Who's Avoiding Who?

[easysurfer]

Kind of funny actually what happened a moment ago. I was dozing off on my chair and the phone rang. It was from my doctor's (soon to be former) office. I was kind of sleepy and wasn't expecting the call so I avoiding picking up and let my voice mail take it. The message was about to call the dr office asking to set up an annual checkup or if I changed doctors, let them know.

Very good, so I try calling back but looks like they kind of avoided me as the caller called only about 10 minutes before their closing which had passed.

Fine. So I figure I'd just shoot them a message on their web portal. I log in, try to create a message, but it is set up to avoid taking any messages.

So, ends up, I'll just wait until tomorrow to call them during regular hours to let them know I'm changing doctors.

 

[aja8888]

Kind of funny actually what happened a moment ago. I was dozing off on my chair and the phone rang. It was from my doctor's (soon to be former) office. I was kind of sleepy and wasn't expecting the call so I avoiding picking up and let my voice mail take it. The message was about to call the dr office asking to set up an annual checkup or if I changed doctors, let them know.

Very good, so I try calling back but looks like they kind of avoided me as the caller called only about 10 minutes before their closing which had passed.

Fine. So I figure I'd just shoot them a message on their web portal. I log in, try to create a message, but it is set up to avoid taking any messages.

So, ends up, I'll just wait until tomorrow to call them during regular hours to let them know I'm changing doctors.

That's a shame. The online portal should have message capabilities after normal business hours.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Kind of funny actually what happened a moment ago. I was dozing off on my chair and the phone rang. It was from my doctor's (soon to be former) office. I was kind of sleepy and wasn't expecting the call so I avoiding picking up and let my voice mail take it. The message was about to call the dr office asking to set up an annual checkup or if I changed doctors, let them know.

Very good, so I try calling back but looks like they kind of avoided me as the caller called only about 10 minutes before their closing which had passed.

Fine. So I figure I'd just shoot them a message on their web portal. I log in, try to create a message, but it is set up to avoid taking any messages.

So, ends up, I'll just wait until tomorrow to call them during regular hours to let them know I'm changing doctors.

I don't see this as good enough reason to change doctors. The main question is whether you like your doctor. Lousy doctor office staff and poor website are endemic in the medical industry.

 

[easysurfer]

I don't see this as good enough reason to change doctors. The main question is whether you like your doctor. Lousy doctor office staff and poor website are endemic in the medical industry.

The doctor change happened before the call. I changed thanks to BCBS no longer offering an HSA eligible plan so I went with different insurance and the old doctor's office is no longer in network on my new insurance. I was ready for a doctor change anyhow after my doctor who I had seen for almost 30 years retired about 2 years ago. The call back tomorrow is courtesy to let them know my status and not ghosting them.

 

[marko]

Our City Hall email is similar. You write out a message and hit "Send" but then you get an error message saying that some of your key words are blocked, but it doesn't tell you what words.

So you keep deleting words and rephrasing over and over with the same error. Eventually you're down to a message that barely makes sense for it to pass the filter.

 

[erkevin]

"Lousy doctor office staff and poor website are endemic in the medical industry."

Oh boy, here is my recent saga. 10 days ago my urologist and i decided a procedure (aquablation) was greatly needed for my BPH. He gave me the name and number of his surgery scheduler. I waited 2 days and no call from her (maybe I was supposed to call?). I called, no answer, left voicemail. Couple days, no call back. I call again. No answer, left voicemail. No call back.

Weekend comes and goes. I call Monday morning. No answer, left voicemail. Tuesday morning I call the front desk of the medical clinic and explain the situation and ask for their help. I am told to hang on and they will see if they can reach her. She comes back, "I got her, I will transfer you". Nope, right to the same voicemail. I hang up and call the front desk again. They don't even answer my call; it rings (they see my name/number?) and immediately transfer me to the surgery scheduler's voicemail.

What is a person supposed to do?

 

[RetiredHappy]

"Lousy doctor office staff and poor website are endemic in the medical industry."

Oh boy, here is my recent saga. 10 days ago my urologist and i decided a procedure (aquablation) was greatly needed for my BPH. He gave me the name and number of his surgery scheduler. I waited 2 days and no call from her (maybe I was supposed to call?). I called, no answer, left voicemail. Couple days, no call back. I call again. No answer, left voicemail. No call back.

Weekend comes and goes. I call Monday morning. No answer, left voicemail. Tuesday morning I call the front desk of the medical clinic and explain the situation and ask for their help. I am told to hang on and they will see if they can reach her. She comes back, "I got her, I will transfer you". Nope, right to the same voicemail. I hang up and call the front desk again. They don't even answer my call; it rings (they see my name/number?) and immediately transfer me to the surgery scheduler's voicemail.

What is a person supposed to do?

My PCP's previous practice was just like that. I ended up driving to the office just to talk to them to get an appointment. My PCP left their practice and went concierge and I followed him. It costs us alot more but at least we have good front desk folks now.

 

[timbervest]

This is a curiously common occurance. I get calls from my doctors offices and they are invariably at 11:58 am or 4:58pm.

 

[easysurfer]

Wasn't the easiest, but I made the courtesy call to let the old dr's office know that I'm leaving them. I tried calling in the morning but the call tree led me to just leave a voice mail and have them call me back. I did that but then thought better I talk to a person. So I called again and chose the selection to make or cancel appointment (those that wasn't what I was doing). I did talk to a person. Person thought I was trying to schedule an appointment and I had explicitly say that my insurance changed, they are no longer in my network and I'm leaving them. After that she thanked me for calling back and letting them know.

 

[marko]

"Lousy doctor office staff and poor website are endemic in the medical industry."

Oh boy, here is my recent saga. 10 days ago my urologist and i decided a procedure (aquablation) was greatly needed for my BPH. He gave me the name and number of his surgery scheduler. I waited 2 days and no call from her (maybe I was supposed to call?). I called, no answer, left voicemail. Couple days, no call back. I call again. No answer, left voicemail. No call back.

Weekend comes and goes. I call Monday morning. No answer, left voicemail. Tuesday morning I call the front desk of the medical clinic and explain the situation and ask for their help. I am told to hang on and they will see if they can reach her. She comes back, "I got her, I will transfer you". Nope, right to the same voicemail. I hang up and call the front desk again. They don't even answer my call; it rings (they see my name/number?) and immediately transfer me to the surgery scheduler's voicemail.

What is a person supposed to do?

Similar experience. I actually went down and saw them in person. Finally got what I needed.

 

[Koolau]

Yeah, the portals are supposed to be able to handle all this stuff. Mine often says explicitly (You can not cancel this appointment from the portal. Call your provider directly).

I am scheduled for a procedure in a week and I noticed that the portal did not KNOW what time I was supposed to be there! I called the Dr. office to check and it went to voicemail. Not gonna take that chance so I called back until I got a human (3 calls later).

What was it that they started talking about in the 70s? Wasn't it the lack of communication between people. Guess what . It still is.

 

[Walt34]

...Nope, right to the same voicemail. I hang up and call the front desk again. They don't even answer my call; it rings (they see my name/number?) and immediately transfer me to the surgery scheduler's voicemail.

What is a person supposed to do?

What I would do is write them a snail-mail letter explaining the above sequence of events and why I was finding a new doctor. That's inexcusable. But in this area we do have choices, since we're close enough to three different hospitals (four if one includes Baltimore, but that's a bit of a hike) and their associated medical practices, to make them viable choices.

 

[erkevin]

Coincidentally, the surgery-scheduler called me 30 minutes ago. I am all set!

 

[isisdave]

Wasn't the easiest, but I made the courtesy call to let the old dr's office know that I'm leaving them. I tried calling in the morning but the call tree led me to just leave a voice mail and have them call me back. I did that but then thought better I talk to a person. So I called again and chose the selection to make or cancel appointment (those that wasn't what I was doing). I did talk to a person. Person thought I was trying to schedule an appointment and I had explicitly say that my insurance changed, they are no longer in my network and I'm leaving them. After that she thanked me for calling back and letting them know.

And that will be the end of it. She won't tell anyone, because there is no procedure set up for that**. Three years from now, someone reviewing vanished patients will call you to ask if you're alive and ever coming in.

**David's Law: when people don't know what to do, they do nothing.

 

[Car-Guy]

Sounds like some of you folks use the same doctors I do. (One is particularly bad) I've even mentioned it to the doctor and he just shrugs his shoulders. OTOH, I do seem to be able to get through to the billing dept pretty quick,,,,,, usually.

 

[Koolau]

What I would do is write them a snail-mail letter explaining the above sequence of events and why I was finding a new doctor. That's inexcusable. But in this area we do have choices, since we're close enough to three different hospitals (four if one includes Baltimore, but that's a bit of a hike) and their associated medical practices, to make them viable choices.

Yeah, once in a while, I'm tempted, but I tend to like my doctors (and don't really want to change) but the other things (like scheduling, billing, portal and parking) are a pain from time to time. No way to know if switching from Queens system to Kaiser or Hawaii Pacific Health, etc. would make a difference. Changing doctors would have no effect within the same system.

 

[aja8888]

All my doctors (3 of them) are located in the same building about 8 miles from me (Methodist Hospital complex). Parking is simple (valet) and I use the online portal for everything. I have not had to wait more than a few minutes to see any of them. In most cases, they take me early. I guess I am lucky!

 

[Koolau]

My Island network isn't too bad. Mentioned some shortcomings at Queens. So there IS room for improvement. Like my docs (I'd have to think a moment to count how many)

My mainland system is difficult to use though like my doctors. Had a billing issue (wrong address) and they didn't think to email me.

 

[akck]

My experience has been that I receive a voicemail to change my appointment. No phone ring, just the voicemail. My wife accuses me that I don’t hear it ring in my pocket. Not 5 minutes later, I get another voicemail while the phone is sitting in front of me. No ring. A couple of days later, my wife gets a voicemail from her doctor, with no ring. When did doctors offices not want to talk directly to patients?

 

[dak2018]

There are few areas in the US where doctors are clamoring for patients. I would not expect any sort of customer service focus going forward as there are plenty of patients to go around.

 

[us271934]

Just about all telephone contact methods for me (bank, Congressperson, doctor, etc., etc.) have shifted into replacing people with 'virtual operators' that are best dealt with by staying silent in response to their questions. Eventually I'll get a human or voicemail if the place has retained 10% of that concept known as customer service.
As a result I only attempt phone calls that absolutely need human intervention to about half of them and otherwise try to do stuff online to get them to respond...eventually.
But don't worry, AI will fix all of these inconveniences <insert eyerolling emoji here>

 

[RetiredHappy]

My experience has been that I receive a voicemail to change my appointment. No phone ring, just the voicemail. My wife accuses me that I don’t hear it ring in my pocket. Not 5 minutes later, I get another voicemail while the phone is sitting in front of me. No ring. A couple of days later, my wife gets a voicemail from her doctor, with no ring. When did doctors offices not want to talk directly to patients?

Do you have a cell reception issue where you are? It would do that if there is bad cell reception.

 

[us271934]

I recently was reading on how 'no ring' voicemails have been around for 10-ish years. There are businesses set up to just for that reason. Another style of human-free spamming.

 

[isisdave]

The original way to do this was to place a dummy call first; one second later, place the one with the message; immediately end the first call. The first call usually doesn't ring, but forces the second to voicemail. I suppose there are more modern ways now.


Again, we could solve this, and a lot of other spam calling, with Dave's Universal Solution: charge every call originator and call deliverer one cent per call, to be given to charity. One cent isn't much, but ten million cents is.

 

[Koolau]

The original way to do this was to place a dummy call first; one second later, place the one with the message; immediately end the first call. The first call usually doesn't ring, but forces the second to voicemail. I suppose there are more modern ways now.


Again, we could solve this, and a lot of other spam calling, with Dave's Universal Solution: charge every call originator and call deliverer one cent per call, to be given to charity. One cent isn't much, but ten million cents is.

But, but, but... We're doing away with pennies now!