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Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,537
Registered: ‎03-15-2010

Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

Scary stuff.

My friend recently had an appointment with her MD and was seen by the PA due to a scheduling problem.

 

She checked her results on Saturday through the patient portal and read that she needed a follow-up biopsy immediately.  

Yesterday the office called her to report the PA and the MD reviewed her report and everything was fine, see you in 3 years.

 

She questioned the nurse about the ADDITIONAL notes further down on the page about needing a biopsy.  The nurse was like .....wait a minute, "oh I see that, let me call you back." 

 

Today she spoke with the doctor, she needs 5 different biopsies to rule out several things.

 

She is finding a new doctor/surgeon.  With her family history and her own medical history she needs better care.

 

If you want it done right do it yourself.

 

 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 69,391
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

Nowdays you have to be your own advocate in regard to your medical care. 

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment
Respected Contributor
Posts: 4,272
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's


@Kachina624 wrote:

Nowdays you have to be your own advocate in regard to your medical care. 


Amen to that!

 

@Abrowneyegirl 

 

Thankfully your friend questioned them!

“I heard the sound I had to follow”
In Your Wildest Dreams by Justin Hayward
Honored Contributor
Posts: 13,401
Registered: ‎07-15-2016

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

And .... get second opinions! 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,233
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

@Abrowneyegirl   whether it’s a doctor or a pa, there are excellent and there are scary bad.  

 

where I live, to find a doctor taking new patients can mean a wait of months to get an appointment.  Even many of our primaries are overbooked - mine is, but he maintains an office with 3 PA’s.  To date, I haven’t talked with anyone who has had a bad experience like your friend did; so glad she was alert to the errors.  Hope she gets good news going forward.

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,763
Registered: ‎07-26-2019

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

Everyone should be proactive in their health care . It pays to get in a habilt of  obtaining and keeping copies of  all diagnostics and medical records. I wonder if  the Pa & Md only saw the preliminary results of  the  report and then later the specialist made an additional recomendation ? Was it a radiology report  ? Yes, I would  seek other health care providers since this makes it difficult to have a trusting relationship with  these providers .

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,537
Registered: ‎03-15-2010

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's


@skatting44 wrote:

Everyone should be proactive in their health care . It pays to get in a habilt of  obtaining and keeping copies of  all diagnostics and medical records. I wonder if  the Pa & Md only saw the preliminary results of  the  report and then later the specialist made an additional recomendation ? Was it a radiology report  ? Yes, I would  seek other health care providers since this makes it difficult to have a trusting relationship with  these providers .


They both signed off on the reports and handed it to the RN to call her with no recommendations other than to re-schedule regular follow-up in 3 years.

The fact that they BOTH signed it as reviewed is what really upset my friend.  Even the nurse said that it looks like they did not read the full report just the first paragraph.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,611
Registered: ‎10-25-2010

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

Things like this happen more than people realize.

 

My brother went through a whole series of pre-surgical tests which included a chest

x-ray.  The results were sent to the surgeon and to his PCP.

 

Not one of them noticed or even told my brother that there was a small suspicious spot on his lung.  A few years went by before he again needed a chest x-ray for surgery on his foot.

 

The spot on his lung was now a mass.  Long story short.  He passed from lung cancer at age 51.  Two different doctors, both MD's never even read the report except for maybe the first couple of sentences.

 

 

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,634
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

@Carmie  What an awful story.  That should never have happened. That made me sad for you. 

 

I’m close to my brother, who is 15 months younger. He calls regularly to talk—maybe only for 15 minutes but we check up on each other. It would be an extreme loss for me if we lost him. Which is why your story touched my heart. 🙁

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,496
Registered: ‎01-14-2017

Re: Perhaps we need to go back to school to become PhD's

 

@Abrowneyegirl That is a really bad experience.  What is also really scary is "see you in 3 years."  All health insurance covers a yearly physical with no deductible (the law requires it), and doctors see patients at least once a year.

 

So yes I would be looking for a different doctor.