Doctor problem; do I look elsewhere? Long, but I really need some wisdom!

[blondeatlast]

The situation:

Thursday, I called the manufacturer of my insulin pump to tell them that it was doing some strange things. They immediately sent out a loaner and helped me figure a workaround, but warned me to call my endo for a backup plan.

Okay, so I called the endo's office and was told that he was on vacation, but if I had a problem, they had another doctor available to take his calls. This was about 4:00 in the PM. Pump is still working with the workaround.

Well, at 8:30 PM it failed completely. Called my doc's service--

They called my doc WHO WAS ON VACATION IN INDIA (his homeland, and fwiw, my husband's as well. FWIW, hubby was on business in Europe).

He was angry at me, and couldn't tell me what to do, but also told me NOT to go to the ER. I did anyway, and the ER doc, while very helpful and kind, was irritated (not at me) that I had to come in for help. She found the protocol (I had Googled for the answer every way I could think of, to no avail).

Note: I understand that the pump mfg. cannot give medical advice, so I bear them no ill will in this. In fact, they were as helpful as it was within their power to be.

Doc is very good, and one of the kinder endos I've come actross, and I've been to several. Except for this incident, he's been very helpful, if a bit distant.

I have an app't Friday with him, and I would prefer to keep him as my doctor, but that experience really rattled me--he was as livid as I can imagine him ever getting. Of course, the mistake was the answering service, not me, and I can even understand his angfer under the circumstances, so I'm really torn.

Help! I HATE changing doctors under any circumstances, but I've done it when I felt it necessary. In this case, I'm not sure it is, but am still rattled by the situation.

[Warpy]

1. If he's a good doc, and you seem to think he is

despite the cultural difference that make his bedside manner seem a little distant, keep him if you can.

Just make sure he will give you a written protocol in case the pump breaks down again and he isn't reachable.

You will need to have that protocol changed if your insulin pump requirements change.

He should be willing to do this for you since it's already been a problem, if only to put your mind at ease. If he isn't, find out WHY, then evaluate whether or not a homegrown endo might be preferable.

[REP]

2. A Professional Does Not Take His Anger Out On a Patient. Ever.

I'm not sure why he was angry - because his answering service referred an emergency call from one of his patients to him? If he wasn't the correct doctor to call (I'd guess the on-call doctor would have known what to do and was in the country), this was an error on the answering service's part, and not yours.

If it were me, I'd make it clear to him that I was extremely displeased by his display of unprofessionalism, and that if he has problems with his answerign service, the correct person to take it up with is the service's supervisor, and not the patient who simply called her doctor's office when a medical emergency arose. This isn't a matter of "cultual differences" - in no culture is being angry and rude towards a patient for another's mistake acceptable.

Ultimately, of course, the choice is yours. If you think you can trust his after such a blatant display of unprofessional and petty behavior, and think he has given you decent care in the past, he may be worth retaining. On the other hand, if "distant" is a polite way of saying "uninterested" or "rude," it may be time to look for a doctor who actually does more than dispense the legal minimum of care.

[mopinko]

3. me personally, fubar is fubar

when a doctor makes a mistake with you, they have their eye on the rear view mirror ever after. unless it is hard to find another, go.

[blondeatlast]

4. UPDATE: got the reminder call, they couldn't have been nicer.

Since the receptionist is the doc's wife, I'm pretty sure they feel bad about what happened. I have an app't Monday (18th), so we'll see how it goes.

I know for a fact that he did write the order for a new insulin pump, so I'm just waitning for damn CIGNA to do the stuff.

Anyway, at least I have some breathing room.

Thanks for the advice, I weighed it carefully. I'll let you know how it goes on Monday.