Wellness

[ScrapHappy]

I get texts after a doctors all the time to fill out a survey.  I never fill it out though.  My daughters friend wrote a review about her dentist.  It wasn't a good review.  The dentist office called her parents.  She got in a lot of trouble.  I don't know what she wrote or how the dentists office knew it was her.  

[Sooner]

I have started to look at surveys as simply another racket, and a way to mine for information.

If I am unhappy, as @hckynut does, I let 'em know!  Otherwise, I very very seldom do ANY survey now.  

[hckynut]

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@granddi wrote:

I don't think the doctors and clinics really care about negative surveys. The practices are full and one less patient won't matter. 

@granddi 

Might be hard for you to believe, judging from your comment. There are doctors who do care about their patients. I have been to more doctors than the  average person, and my experiences, along with my wife's, have been quite the opposite of your above statement.

hckynut(john)

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[GoneButNotForgotten]

to the OP, yes I did.

A few years ago my DH had a medical procedure at a local hospital's out-patient facility. I was shocked and outraged when doctors discussed their patient's condition, WITH THEIR FAMILIES RIGHT THERE IN THE LOBBY, where everyone and their brother could overhear.

I wrote a letter that fairly scorched the page. Did they know about HIPA laws? privacy rules? Were they aware of all the rules they'd broken and how much LEGAL AND FINANCIAL trouble they were exposing themselves to? etc. etc.

I got a phone call from one of the suits a few days later and told him exactly what I thought of their level of patient care. I don't know if they paid any attention but not one could say they hadn't been warned.

[GoneButNotForgotten]

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@granddi wrote:

I don't think the doctors and clinics really care about negative surveys. The practices are full and one less patient won't matter. 

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I think you're close to being right but one thing doctors/hospitals, etc. don't want to be bothered with is LEGAL ACTION. When I complained to a hospital about my husband's treatment, I gave them names, dates, every detail I could remember, PLUS my name, address, phone number, and email.

You can bet you *ss I heard back from them.

[homedecor1]

For years I didn't bother to complete the survey that came after our doctor visits only because I always was pleased.

BUT -- our primary physician is now part of the Baycare Medical system and not only is he "not interested" "rushes" and "takes a week or 2 to respond" -- but his PA is worse.  I have now called 6 times to have spouse meds refilled going on 15 days NO RETURN CALL.  

Finally today I went into the office -- PA was  "snippy" as one could be -- told her he needed this medicine - she said "well, the doctor hasn't approved it I'll talk to him" -- 15 days and she still hasn't talked to him...give me a break!

 today at 5 they called and she told me "we sent his Rx over to  mail away" -- OMG I bit my tongue I told her several times to send it to LOCAL drugstore!!!  Guess it's another 7-10 days before he gets it!

So, you better believe I'm filling out every survey -- every appointment is WORSE THAN THE LAST right from the check-in to seeing him! Grrrr...time to change for sure!!! (But, my friends say they are all alike now that all the doctors are being bought out by these big corporations!)

And to answer the question-  I get "standard reply email" no one has called me as I don't give them the option to as I made a appointment to meet with my doctor and I'll tell him myself!  The "people" who call from these surveys don't care one way or the other - they are just pencil pushers!

[proudlyfromNJ]

I've never received a survey. 

[jubilant]

I recently had to visit the emergency room. They told me (upon release) that I should see my family doctor within 3 days.   I called my family doctor and she was so busy she couldn't see me but they said her NP could see me at their other location another town away.  I said ok (even though I picked this doctor, in part, because her office was only 8 minutes away from me).  The scheduler came back on the phone and gave me the appointment time with the NP....yet another week out!  I said to the scheduler, "did you remember that I was supposed to be seen within the next 3 days"?  She said , "yes, but that's the first I can get you in".  I told her to cancel it.  She asked me if I wanted to reschedule and I said, "no". 

She then asked me, "Can I ask you why you don't want to reschedule" and I said, "I think I'll be changing doctors. I prefer to have a doctor that gets to know their patient and the patient gets to know them. I picked Dr.......  because I really liked her but, the truth is, I rarely get to see her". I told her the last 3 or 4 times I have been handed off to 3 different NP's and 1 new MD at their establishment.  I also said, " while they were all nice, I would like to see the doctor I chose once in a while".  The scheduler thanked me for my reply.

Another thing that really rubbed me the wrong way is  my doctor is advertising for new patients!? I have been told that this is the new way of "doctoring".  It's getting more and more like a walk-in clinic everywhere you go or so I'm told.   We have also been told that it's the way our government wants it.  Anyway I have a new family doctor whom I will be seeing in August for the "new patient" visit.  

[bubbiem]

Some hospital systems use the surveys to evaluate and compensate providers. If you do not wish to be contacted, do not leave your name and phone number

[jannabelle1]

Maybe it depends on who is conducting the survey. After having a negative experience with my cardiologist's office two years in a row, I completed a survey sent via email. (All of my doctors are part of a large medical network in my area.) Several weeks later I received a phone call from the cardiologist's office with an apology and statement that they were working on the issues I experienced.

I had my annual appointment with him a couple of weeks ago, and there were absolutely no issues this time. For me, the survey was a good thing, and my comments were obviously shared with my cardiologist. The medical network has high standards for customer care, and they obviously take the surveys seriously.