AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!

I was traumatized yesterday. Seriously hysterical crying to my husband on the phone like I haven't for at least 3 years. I might be accused of blog-hogging, but if there are no new posts on a Wednesday, then I say I am free to post the next day...and I am. The following is a letter that I want to send. My husband is telling me that paying the balance is worth further trauma being incurred. Anybody have experience with demanding customer service in the medical world?

March 30, 2006

Dear To Whom It May Concern,

It is my experience that when a medical professional and his patient come together for an appointment that the needs of the patient should be at the forefront of all discussion and activities that occur at said appointment. The doctor should listen to the patient and hear her concerns and needs. Questions should be asked and answered between the two, to get to the bottom of the health crisis and begin the healing process.

Yesterday I had an appointment with Dr. Chiaramonte at the Boro Medical Center in Long Island City, New York. I trusted that he would be a good doctor because he was listed on my insurance’s website. My experience with him was the most negative I have ever had with a medical professional, and left me feeling traumatized by the entire experience. Here is my list of complaints about the appointment with the Doctor:

• The doctor talked about himself most of the visit. I now know that he has an adopted daughter with red hair and blue eyes who is living with her fiancé, they have a 3 ½ year old daughter. Her fiancé used to play in a band that sold over 400,000 copies of their record, but left the band to start a new one. His daughter plays string bass in the new band. The doctor wishes that his future son-in-law would get a more promising job etc. etc. etc.

• He asked me about my symptoms and I think the only one I shared with him was my swollen vocal chords, and that is what prompted the personal story-telling. He did not ask me about my personal or social histories, family background, or previous allergy treatments.

• I told him that I had had my medical records forwarded to him and he said that knowing this office, they were probably lost. I was upset about this because that has my entire, complicated medical history of the past 15 years. He showed no regard for that history or the fact that it was now unaccounted for.

• He prepared 8 needles. I asked him what he was doing, he answered: “Don’t worry this won’t hurt”. I had not asked: “Will this hurt?”. Perhaps he has never had a patient that wants to be educated about procedures and what a doctor might be inserting into their bodies. Of course I recognized it as scratch testing, but I wanted to know what each needle contained. After pressing, I only know 2 out of 8: ragweed and dust.

• I mentioned my shrimp allergy. He went on to tell me about a $40,000 treatment that I was eligible for if my blood levels were elevated to a certain number, but that the treatment was only approved for asthma patients, so “we” would have to lie and say that I had asthma. He then referred me to the book that he wrote, told me to read a certain chapter and think about it.

• He mentioned his book to me at least 3 times, told me to read it and he would sign it (as if he was doing me a big favor).

• Every time I tried to express concerns that I had he told me to “slow down” and started talking about himself again.

• I left with 5 prescriptions. I have experience with only one. I asked for an explanation and I still can’t tell you what they are for or why I need them. One of the “prescriptions” was a website where I could go to read one of his recently published short stories that I showed absolutely no interest in hearing about or reading.

• Every time my baby made a sound he would stop talking, as if it was a great inconvenience to speak over a child.

• Every time I stood up to try and bounce the baby to get her to stop making noise, he ordered me to sit down.

• He asked me my name and I said: “Kage” and he replied… “Oh that’s my daughter’s name” And yet, he wrote my husband’s first initial and last name on all the prescriptions.

Here is my list of complaints about the facility:
• I arrived at the medical center and there was a pool of red blood in front of the check-in counter that I did not notice until my 4-year-old child stepped in it.

• I was forced to wait to see the doctor until my insurance paper work had been approved. After 20 minutes I explained that I would pay the bill no matter if my insurance covered it or not, and could I please see the doctor, ten minutes later I went in.

• After the appointment they tried to force me to wait as they still hadn’t heard from the insurance company. I explained that they had my contact information and they could contact me if I owed them money. I left the building because I had another appointment that I was late for, and they ran after me. I calmly explained that I would come by first thing in the morning the next day if there were still problems, and I left. I followed up with a telephone call and they said everything had come through. Of course it did. That was a lot of unnecessary waiting and drama.

At first I found the situation ridiculous and kept telling myself that the situation would resolve itself. Then as it progressed into more and more stories and the Doctor encouraging me to lie about my health and buy his book, I was almost brought to tears, 3 different times. He said he wanted to see me in two weeks, and it is not clear why he would need to. I left the office and sobbed. I felt that he was condescending, egotistical, incompetent, and inappropriate in every way. I finally understand why people sue for pain and suffering. The 30 minutes of time I spent in that small room with that doctor was truly the most traumatizing I have spent with any medical professional. I don’t intend to sue, but I also don’t intend to pay. If there is a balance left after my insurance pays, I will not be paying for this mockery of a doctor’s “services”.

I will be contacting my insurance company to inquire of any provisions or circumstances in which they can refuse to pay as well. This doctor should have his license revoked, and stop practicing medicine and continue on his path of trying to be a published writer, for that he can do in seclusion, and not hurt innocent victims like myself.

With sincerity,
Kage