Wierd Office... is it normal?

[soy 0]

I'm doing a revision surgery and found a doctor who's supposed to be amazing. (the dr who did my original surgery has since retired) He's the head of Bariatric surgery at the big University in my town and seemed very confident and gave me a positive vibe in his introduction videos. But find this new doctor's office and staff very strange.

- First, I have yet to meet the guy, 1 month into appointments and tests (endoscopy, upper GI, psych, nutrition, etc).

- I have only communicated once with the nurse practitioner. She never got back to me with any of the results of the tests and I had to call her for them.

- The meeting with the nutritionist was a joke, where he basically met with me for 10 minutes to give me a handout that said what my diet would be after surgery and told me to practice chewing and not lose too much weight or I wouldn't be eligible. He also wouldn't look me in the eye... so strange...

- The meeting with the psychologist was wierd too... no eye contact either, just filled out information on her computer. (I will say the group therapy she's making me do is the only real thing that might help in this whole process).

- The insurance advocate gets things done but I only find out if I call her constantly.

- They never answer the phone at the office

- In the one month I started the process, they have lost a nutritionist and a medical assistant...

Is this normal??? The doctor himself seems very qualified, and I think the Group Therapy is actually helpful!

[frust8 962]

Sounds almost like you're in a parallel Universe, a psychologist who doesn't make eye contact, a doctor that you haven't met, a nutritionist with a paper diet, phones that don't get answered, a nurse practitioner who never answers questions? Yep, sounds like the Twilight Zone to me!

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[GreenTealael 24,868]

It's possible they are going through a few personnel changes and you caught them at an awkward time

[sharonintx 1,275]

Get a new Dr is the best advice I can think of. Even if they are having personnel changes etc. Surgeons are running a business just like any other business. If the customer service is lacking in any way, then your time and money is better spent elsewhere.

[jenpa 34]

If this is how it is before surgery.... how will it be after? Just a thought.

[Jerseygirl4523 44]

On 3/13/2018 at 12:20 AM, soy said:

I'm doing a revision surgery and found a doctor who's supposed to be amazing. (the dr who did my original surgery has since retired) He's the head of Bariatric surgery at the big University in my town and seemed very confident and gave me a positive vibe in his introduction videos. But find this new doctor's office and staff very strange.

- First, I have yet to meet the guy, 1 month into appointments and tests (endoscopy, upper GI, psych, nutrition, etc).

- I have only communicated once with the nurse practitioner. She never got back to me with any of the results of the tests and I had to call her for them.

- The meeting with the nutritionist was a joke, where he basically met with me for 10 minutes to give me a handout that said what my diet would be after surgery and told me to practice chewing and not lose too much weight or I wouldn't be eligible. He also wouldn't look me in the eye... so strange...

- The meeting with the psychologist was wierd too... no eye contact either, just filled out information on her computer. (I will say the group therapy she's making me do is the only real thing that might help in this whole process).

- The insurance advocate gets things done but I only find out if I call her constantly.

- They never answer the phone at the office

- In the one month I started the process, they have lost a nutritionist and a medical assistant...

Is this normal??? The doctor himself seems very qualified, and I think the Group Therapy is actually helpful!

How did they take you on as a patient if you haven’t met him yet??

[soy 0]

The nurse practitioner saw me and has supposedly been communicating with the doctor.

[Jerseygirl4523 44]

9 hours ago, soy said:

The nurse practitioner saw me and has supposedly been communicating with the doctor.

Interesting, I’ve heard of that before, but not for surgeons.

The office I use is friendly, but getting them on the phone is a hassle. They pick up, but the person they transfer you to might not lol.

I’ve been trying to track down my pathway coordinator to verify what remaining requirements I need and I haven’t gotten a call back yet.

[brookie 89]

that all sounds strange to me & very unprofessional.i would have insisted on meeting the surgeon before i went any further.something is definitely going on around there,whether there are a lot of unhappy employees or they are understaffed,regardless i cant help but wonder what the actual surgery is gonna be like & all those followup appointments,help,& support that u really need.have u researched him & seen reviews on him?im sure ur in a hard position if u have already started all this & it’s the only place in town & if insurance is dictating where u can go but start asking questions & voicing ur concerns.good luck w everything,hope it gets better.