DEAR DR. GOTT:
I have been a nurse for more than 30 years. I believe that patients must trust and believe in their physicians to benefit fully from their treatments and plan of care. I would like to share my story with you and your readers.
My parents have been seeing the same physician for 25 years. I have questioned some of his practices in the past but felt it was my parents’ choice to see someone with whom they felt comfortable. For example, my mom saw the physician annually for a full physical and lab work but had to return for a second appointment to get the results (she gets two separate charges for this).
The following scenario explains a lot about this physician’s judgment.
After suffering from several strokes, my 83-year-old father has required total care from my 80-year-old mother. He is essentially bed bound with the exception of my mother using a Hoyer lift to get him up for about three hours a day.
He was hospitalized for 10 days a while ago because of a urinary tract infection (he had vomiting, abdominal pain and no output from his colostomy). While there he was treated with IV antibiotics and put on a clear liquid diet which made him even weaker.
Just before he was discharged, the physician voiced concern about a lesion on Dad’s face that he thought might be skin cancer and wanted to have it removed. Mom said that she felt this was the least of his problems but the doctor persisted saying that this was very serious and that she needed to bring him into the office to have it removed. She told him that this was impossible because she couldn’t get him there by herself. He should realize this because he always sent a nurse practitioner to the house to do exams and blood work. The physician then had the nerve to suggest she call a taxi and have the driver carry Dad to the car, drive them to the office and then carry him into the building.
This is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. The doctor already knew my father was very fragile and he was suggesting that an untrained person risk Dad’s safety, as well as the considerable liability, to lift and carry him!
I don’t understanding why, if the physician felt this was so serious, that he didn’t just order a dermatology consult while Dad was still in the hospital. He could have had the lesion removed without the hassle and potential danger of having to get him into the office.
Since that time, my mother has left this physician. She always dreaded going to her appointments as she didn’t like the way she was treated by both the doctor and the staff. Just before she left, she was having a problem with hypertension and went to have it checked. During the visit, the nurse questioned why she hadn’t returned to have an ulcer tested. Mom explained that since it wasn’t causing her any problems she felt it was unnecessary. The nurse then proceeded to call her belligerent. Needless to say, she won’t be returning there for anything.
DEAR READER:
As much as I try to put faith in my fellow colleagues, every once in a while a letter like yours comes my way. Your parents’ experiences are terrible and there is no excuse for the physician’s or his staff’s behaviors. You were right to get your parents out of there.
About Dr. Gott