Problems with Peditrician...

My sons EX ped. tried that with me. We ended up at the Memorial emergency room with pneumonia. The ped. said it was a sinus infection. Since then we've started seeing another doctor that not only tells me to bring him right in, she also gave me some great advice on my sons cold that is working like a charm. You may think about switching docs.

I take my daughter to Dr. Wells at Childrens clinic east. They came highly recommended. Twice I thought that Brittany was coming down with a serious cold and they saw me that day. I don't blame you for freaking out, I think I would have taken the baby to the emergency room if she was sick that often. Definately change doctors. There's nothing wrong with going to a doctor a few times to see if you like them, and if not, go to someone else. Good Luck.

I think I would go to the emergency room and when they ask why you didnt take them to their regular dr. tell them they couldnt see them for two day on the younger one --by then she may be so sick they put her in the hospital and the older one will be dehidrated and will wind up in the hospital. Just my opinion.

My doctor always fits my little girl in even when it isnt as severe. I suggest finding a new doctor.

G. i was havein the same trouble with a doc office here also and they have like 7 doc in the same place and when i finely did get to take him they was not very good with him this was with my 5yr old then when i had by baby he was a month early and was in the NICU for a week thats when i found the best doc ever for him.. She is in Mt. Juliet and i live in old hickory but it's well worth the drive to her.. She is the best doc i have ever seen.. She is one of them doc that will sit down and talk to you for hours if thats what it takes to ans all ur qustions.. She will call for 2 days after u have took them to the doc for been sick just to check to see how they are doin her name is Dana Haselton her # is ###-###-#### let me know how the babys are doin...

Find a new doctor and dont look back. The practice I take my son to has over ten pediatricians (sp) on staff and what they lack in being personable they make up for in convenience. I can get in him to see a doctor seven days a week and after hours. Not to mention having access to Vanderbilts Nurse line at any other time. Basically what I am saying is that you shouldnt have to compromise the health of you children or your mental well being, good service that you deserve is out there.

G. - I would say find another peds doctor ASAP. I can't believe that! You would think they would be more concerned and try to work it out for you. That kind of vomiting can lead to dehydration fast and for such young kids I would think that would be dangerous. If you feel comfortable with the doctor and don't want to change you need to make certain the dr knows the situation you've been in with her staff. Really though, I think I would just change drs. A mom would already be upset and worried over her kids' illnesses - she doesn't need the added worry and upset of having to deal with this kind of thing from her kids' doctor/office. If you will let us all know what area you are in I'm sure you could get a lot of good recommendations/suggestions for a new peds doctor from the group. best of luck... I hope your girls are better soon. C.

Hey there,

I am the clinical manager for a local pediatrician. I would be very angry if my staff allowed your situation to occur at my office. You are correct that many times the way a patient is handled is never made clear to the pediatrician. I would make an appointment to see the pediatrician and make it clear that the reason you feel the need to find a new practice is specifically related to the behavior of the support staff. Most physician offices are owned by an umbrella corporation such as Erlanger or Memorial Hospitals. I would recommend, in addition to speaking to your physician, that you write a letter of complaint to the governing company. Additionally, if you feel your child is too ill to wait for an available appointment, can you be seen at a local emergency room??
C.

Choose a different doctor to go see - - - that is unacceptable!!!! Especially for your 4 month old to be so sick and they wouldn't see her for 2 days. I had a similiar problem with my son's first doctor and switched to a better one and I (and him) are much happier!!

As others have said, FIND A NEW DOCTOR! That is totally unacceptable and I would even file a complaint w/ your Better Business Breau...there's NO WAY I'd sit back and allow this "practice" to get away w/ this!!!
WIsh I was in KY to help suggest another doctor, good luck and I hope your baby girls feel better ASAP!
M.

Hi G.,
I would HIGHLY suggest switching pediatricians. My pediatrician has always been very good about getting us in whenever we need it. If I call in the morning, I am in the office within 2 hours. It is not right for that pediatricians office to run that way. I had a problem with my ob/gyn recently. I have been seeing that office for 4 years and when I needed to get in urgently, they said they had too many patients and couldn't see me. That seems to be the new thing these days. The doctors take in more patients than they can handle and the patients are the ones who suffer for it. I, switched ob's and am much happier now (although I did want to stay with the same doc that delivered both of my children). My advice would be for you to write a letter directly to the doctor stating your issues. You may be right. She may not know how you and your children are being put on the back burner. In the meantime, I'd probably start asking around about good pediatricians in your area. Your kids deserve better treatment than that.
Best of luck,
M.

Find another peditrician! The one that I take my boys to, for the last 6 years, will see us as soon as I can get them there! That is the way it should be!

Find a new pediatrician. That is totally unacceptable. We've worked with three different pediatrician offices (because we've moved) and never have I had to wait to bring my kids in until the next day if I felt they should be seen that day.

Helll NO!! I'd look into reporting them to the medical review board or what it is in your state. Find another dr and then let them know why you're leaving. If you really like this dr though maybe try talking to him/her personally.They may not know what's going on in the front office. But do something and don't let them get away with that. Who knows how many others have gone thru the same thing.

I would get another Dr as soon as possible. I cannot believe they would turn a 4 month old away. I was told that once about my 6 yr old and I called the partner office and they said to make sure I talk to the nurse evrytime never the front desk. The nurse got me in within 1 hr I dont know if you talked to the nurse or not but I would talk directly to the Doctor about what happened and if they dont do anything I would leave and report them to the medical board and I would put them on the list here for everyonr to know how they are and I would inform the insurance people to let them know about the problem. Thats just crazy what if something major was wrong with your 4 month old I would raise all kind of **** with them.

I will pray for you and defintly pray for them.

i just want u to know that i know of a wonderful pediatritian who will c u as soon as it is needed... same day... he will always squeeze u in... u ought to check him out... he still sees my ex b/f and hes 27 and his friend who is 28... his name is Dr. Sobrinho... hes wonderful... ive never had any problems with his office and ive had all 5 of my sons seeing him...

Girl thats grounds for a beat down. I have NEVER had that happen. I have four kids from 12-2 never had that happen. I would so switch peds and report them to the the pediatrician now. sounds like they are trying to intimidate you as well. don;t let them. You pay them. My ped, keeps open slots all day for sick babies and any time any of my kids we sick before 12 months I would be ask if there was fever and if it was yes bring in immediately. good luck. If you live in d***son ornear i can recommend one.

Find another pediatrician. There are too many here in Macon for you to put up with that. If the child is sick, they should see her. I used to have a doctor like that and we no longer go there. I am in Macon and I see Dr. Seth Bush. He is by far the best I have talked to. He will see the baby no matter what is wrong expecially if they are vomiting. I could take my babies there as an emergency and he would work them in. Maybe talk to the doctor directly. Get him/her on the phone when you have something like this happen. Remember you are paying them to keep your child well.
I hope your baby feels better because there is nothing worse than a sick baby.

My pediatrician has walk-in hours every morning for exactly that situation, and if she can't see the kids her partner does. I would switch...there are better practices out there. If you want my info, send me a note and I'll pass it along. (We live in Loudon, TN)

L.

Thats rediculous , the should have available appointments for sick kids especially ones as sick as yours were, you have 2 options , call and ask to speak to the DR her self tell her whats going on, I had that problem when we were new in town and didnt have a dr yet new patiants, most of them said they couldnt see her same day because she was a new patiant and I called our current ped ( not current then but is now) and they got her in within the next 2 hrs, andit was only 2 hrs because I still had to get her dressed and all. or 2) find a new ped.
Did you actually talk to the advice nurse or just the appointment lady? if you talk to the advice nurse you will usually get in quicker b/c she can tell the appointment lady to fit you in sooner.

Dear G.,
I use the Rankin Children's Group, I have switched Pediatricians three times but found one that we are really happy with. RCG also uses Baptist after hours on Lakeland if you need to take your child in after regular hours. I have had very good experiences with both clinics. RCG just opened a new clinic in Dogwood Market, but the main office is on Crossgates in Brandon. Hope this helps. I would switch Dr.'s if I were you. You are your child's only advocate in this world of crazy insurance rules and less than helpful staff/personnel like the one at your Dr.'s office. After all this will be your child's Dr. for years to come.
C. B

Seriusly???
No, that is unacceptable, the safety of your children and your peace of mind when it cames to that should be number ONE for a Dr's office, especially to pediatrician, when time is of the essence with small children.I think you must find another group of doctors ASAP, you should be able to interview some of then before you make your desicion find someone that you feel confortable with and confident that they would respond to you and your babies in an emergency.Ask arround and according with the type of insurance you have, try, like I said, to interview a coupple of them. And another thing, if the doctors don't know how their staff is handeling their patients , maybe you could have a talk with them and let them know how unhappy you are, that may actually help other patients in your same situation.You should never have to wait like that again.

Good Luck!
A.

I would find another peditrician! I have a 3 year old and a 3 month old, so I understand your situation. I have never had a problem like that at my peditrian's office. If you want to try them....I go to Peditric Partners in Evans, and we see Dr. Jones. Hope they can help....

Nothing is wrong with changing pediatricians if you feel yours is not what you want. I had to switch three times to get to my current pediatrician whome I am completely satisfied with. My first ped. did the same thing for my daughter and when I took her to the er she had bronchulitus. Go with your gut and your child deserves to have a doctor that is there for you.

I have to agree with the responses here: you need a new pediatrician now. I have wonderful relationship with ours - he not only will see my daughter right away any time I need him to, he also calls every day after that appointment until she is well just to check on her and make sure we don't need anything. I'd be happy to recommend him (I know they are taking new patients now) if you want to send me a private message.

The first sight of a problem with a pedi. Dr. i would find me a new one. That is someone you want to trust and depend on. We have a wonderful relationship with ours and he has weekend hours to.If your child is sick you can get in that day. We are in knoxville if interested and close let me know and i will give you his name. Thanks and good luck

Hey G..
I had a similar thing happen to me with my youngest son.My doctor could not see him nor my second choice.They wanted him to see a doctor in the office that doesn't have many patients because no one likes him.I refused and they told me to take him to urgent care but then refused to okat it. So I waited till they closed and took him to the ER. He was really sick upper res. infection he was 8 months old at the time his first time really being sick. I called around the next day talking with a few doctors and found one in my town that I really liked and a few of his nurses were actually from my old office. We have been there ever since. My doctor now will see the kids no matter what. They get in the day I call.
You really do need to find a doctor you should never be refused when you child is sick.

Hello, G.. I use Rivertown Pediatrics and have not personally had that problem. However, Morgan HAS become ill afterhours and when that happened to immediately took her to a Pediatric AfterHours Emergency Center. My understanding is that an Emergency Room HAS to take a sick child.

You might want to consider changing doctors as well.

~C.

Hey, I know what you mean I have a 23 month old son, Hunter, on December 1st he woke up screaming at the top of his lungs at 1:00 a.m. he had a temp of 100.5, i gave him some tylenol and he woke up off and on until 5 a.m. At this time he had a fever of 101.7 and vomitting.I gave him some ibroprophen (bad spelling) At about 8 a.m. I called the ask-a-nurse and they told me to call the ambulance because I had no other way of transportation, I called them they came and checked him out they said he wasnt dehydrated and he just had a fever. A neighbor came over to see what was going on, she said she would take us to Hunters pediatricians office to call and see if they could work him in, I called at 9:00 a.m. and they said they couldnt see him until 11:00. The neigbor called them back and got them to see him earlier than 11:00. I took him to his doctor and as soon as he seen him he said he was admitting him into the hospital he was dehydrated and had a fever of 103.5 in the hospital. He also had a virus. We were there for 4 days and he was miserable. He is glad to be home now.

i would talk to the doctor

I dont know what peditrician you use, but mine is at Baptist Children's Clinic on Lakeland Drive. I have 3 kids and Dr. Thompson (or any other physician we have seen there) have always been wonderful. And if you think the doc isnt aware of the problems, you could call and talk to him personally.

I was wondering, my doctor's office has done similar things...it's not Suwanne Ped's is it?

G., That is seem to be a sign of a overwhelmed practice with too many patients. So the first issue of "waiting2 days for a sick child" is totally unacceptable at my office www.kennesawpediatrics.com (not close to you) but the have a SAME DAY GUARANTEE to see sick kids who warrant it as yours did. However the second issue about calling in meds to mask the symptoms is NOT appropriate. AntiEmetics can mask/hide serious physical and history findings when the child IS examined which may confuse/complicate a run of the mill tummy bug from a life threatening emergency (intussuseption for example). So while Parents think Pedis should "just call something in nights/weekends/holidays base on 'good guess" diagnosis.... it is a very dangerous and potentially very server consequences should it be something more. Prime example; I get this cal weekly "my child has strep... I know its strep... I don't need a stupid doctor to tell me its strep" JUST CALL IN ABX. Unfortunately Strep can and often become invasive creating posterior abscesses in the pharynx that require surgery and can "eat" their way thru the thin cranium and sinuses to the brain cavity leading to disastrous consequences. NOw if a practice "triages" patients away on busy days.... they should have trusted places to send you "quality pediatric urgent cares with which they have a relationship (not a Pharmacy NursePractior in a box who rarely know anything about proper pediatric care. On the last day when you were given an appointment.... a 5 hour delay VERY reasonable time window. (but this should have happened on the first day.

You have to be your childs advocate. Talk to the doctor and find out if these things are done with her knowing about it or is it just the person answering the phone taking matters into their own hands. If its the doctor doing it may be time for a new ped., if its the office staff then I would expect the dr. to speak to the staff about the issues at hand. I am not sure if it works this way here but in MO we had an insurance that rewarded the doctors that belong to the network if they did NOT order certain test, therapies and medications. I only know because my OB/GYN was closing his practice after I saw him through-out my last pregnancy. When I questioned him as to why he told us about the insurance company wanting him to limit what test, meds etc...he could prescribe. If he went against the grain and ordered these things for patients then the insurance would only reimburse a portion of his fees. He decided that he could not continue like this and went to work for a firm thath was trying to change these things.

I wouldn't recommend giving a child something to stop vomiting since it is most likely the natural response of her body to something. Next time take her to the urgent care clinic. Get the approval of your insurance provider first if you have a PPO or an HMO. If you have a reg. indemnity plan then you can take her anywhere or your plan might allow her to go outside the PPO for a little less coverage. Most areas have an urgent care clinic.

Here are some Urgent Care centers just in case it happens again.

* Primary Care Center Incorporated
###-###-####, 870 Collins Hill Rd Ne, Lawrenceville, GA Get directions
* Woodstock Pediatric Medicine
###-###-####, 2000 Professional Way, Woodstock, GA Get directions
www.woodstockpeds.com
* Prime Care Medical Center
###-###-####, 1628 Market Place Blvd, Cumming, GA Get directions
www.primecaremedicalcenter.net

* Mason Immediate Care
###-###-####, Duluth, GA
* Pavilion Urgent Care - At Pavilion Urgent Care we provide exceptional urgent care services for you and your entire family with the convenience you deserve.
###-###-####, Fayetteville, GA
www.pavilionurgentcare1.com
* Northside Urgent Care and Family Medicine
###-###-####, 5610 Bethelview Rd, Cumming, GA Get directions
www.northsideurgentcare.com

OR YOU CAN SEARCH KUDZU.COM
http://www.kudzu.com/categoryMain.jsp?&N=1100&cur...

Glad to hear your girls are doing better. If you decide to go with a new pediatrician, consider one that has multiple doctors in the office. That way, if your regular doctor's schedule is overbooked (as is sadly often the case), a different doctor in the same group would have access to your records and be able to consult with your primary doctor if necessary. There are eight physicians and two nurse practitioners in our pediatricians office and we've always been able to get in quickly with a sickness. I worked in a physician's office for one year (that was all I could stand) a long time ago, but I remember how protective the staff could be of the doctors. I used to think they cared more about leaving the office on time than working with patients. Hope this wasn't the case with your group.

G., I am not sure what kind of insurance you have, but you really need to try Gwinnett Pediatricians/Gwinnett Peds at the Lawrenceville office. They are the best ever. They take all kinds of insurances except government offered ones (medicaid and etc). When my child is sick they will tell me to bring him on in. They work him in no matter how busy they are. It has happened so many times. They are honestly the greatest, and I have been through 3 different ped. offices since my son was born 8 months ago. Try it. Wish you the best.

i have 4 kids and i had the same problem.i finally had to switch doctors.its gonna keep happening and your child is important.

find another pediatrician!!! but 1st i would TRY calling and asking to speak directly with your pediatrician. if he/she doesn't respond(most won't speak with you right then, but should give you a time they can call you back...such as after 5pm...after seeing patients. i would definetly tell the pediatrician everything that went on b/c, you're right, she may just have a lazy staff...and if nobody tells her, then she can't correct that. My kids pediatrician is wonderful!!! her name is Aimee Christian(i also recommend Maite Delamarens or Charlotte Dick in that practice). I don't know if she's taking new patients or not, but it would be worth a try!! Hope that's not the office you had trouble with!!!! I'm assuming you're in memphis...i'm new to this mamasource thing! But you should stand up for yourself and expect to be treated better!!! Good luck!

OMG! There is NOTHING right about that situation. I am so sorry that you went through that. I just took my child in (they got her right in and they are a busy office). My daughter ended up in the ER and then admitted for two days to Scotish Rite Children's hospital. Thing is, I did not even know if she was really sick! She was not running a fever and was not whinny or clingy- she went to school the day before!

On the follow up, the doctor told me that it was only one of two cases of tonsils being that enlarged in the ten+ years he has practiced. He then told me that "in his opinion" if I had waited even ten hours longer, they probably would have had to place a trach for her to breath!

I would never allow an office to say no to caring for my child exhibiting the signs you mentioned! I would talk to the doctor (without paying a co-pay either!!!) and if that was not satisfactory (and probably would anyways), I would change pediatrians.

The other thing that you may have done in hind sight, is take her to the ER. It probably would cost a bit more, but that kind of throwing up is not good for those little bodies!

My prayers go out to you and your family for a healthy rest of the year!

Definitely find another doctor if they do nothing. Too many doctors don't care enought these days about there patients. I hope things are better for you and your family. Thank goodness it wasn't worse, something similar happened to my sister and my nephew ended up in the er.

Find a new doctor!!!!

get a new pediatrician. the first one that i had, while very nice, was so overworked that it was impossible to get more than 5 minutes alone with her. If you are in the East Cobb or Kennesaw I would happy to give you the number and name of our new peds. L.

Being a doctor myself, the reason they wouldn't call anything in is because it is a HUGE liability to treat a child who is vomitting, or any other type of potentially serious illness, over the phone. When a child is vomitting, a parent automatically thinks, virus- stop the vomitting. That isn't alway the best thing to do. There is no real meds. that will help a virus. (less is best) It has to run it course. You don't want to give meds to stop a child from vomitting unless they continue to do so without stopping. When a doctor hears vomitting, there is all kinds of things that go through our heads and we have to be able to see and touch that child to diagnose them. It is probably against the doctors policy to call in any meds. without seeing the child first. On the other hand, if that child is violently ill, we always try to get them worked in but, there are times when we are unable to do so. Make sure you were talking with the doctors nurse and not someone up front at the desk. Always make sure you speak with the nurse. I sometimes have to be out early or on time to do something with my child. Those times the doctor should give her permission for another doctor to see the child. As a last resort, take the child to the ER. Do as you plan and speak with the doctor personally. We may not always see eye to eye but I always appreciate a patients parents concerns.