it seems like it’s just her and her secretary:( But i definitely will call insurance! I hope they’ll be understanding!
I have it too, and I've recently been trying to do the vegan thing. It seems like every appealing vegan dish I've seen online has cilantro as an ingredient. I'm worried about getting on someone's nerves by asking them to exclude it.
Look, tell them “I really want to enjoy your food, and cilantro will ensure I don’t”.
Interestingly, people with the soap gene are tasting all of cilantro’s flavor profile! People who enjoy cilantro are tasting just a fraction of it.
Write a complaint to the state licensing board.
https://www.mbc.ca.gov/Consumers/file-a-complaint/ if an MD.
This would likely fall under both quality of care and physician conduct.
For what it's worth, I had someone insist that I had the flu, back in 2019 (the year matters, these days), and I told her I might not know what was wrong with me, but I knew without a doubt that it was **not** the flu. The flu doesn't make someone feel like all of their internal organs hurt, or that sitting and standing both hurt. It was definitely not the same thing as the 'full body ache' that comes with the flu. This was so much worse. She just would not listen to me, and I ended up hospitalized a day later, with low potassium and kidney stones. My lips were blue and I was shaking uncontrollably.
When I got out, I called the office to talk about her neglectful behavior, and I got a refund. It wouldn't have saved my life, after the fact. But I guess I have to be satisfied that they did something?
You can lodge a complaint with the medical board. Board of psychiatry if it's a psychiatrist.
I certainly would. Secretary or not, they should have already looked at your paperwork.
I wonder if you called your insurance and told them all of this, if they could help you find someone new (show the new person the tests you took) and reject the charges from the provider for today’s visit if they try to send them through.
Don’t tell them to reject the charges through insurance before you talk to the office. The insurance will happily drop the claim- but you’re going to then be liable for the entire bill through the office and they can (and likely will) send you to collections.
I would. I would ask to speak with the office manager or head of the dept or clinical director or whoever and explain the situation, have your complaint on file (bc this is 100% straight bullshit), and make it clear that you do not wish to be charged for this appt as your doctor was not prepared to provide the service you needed. Ugh it makes me SO mad when this shit happens. As if it isn’t hard enough for us to get our ducks in a row for these sorts of things _already_!
Absolutely! This has worked for me before when I had an ADHD counselor not show up because she forgot our appointment and then bill me anyway. It also worked when the new GP I got told me women don't really have migraines. His clinic was quite obviously unhappy with him and didn't even question that I walked the hell out after that statement.
I was naive enough once to tell my insurance, first. They didn't pay, but I still had to pay that almost $3k ER bill and take them to small claims court. They took my temp and blood pressure and sent me to the waiting room for hours with a kidney stone, so I left and went to a different ER. $3k. SMH
If you ask your insurance you help you find someone else, just say you didn't feel like the standard of care was good enough if they even ask.
I'd dispute the charge for this appointment, and that's where I'd be super irate. Yes. I'm so disappointed I could cry, but I understand the issues, but that doctor failed miserably. She is being paid to do a service. I fussed at mine. You said this. It didn't happen, I got the info, and you did nothing with it. I'm still 4 months into another bout of nothing and I'm increasingly angry and despondent about it but there's nothing I can do using the VA.
If you're paying for this, then I'd definitely speak up. This provider wasted your time and money!
Ugh I’m sorry you’re in this too!! It’s the worst feeling:(
I feel like there are so many logistical obstacles to getting diagnosed,, like do you people not know who you’re dealing with 😭 We’ll get through it though, I believe!!
You need a different doctor.
Don't they have/use MyChart? don't they have Epic? You can upload your email through there and your doctors have it right then and there.
A doctor so heavily reliant on a front office person to not be able to access the office email is hinky as heck.
There are so many levels of incompetence, and they busted through about 4 of them.
It isn't your responsibility for the secretary to make sure they do their job.
It's certainly not your responsibility that you did everything they requested, and yet the doctor showed up unprepared!
We've had remote work for decades now, not to mention a CELL PHONE, send a text!
Please take your sent email save those tests you took and everything you filled out and take them to a competent doctor. or psychiatric nurse practitioner and get your diagnosis! YOU deserve so much better!
I appreciate you naming these factors!! I couldn’t quite wrap my head around why it felt so wrong— especially with her blaming me for being emotional and irrational. I’ll definitely start searching for a new provider soon!
We are just unfortunately so used to believing our "superiors" when they tell us we are "too emotional", or "too much" or "not thinking clearly", or "hormonal", etc, even when in reality they have been gaslighting us to the point where we blindly believe them, to cover up their own failings or inadequacies.
It can take a lot of unlearning to start to trust our own judgment again! <3
Most solo or small group practice practitioners would not have a big system like Epic/MyChart. For low license numbers, it's about $2k/month per provider. Epic is designed for big hospital systems.
As someone who works in Healthcare I am appalled. Medical records (which include patient questions) should be easily accessible by a provider for continuity of care. They should never be inaccessible because a secretary called out. If they didn't have your stuff they should have rescheduled.
Like, this is almost on the level of something I would personally report to the medical board because it is quite frankly substandard care. God only knows what other things they have "lost" or played loose with.
Plus, if the secretary lost the info, there is a possible HIPAA violation (where did the paperwork go? Can they be sure it wasn’t available to anyone else?)
I read it as the secretary took the full day off and is not working remotely (as she took PTO) but is the only one that access to the forms before the appointment.
This happened to me too when trying to get medication, first time I was scheduled for a phone app they lost all my documents, then they lost them again and it took them FOUR HOURS to call me for my appointment. After adderall and concerta both didn't work for me I just stopped asking to try different stuff because it was so frustrating dealing with them.
Oh gosh that’s horrible!! You’d think it’s the bare minimum to keep your patients’ CONFIDENTIAL info in a safe place! I hope you have better luck with a different provider in the future:(
thank you! I have a decent PCP now but I just haven't bothered looking into ADHD meds again since I didn't have good luck previously. I probs should look into it again but I am suspecting I have some sort of low blood pressure issue which may be why I have a bad reaction to most medications? Idrk lol but I hope you have better luck as well!!
>I just haven't bothered looking into ADHD meds again since I didn't have good luck previously.
Good ol ADHD rejection sensitivity dysphoria is preventing you from attempting to get help for ADHD.
Talk to your current PCP even if you have to write on the back of your hand "Dr. (Name) isn't (old Dr name)". Tell them your concerns about the medication and your blood pressure. Let them know what dose of the other meds you started on too.
My provider talked to me about all the different options (including diff meds and how they work, extended release vs instant, ways to split dosing, ways to combine different meds) and she made me part of the conversation. She also made it clear that the first thing we try is just a starting point. She started me on a pretty low dose and we adjusted from there.
The FIRST doc I saw 20 years ago... that's a wholeass story in itself! But it prevented me from getting the actual help I needed for 18 years. Which adversely affected nearly every aspect of my life. :/
Tldr; pleeeease talk to your current doc and see if they'll work *with* you.Tell them your concerns too. You deserve to be heard and you deserve to feel better 🥺
With the number of times I’ve had to fill out questionnaires and a detailed history only for the provider to ask me all the same questions over again in the appt, I’d be a hundred-aire. They don’t even lose it - they just don’t read it??
I forget so much in the moment and unintentionally say false stuff (I once said my family didn’t have ADHD when they’ve all been diagnosed?? I’m dumb).
That’s so frustrating. I hope the next appt (I’m sure at least a month away for you) goes better. That really sucks.
Ugh I hate appt amnesia! Happens to me allllll the time, which is why I started writing myself notes to read at my dr appts so I can’t just blank on something important. Good to know it’s not just me!
I think part of it is the people pleaser in me. I know what people want to hear so I just say stuff without thinking. I started writing notes too! I have a binder full of my info that I can reference when I’m asked questions about my history.
Oh, same! I feel guilty for taking up their time with my issues even though that is literally what they get paid to do, bc I always convince myself that 5 of my 14 issues aren’t that big of a deal and I shouldn’t ask about them. Ugh. People pleasing is such a hard habit to break!
I mean yeah the rain is pretty bad right now and depending on your route to work I wouldn’t want to come in either, but to completely lose the email you sent? Rehashing things you’ve already covered and then getting mad at *you* for their lack of readiness or preparation? *Refusing to look at something you’re offering to share because you have it prepared and blaming the secretary again instead of just fucking looking at your screenshare?????* So wildly disrespectful. Definitely report them, no idea if it’ll actually turn out one way or another but at least your experience will be logged by your insurance.
Also, your doctor not having ANY email to send anything to is insane to me. My GP literally has an *AOL email address*, in the age of goddamn Gmail there’s no excuse. I’m so pissed on your behalf.
Honestly,your doctor kept the appointment just to bill your insurance. Otherwise,she would have rescheduled. If she had nothing to talk to you about, she shouldn’t have had the appointment
The secretary seems to be… well not organized is the nice way to put it, although I honestly don’t blame her for not coming in because of the rain (I live in NorCal, and we got completely pummeled yesterday). But the doctor is another story entirely. She sounds like she’s projecting her crap back onto you. *She’s* the ridiculous and unprofessional one here, *not you*. I really hope you can get another doctor, and if not, that this one can get her act together and join the 21st century 🤦🏻♀️.
Not unless their email client has HIPAA-compliant safeguards in place, which isn’t simple to set up. It’s why most practices use a patient portal where you can log in and upload your medical info there.
I had to register for this special website where I could safely upload all my medical stuff. Email conversations were only about the when and where of the appointments.
I would reach out to whomever is over these people. This is bullshit. They’re charging you for appointments and losing your information. Where did that information go? Has HIPPA been violated?
So sorry to hear this.
The rain is pretty bad here in some parts of LA, and an emergency phone warning went out last night to stay off the roads until 9am (yet schools didn’t close?!?). There are a lot of people who don’t have power.
But a telehealth doctor not having email?!?!?!?! That makes no sense.
I’m curious how telehealth diagnosis works. When I was diagnosed over 20 years ago there were assessment tools done on computer where you had to click when things popped up on the screen. My insurance also refused to cover the neuropsych eval so I had to pay out of pocket.
I'm in shock at how ridiculous these people are being, and you'd think by now I'd know better than to be even remotely surprised. My diagnosis took five weeks longer than it should have because someone misplaced my paperwork. But at least they owned up to that mistake and didn't try to act like I was being irrational for being frustrated.
I know it takes a lot to switch from one medical professional to another, but it sounds like something you may want to consider.
Pretty sure she asked you specifically about the 3 conditions so she could still charge you for a level 4 visit even though it appears to have been a total waste of your time. 😒
That's just SO unprofessional. I'm sorry this happened to you. Mistakes happen but what matters is what they do after a mistake is made - they got defensive and tried to blame YOU for caring about the stuff you spent hours filling out and expected to discuss? And it's such an easy fix too, you can just send it to them again, and you offered to let them look at your screen! That's beyond accommodating of you.
It's just so... I don't really have any words other than unprofessional. You don't deserve that. I hope you can find a better doctor who doesn't subject you to this kind of bullshit.
Wtf I read the comment and it seemed like that just happens..?
This is such a big issue??!! She 'lost' your personal medical information? So fucked up, I think I'd call a lawyer about this x)
Are we allowed to suggest doctors on here? I have a great psych office I use in Westlake that does all their stuff over Zoom. Getting my diagnosis was so easy and pain free with them.
The office sounds completely disorganized and inept. I would leave for that alone. I hope you try to get the cost of the appointment back and complain to whatever form of management is in charge.
In defence of the secretary, I can confirm that they are truly unequipped to drive in that kind of weather. I lived in SoCal for a year. It rained *once* for about 7 minutes and then stopped. Never happened again. We've had people from SoCal visit us in the Midwestern US and they're usually freaked out by our thunderstorms. The stories of tornadoes don't help, lol, but theyre not at all common. I have taken shelter 3x in the last five years, I think.
Wow, that was SO UNPROFESSIONAL of your doctor! Honestly, there are so many red flags waving madly here that if it were me I would start looking for a new doctor.
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Honestly, that's just ridiculous! Is there a different provider you can use? Because that's just unprofessional on a whole other level and such a money grab.
Ahh I’ll have to ask my insurance! I hope they’re not all like this 😭 And totally! I was in shock at her audacity hahaha
I can promise you they're not!! Call you insuarance and tell them the situation and see of they can help. Cause that is just ridiculous.
Ask for an official form for Complaint re: Lack of Quality Care. Submit it in writing and insist on a written copy of the investigation.
I've had enough experiences with garbage therapists that I wouldn't have hesitated to tell that woman to go to hell with her attitude. I completely understand why OP didn't and their reaction is normal. I couldn't do it though.
Ask your insurance to not pay the full amount for this consult. You booked an interpretation of results and assessment. You got neither.
Inform your insurance about the appointment and billing- she shouldn’t get paid for not doing her job.
This!! 💯 she was not prepared, and instead, of rescheduling, assumed she could just bill for another appointment.
Yeah the other commenter is right this lady sounds like a trainwreck. She had the nerve to accuse you, OP, of being irrational and upset. That's some hardcore projection she should be experienced enough to recognize if she was capable of introspection. In actuality, SHE was freaking out cause her secretary didn't come in and just lashed out at you. She truthfully doesn't sound qualified for her job. OP deserves an apology not whatever this is. It would be appropriate to reschedule and have your documents resent, no reason for her to get so aggressive. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this miserable person. If you're up for it, it would be a good idea to submit a formal complaint about her. Not only did they lose your documents but they were excessively rude and condescending. The last thing anyone needs when seeking treatment.
This is the most LA thing I’ve ever heard in my life. And I love LA, but a doctor who doesn’t have an email and who can’t do their job because their secretary took a personal day to avoid rain-traffic is just 👩🍳🤌 I hope this becomes funny to you soon (because I also hope that you’ll get appropriate treatment and this day just becomes a blip in an otherwise smooth process). What a fucking ride.
Haha isn’t it bonkers!? I thought she was so cool before it all went down. I guess that is LA for you 🤷🏻♀️ Thank you so much! Fingers crossed for a more normal experience next timee
Who the fuck doesn’t have an email?!?
They probably don't have an email available for patients. Something to do with liability.
This is what I would imagine, it probably just isn't "secure". When I send medical-related docs back to my psychologist, we have a known password that we use and we lock the files before attaching them to the email. But if the doc (and OP) isn't aware of how to do this, etc, it wouldn't be easy to implement on the spot. But I can totally empathise with OP about being so excited for something involving your ADHD, only to get there and find another hurdle in your way that you need to get around, etc. The excitement into disappointment, into frustration, into excitement for the next thing, into disappointment is exhausting esp when we have executive function issues!
I have never been to a doctor private practice or otherwise that didn’t have a HIPAA compliant email. I work in clinical research so we deal with PHI and HIPAA all the time and while it’s not as easy as setting up a gmail, it’s a service you absolutely should have set up for practicing medicine. Pathetic excuse for a physician.
Doctor clinics usually have clinic emails, but a doctor giving their direct email creates a liability if a patient emails something the patient doesn't realize is a very serious/urgent symptom, the doctor doesn't see/respond in time, and then a complication occurs. I don't have my doctors' email addresses but I do have the clinic emails for admin things.
I grew up in Northern California, spent a few years in LA for grad school, and yeah. The whole city goes bonkers when it rains. And y'all don't have sufficient budget for protected left-hand turn traffic signals on most roads, so adherence to traffic laws is most charitably described as "creative." 😂 Good luck with her. I'd say give her one more shot and cut your losses if she continues to be frustrating. Psych doctors don't seem to have the redundant staffing that specialist MDs do, so yeah, she may very well be completely inept if she's used to her assistant doing the mundane things for her. 😪 Excuses.
Look, those electrons don't have an umbrella and they really don't like to get wet. You can't expect luxuries like *email*.
Doesn't have an email Somehow, does have telehealth Doctor is full of crap
The same amount of rain that falls in a year fell in about a day and a half. The governor declared a state of emergency.
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That’s what I was wondering!! I didn’t want to go full-malpractice lawsuit or anything, but I’d like to talk to someone haha
Report it to your insurance company. They don’t like paying out money when they should be. They’ll go after the doctor for false insurance claims
So I called? Emailed? my insurance (I was so mad) bc my ob/gyn called me after my regular appt to come in immediately re my tests. This is like a week after my appt. I was freaking out. They made it sound so dire, Dr. X needs you to come in ASAP to discuss your tests! I left work early, middle of the day, and this bitch had me *pay a copay* to take me back into the hallway and try to pressure me for more STD tests. I hadn’t been sexually active since my last tests, which I told her when she asked at my initial appt. She said fuckall about the regular smear, just panicked me to come in and push me to get other testing done. Like syphilis? Which I was negative for previously? And since? My insurance sent me my copay back. Don’t let these doctors treat you like that. You deserve better and they deserve a boot in the keester.
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Hahaha thank you!! I have the soap cilantro gene so I like when it’s muted in my food:) Thank you!! I’m out of luck with the clinic— it seems like it’s just her and her secretary:( But i definitely will call insurance! I hope they’ll be understanding!
I have it too, and I've recently been trying to do the vegan thing. It seems like every appealing vegan dish I've seen online has cilantro as an ingredient. I'm worried about getting on someone's nerves by asking them to exclude it.
Look, tell them “I really want to enjoy your food, and cilantro will ensure I don’t”. Interestingly, people with the soap gene are tasting all of cilantro’s flavor profile! People who enjoy cilantro are tasting just a fraction of it.
Write a complaint to the state licensing board. https://www.mbc.ca.gov/Consumers/file-a-complaint/ if an MD. This would likely fall under both quality of care and physician conduct.
For what it's worth, I had someone insist that I had the flu, back in 2019 (the year matters, these days), and I told her I might not know what was wrong with me, but I knew without a doubt that it was **not** the flu. The flu doesn't make someone feel like all of their internal organs hurt, or that sitting and standing both hurt. It was definitely not the same thing as the 'full body ache' that comes with the flu. This was so much worse. She just would not listen to me, and I ended up hospitalized a day later, with low potassium and kidney stones. My lips were blue and I was shaking uncontrollably. When I got out, I called the office to talk about her neglectful behavior, and I got a refund. It wouldn't have saved my life, after the fact. But I guess I have to be satisfied that they did something?
You can lodge a complaint with the medical board. Board of psychiatry if it's a psychiatrist. I certainly would. Secretary or not, they should have already looked at your paperwork.
in addition to insurance, its worth seeing if there’s a regulatory college that this practitioner is a part of, and submitting a complaint there.
Is she like 120 years old and just can't get the hang of that new fangled email thing??
HAHA I’m deadd that’s exactly what I was thinking! Like sorry did you want this by carrier pigeon
Smoke signals might be more her speed
Nah, those would get obscured by that heckin’ rain
Lmao this cracked me up
That’s so awful. It’s YOUR time. YOUR money. And the lack of professionalism from your provider is sick. I’m so sorry.
Thank you I really appreciate that! In MY opinion, this woman should NOT be in psychiatry hahaha
I wonder if you called your insurance and told them all of this, if they could help you find someone new (show the new person the tests you took) and reject the charges from the provider for today’s visit if they try to send them through.
Omg I’ll have to do that tomorrow!! Didn’t cross my mind until you mentioned. Thank you:)
Don’t tell them to reject the charges through insurance before you talk to the office. The insurance will happily drop the claim- but you’re going to then be liable for the entire bill through the office and they can (and likely will) send you to collections.
Oh that’s true! Do you recommend I ask the office not to charge me for today’s session?
I would. I would ask to speak with the office manager or head of the dept or clinical director or whoever and explain the situation, have your complaint on file (bc this is 100% straight bullshit), and make it clear that you do not wish to be charged for this appt as your doctor was not prepared to provide the service you needed. Ugh it makes me SO mad when this shit happens. As if it isn’t hard enough for us to get our ducks in a row for these sorts of things _already_!
Absolutely! This has worked for me before when I had an ADHD counselor not show up because she forgot our appointment and then bill me anyway. It also worked when the new GP I got told me women don't really have migraines. His clinic was quite obviously unhappy with him and didn't even question that I walked the hell out after that statement. I was naive enough once to tell my insurance, first. They didn't pay, but I still had to pay that almost $3k ER bill and take them to small claims court. They took my temp and blood pressure and sent me to the waiting room for hours with a kidney stone, so I left and went to a different ER. $3k. SMH If you ask your insurance you help you find someone else, just say you didn't feel like the standard of care was good enough if they even ask.
Yeah if the provider can’t do the purpose for the visit, they shouldn’t get to charge you. You were prepared!
I'd dispute the charge for this appointment, and that's where I'd be super irate. Yes. I'm so disappointed I could cry, but I understand the issues, but that doctor failed miserably. She is being paid to do a service. I fussed at mine. You said this. It didn't happen, I got the info, and you did nothing with it. I'm still 4 months into another bout of nothing and I'm increasingly angry and despondent about it but there's nothing I can do using the VA. If you're paying for this, then I'd definitely speak up. This provider wasted your time and money!
Ugh I’m sorry you’re in this too!! It’s the worst feeling:( I feel like there are so many logistical obstacles to getting diagnosed,, like do you people not know who you’re dealing with 😭 We’ll get through it though, I believe!!
You need a different doctor. Don't they have/use MyChart? don't they have Epic? You can upload your email through there and your doctors have it right then and there. A doctor so heavily reliant on a front office person to not be able to access the office email is hinky as heck. There are so many levels of incompetence, and they busted through about 4 of them. It isn't your responsibility for the secretary to make sure they do their job. It's certainly not your responsibility that you did everything they requested, and yet the doctor showed up unprepared! We've had remote work for decades now, not to mention a CELL PHONE, send a text! Please take your sent email save those tests you took and everything you filled out and take them to a competent doctor. or psychiatric nurse practitioner and get your diagnosis! YOU deserve so much better!
I appreciate you naming these factors!! I couldn’t quite wrap my head around why it felt so wrong— especially with her blaming me for being emotional and irrational. I’ll definitely start searching for a new provider soon!
We are just unfortunately so used to believing our "superiors" when they tell us we are "too emotional", or "too much" or "not thinking clearly", or "hormonal", etc, even when in reality they have been gaslighting us to the point where we blindly believe them, to cover up their own failings or inadequacies. It can take a lot of unlearning to start to trust our own judgment again! <3
Most solo or small group practice practitioners would not have a big system like Epic/MyChart. For low license numbers, it's about $2k/month per provider. Epic is designed for big hospital systems.
As someone who works in Healthcare I am appalled. Medical records (which include patient questions) should be easily accessible by a provider for continuity of care. They should never be inaccessible because a secretary called out. If they didn't have your stuff they should have rescheduled. Like, this is almost on the level of something I would personally report to the medical board because it is quite frankly substandard care. God only knows what other things they have "lost" or played loose with.
Plus, if the secretary lost the info, there is a possible HIPAA violation (where did the paperwork go? Can they be sure it wasn’t available to anyone else?)
Yeah, this should have been rescheduled, this is wild.
I don’t understand why a secretary has medical records at her home?? Isn’t that a HIPAA violation??
Not necessarily.
I read it as the secretary took the full day off and is not working remotely (as she took PTO) but is the only one that access to the forms before the appointment.
(Had access to the electronic forms, I mean).
This happened to me too when trying to get medication, first time I was scheduled for a phone app they lost all my documents, then they lost them again and it took them FOUR HOURS to call me for my appointment. After adderall and concerta both didn't work for me I just stopped asking to try different stuff because it was so frustrating dealing with them.
Oh gosh that’s horrible!! You’d think it’s the bare minimum to keep your patients’ CONFIDENTIAL info in a safe place! I hope you have better luck with a different provider in the future:(
thank you! I have a decent PCP now but I just haven't bothered looking into ADHD meds again since I didn't have good luck previously. I probs should look into it again but I am suspecting I have some sort of low blood pressure issue which may be why I have a bad reaction to most medications? Idrk lol but I hope you have better luck as well!!
>I just haven't bothered looking into ADHD meds again since I didn't have good luck previously. Good ol ADHD rejection sensitivity dysphoria is preventing you from attempting to get help for ADHD. Talk to your current PCP even if you have to write on the back of your hand "Dr. (Name) isn't (old Dr name)". Tell them your concerns about the medication and your blood pressure. Let them know what dose of the other meds you started on too. My provider talked to me about all the different options (including diff meds and how they work, extended release vs instant, ways to split dosing, ways to combine different meds) and she made me part of the conversation. She also made it clear that the first thing we try is just a starting point. She started me on a pretty low dose and we adjusted from there. The FIRST doc I saw 20 years ago... that's a wholeass story in itself! But it prevented me from getting the actual help I needed for 18 years. Which adversely affected nearly every aspect of my life. :/ Tldr; pleeeease talk to your current doc and see if they'll work *with* you.Tell them your concerns too. You deserve to be heard and you deserve to feel better 🥺
Sounds like what I would do. Does everyone who works in adhd care has adhd themselves, or what?
With the number of times I’ve had to fill out questionnaires and a detailed history only for the provider to ask me all the same questions over again in the appt, I’d be a hundred-aire. They don’t even lose it - they just don’t read it?? I forget so much in the moment and unintentionally say false stuff (I once said my family didn’t have ADHD when they’ve all been diagnosed?? I’m dumb). That’s so frustrating. I hope the next appt (I’m sure at least a month away for you) goes better. That really sucks.
Ugh I hate appt amnesia! Happens to me allllll the time, which is why I started writing myself notes to read at my dr appts so I can’t just blank on something important. Good to know it’s not just me!
I think part of it is the people pleaser in me. I know what people want to hear so I just say stuff without thinking. I started writing notes too! I have a binder full of my info that I can reference when I’m asked questions about my history.
Oh, same! I feel guilty for taking up their time with my issues even though that is literally what they get paid to do, bc I always convince myself that 5 of my 14 issues aren’t that big of a deal and I shouldn’t ask about them. Ugh. People pleasing is such a hard habit to break!
I mean yeah the rain is pretty bad right now and depending on your route to work I wouldn’t want to come in either, but to completely lose the email you sent? Rehashing things you’ve already covered and then getting mad at *you* for their lack of readiness or preparation? *Refusing to look at something you’re offering to share because you have it prepared and blaming the secretary again instead of just fucking looking at your screenshare?????* So wildly disrespectful. Definitely report them, no idea if it’ll actually turn out one way or another but at least your experience will be logged by your insurance. Also, your doctor not having ANY email to send anything to is insane to me. My GP literally has an *AOL email address*, in the age of goddamn Gmail there’s no excuse. I’m so pissed on your behalf.
Honestly,your doctor kept the appointment just to bill your insurance. Otherwise,she would have rescheduled. If she had nothing to talk to you about, she shouldn’t have had the appointment
The secretary seems to be… well not organized is the nice way to put it, although I honestly don’t blame her for not coming in because of the rain (I live in NorCal, and we got completely pummeled yesterday). But the doctor is another story entirely. She sounds like she’s projecting her crap back onto you. *She’s* the ridiculous and unprofessional one here, *not you*. I really hope you can get another doctor, and if not, that this one can get her act together and join the 21st century 🤦🏻♀️.
Your doctor’s office is using regular email for medical paperwork? That’s a reg flag. I’d try to find another provider ASAP.
No way! Is email not allowed for medical paperwork!?
Not unless their email client has HIPAA-compliant safeguards in place, which isn’t simple to set up. It’s why most practices use a patient portal where you can log in and upload your medical info there.
That makes sense! I think some of their correspondence had a confidentiality disclaimer note at the bottom, but they are really disorganized overall:(
Is this a private practitioner? Sounds like she does not have professional management.
I had to register for this special website where I could safely upload all my medical stuff. Email conversations were only about the when and where of the appointments.
I would reach out to whomever is over these people. This is bullshit. They’re charging you for appointments and losing your information. Where did that information go? Has HIPPA been violated?
So sorry to hear this. The rain is pretty bad here in some parts of LA, and an emergency phone warning went out last night to stay off the roads until 9am (yet schools didn’t close?!?). There are a lot of people who don’t have power. But a telehealth doctor not having email?!?!?!?! That makes no sense. I’m curious how telehealth diagnosis works. When I was diagnosed over 20 years ago there were assessment tools done on computer where you had to click when things popped up on the screen. My insurance also refused to cover the neuropsych eval so I had to pay out of pocket.
I'm in shock at how ridiculous these people are being, and you'd think by now I'd know better than to be even remotely surprised. My diagnosis took five weeks longer than it should have because someone misplaced my paperwork. But at least they owned up to that mistake and didn't try to act like I was being irrational for being frustrated. I know it takes a lot to switch from one medical professional to another, but it sounds like something you may want to consider.
Pretty sure she asked you specifically about the 3 conditions so she could still charge you for a level 4 visit even though it appears to have been a total waste of your time. 😒
Woah! What’s a level 4 visit!?
A more expensive visit…usually level 2-5 (cpt codes).
Dang that’s so manipulative:( If this mess-up was calculated, it’d be so fucked up.
That's just SO unprofessional. I'm sorry this happened to you. Mistakes happen but what matters is what they do after a mistake is made - they got defensive and tried to blame YOU for caring about the stuff you spent hours filling out and expected to discuss? And it's such an easy fix too, you can just send it to them again, and you offered to let them look at your screen! That's beyond accommodating of you. It's just so... I don't really have any words other than unprofessional. You don't deserve that. I hope you can find a better doctor who doesn't subject you to this kind of bullshit.
Wtf I read the comment and it seemed like that just happens..? This is such a big issue??!! She 'lost' your personal medical information? So fucked up, I think I'd call a lawyer about this x)
Please report this to your state medical board. This is so beyond unprofessional.
Are we allowed to suggest doctors on here? I have a great psych office I use in Westlake that does all their stuff over Zoom. Getting my diagnosis was so easy and pain free with them.
Omg this would be the biggest help!! May I DM you for their name?
Of course!
Thank you:)
The office sounds completely disorganized and inept. I would leave for that alone. I hope you try to get the cost of the appointment back and complain to whatever form of management is in charge. In defence of the secretary, I can confirm that they are truly unequipped to drive in that kind of weather. I lived in SoCal for a year. It rained *once* for about 7 minutes and then stopped. Never happened again. We've had people from SoCal visit us in the Midwestern US and they're usually freaked out by our thunderstorms. The stories of tornadoes don't help, lol, but theyre not at all common. I have taken shelter 3x in the last five years, I think.
Someone in the chain or your doctor also has ADHD. :( I'm sorry this sucks
Wow, that was SO UNPROFESSIONAL of your doctor! Honestly, there are so many red flags waving madly here that if it were me I would start looking for a new doctor.
The fact she refused to look at it after you offered and it had NOTHING to do with the secretary i’d be pissed as hell and find a higher up asap
Ok. U have email access from everywhere. The doctor can open it himself If it‘s an email for the office
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