Surgeon Seeking Feedback

[DrWatkins 5]

Working with gastric band patients has been a wonderful blessing to me.

You guys do amazing things and inspire me every day.

It occurred to me today that you could give me some very valuable feedback on how we, as surgeons, can improve our service to you.

So, please give me some feedback:

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice?

What do you hate?

What do we do well?

What could we do better?

What more could we do to help you succeed?

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

Thank you in advance for the feedback.

brad

[juliegeraci 7]

Hi Dr. Watkins. My feedback is below.

So, please give me some feedback:

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice?

He has excellent bed side manners. He cares about his patients and is available 24x7 to assist us.

What do you hate?

That he doesn't take insurance. Fills 4un me $200 each and I have had lot of fills and unfills in 1 1/2 years.

What do we do well?

He counsels me well on how the band works, what to eat, etc.

What could we do better?

Nothing. He is awesome.

What more could we do to help you succeed?

Early on it was hard for me to really know how to eat. I think working with a nutritionist or dietician more would have helped me.

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

As far as my surgeon goes, Dr. Robert McKeen in San Jose, CA there isn't anything I would change besides the insurance. He has a friendly staff, he is very knowledglable and reliable.

[Manatee 3]

I used Dr Mosier in Denton Tx.

I have to say that I'm absolutely satisfied with him and his service. His bedside manner is excellent, and I get the impression he really is invested in the success of his patients.

The service from the staff is also excellent. The pre-op patient coordinator helped get everything organized, the information sessions really were informational, and even the nutritionist seemed very interested in my success.

On an ongoing basis, I have had to set up 4 fills and an unfill, and the staff is immediately accessible via email (my preferred communication method).

I understand that there is a support group associated with his practice, but I have not had any need to attend those.

Frankly, I'm very happy with him.

[cQQlgirl 0]

I had one experience that really soured me on my band doctor. I was told I would get the new AP band and when I asked him about it at the one week checkup he told me that they had 'punctured' the only AP they had on hand and instead used a 4cc band. I was shocked and disappointed to say the least. I had researched the bands and knew what I wanted.

What would you have done in that instance?

thank you, Valerie

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Working with gastric band patients has been a wonderful blessing to me.

You guys do amazing things and inspire me every day.

It occurred to me today that you could give me some very valuable feedback on how we, as surgeons, can improve our service to you.

So, please give me some feedback:

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice?

He lets me ask any question in the world, even if it doesn't have anything to do with banding. Maybe I want to know more about the technique for bypass or sleeves. He doesn't keep looking at his watch making it clear that I am annoying him. He's a touchy/feely kinda person. He makes it a point to put his hand on my shoulder or some simple and similar gesture. I think Mexican docs are a little different from US docs in this practice. It can be a liability for US docs to be this way.

I am really impressed with the body language of Mexican medical professionals. It is not what I expected at all. My doc makes it a point not to stand and tower over me. In the hospital all the docs will sit in the edge of the hospital bed so they are at eye level with the patient. They do whatever they have to in order to make sure the patient is at ease.

If you push the button for the nurse she does not come in and stand at the door way and ask what you want, she comes over to your bed, puts her hand on your arm, and asks what she can do for you. It's really a very different world there. When I go there I make it a point to learn the body language and the simple things done there so I can do the same when I come back to the US with my own patients.

What do you hate?

The driving distance, but that isn't his fault.

What do we do well?

As a group or individually? As a group I don't think you do anything well. There is too much competition and cut throat business practices that many participate in. US docs try to scare people out of going to Mexico with dishonesty and greed being the motivating factors. Mexican docs tend to point out the greed and motivating factors of the US docs. I'd just like to see you guys as a group learn to work and play well with your peers. :huggie:

Too many patient coordinators are like used car salesmen. I really question if docs have the slightest idea how many patients they lose to other doctors because of their patient coordinators. You could put a patient coordinator in a room with Ernie, the used car salesman and I'll bet you wouldn't be able to tell who sold cars vs. who sold surgery.

Please understand, I'm not referring to you specifically in any of these responses. I'm speaking in generalities.

What could we do better?

Do things such as you are doing here on the boards. Communicate with us, take 10 minutes a day to answer a question or two. Educate people beyond the basics, "What can I eat and how much of it can I have." That is answered 500 times a day on these boards. Go above and beyond. People really want to know how all this works. They want to understand the details, the latest studies, new stats and figures. Especially those that have been banded for some time. We know the basics, we want to know more.

You could also get together and come to terms on an appropriate post op diet. If you are going to differ from manufacturer guidelines, explain to us why you disagree with Inamed or J&J. So far I have been told that the reason some docs aren't strict about the post op diet is because the patients don't follow it anyway so what's the use? That is not acceptable.

What more could we do to help you succeed?

Keep patients returning to your office and hold people accountable in a positive manner. I see to many times on the boards where people have gained and they are actually afraid to go to their doc. Why would any doc put a patient in the position of feeling too frightened of behind slam dunked for gaining weight?

One of my biggest pet peeves (ask anyone here, they'll tell you) is that doctors are great at telling us what to do but they don't explain why we are supposed to do it. Check out the post op diet threads. All the old timers here feel like pulling our hair out each time we see a post that says, "I had surgery 4 days ago and today I ate a whole fried chicken. Did I hurt my band?" What are we supposed to do, get our superman xray vision glasses on? Doctors are great at telling people to go on a post op diet but they don't tell them WHY they are on this diet. Most newbies here tend to think that when the swelling is down and they can eat, then they should eat. They have no clue about adhesions or any of the other healing that goes along with the post op diet. When we explain to them the reasons behind the post op diet they are floored, they had no idea.

How could a patient walk out of any MD office not knowing WHY they are on a post op diet?

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

As horrible as this is going to sound, hire at least one fat person or one banded person. Seriously, we feel like mega heifers walking into an office where all the staff look like California beach blondes that wear a size zero. We know there isn't a chance in the world they can relate to what we experience.

I don't want your 18 year old Med Asst. to call me, a 45 y/o RN with 20+ years of experience in trauma, "Sweetie" or "honey" as I am not her sweetie, I'm not her honey either. It's a bit on the insulting side. She can joke around with me and she can laugh with me, just don't treat me like the next step is to pat my wee head for losing a pound.

[LovingWhatIs 0]

Hey Doc,

Nice to talk to you again. So don't tell Eric I put this on here :huggie:

It would have been nice to have been given the defintions and an understanding of :

Productive Burp and

Sliming

If I had known what was going on I could have avoided worry and taking that nasty Phenergan. But as I have told you before, other than that Eric is THE MAN! We are in agreement on that for sure.

Lisa

[coltonwade 27]

First I think its great your taking the time to come on here and ask for Feed back , If you have not already I would hope that you could do that same questions from your own patients, that is awesome .

My doc Is Dr Jorge Rincon San Antonio TX

So, please give me some feedback:

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice?

I love his personality , he's straight forward and to the point, does not beat around the bush , Kind , friendly . The practice , the staff is nice, and 99% runs on time . Maybe one thing im not CRAZY about is his post fill diet,but i knew what i was getting into when i signed up and the results speak for themselves. My first conversation was with the doc HIMSELF , that said A LOT to me that he took the time out to speak to my on the phone for 20 mintues .

What do you hate? I would say nothing . The office runs efficiently , everyone is honesty

What do we do well? My doc , does everything well . I enjoy his company when i have to see him . His price is reasonable.

What could we do better? As a Whole Gastric docs, I think making the after care more uniform would be helpful epically for support for patients.

What more could we do to help you succeed? ?

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices? I woudl say nothing on my docs practice.

HTH

Mindy

[taismommy 0]

Wasa,

I never really know how to say what im feeling to these type of questions and i'll be damned if you didnt hit the nail on the head with your answers especially the last one!

Im so sick of going to doctors and getting the "LOOK". Dont pity me im FAT not stupid or blind! I human and have feelings. ARGH!

[Liz1531 3]

I appreciate that my doctor doesn't charge for fills. He charges $100 for the floro and that is much more resonable than what other doctors in my area charge. Also, I only needed two fills as they are aggresive in giving fills whereas other doctors charge several hundred dollars and give only a little at a time.

[Alexandra 55]

It is so cool that you are here and asking these questions, Dr. Watkins. I'm really impressed!

My doctors are among the most experienced band surgeons in the Northeast, if not the country. Here's my answers as they relate to this extremely busy and crowded practice:

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice?

I love the way the doctors are all about the medical aspects. This is not an elective, cosmetic procedure we are undergoing, and they are not lancing a boil. Though they do banding as outpatient surgery the procedures are extremely thorough from pre-op seminar to post-op support groups and nothing is left to chance. Every question is answered, every step of the way.

What do you hate?

"Hate" is too strong a word. The practice is so busy it can take a while for an appointment, and of course there are insurance issues. But they do the absolute best they can, and have a crack team of insurance people to boot.

What do we do well?

I'm not sure who "we" is, but I've been very impressed by Abkin/Bertha's responsiveness over the years. When I was banded in 2003 I went to the first bandsters-only support group meeting--there were only two of us there and it was essentially a fact-finding mission for some Inamed staff who were on hand. Now they have two banding support groups a month, at least one is run by a nurse practitioner. Nutritionists and mental health professionals attend these regularly.

[Chris61 0]

I am glad that you asking this. I think that all the questions you are asking are answered on this and other boards and websites. It should be mandatory that all the doctors and staff spend at least an hour or 2 every day reading all of these posts and answer patients questions. Also treat us with respect and dignity in regards to questions, problems that we are having. I would even suggest that you have regular people like us come to your yearly meetings and talk about the problems we are having with the band and other issues.

Chris

[restricted 0]

The hospital bed mattress was awful. It was the same mattress used for any patient, it wasn't one designed for those who are obese. It caused me such back pain, that despite being in pain, at times I sat in a chair and slept sitting. I'd suggest you inquire about patient comfort, and consider an extra comfortable mattress for your obese patients.

[FarmerE 0]

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice?

*Very patient and understanding. I was completely embarrassed in the beginning that I was even considering this as an option but he didn't look down on me and answered anything I had.

What do we do well?

*I was very well informed. I was very impressed by the amount of information I was given and even the tour of the outpatient center prior to the day of the surgery. Meeting everyone involved prior to the surgery was also a huge plus. The day of the surgery, I was so nervous that I think my teeth were chattering. It was nice that everyone came back in to introduce themselves and to make sure that I didn't have any more questions. They also made sure they introduced themselves to my parents and that they didn't have any questions either. Everything is also right on time. I've never been kept waiting long, either for the surgery or for an appointment.

What could we do better?

*I was disappointed, as were my parents, that no one had come out to tell them that I was through the surgery and that everything had gone ok while they were in the waiting room.

Maybe also another meeting with the nutritionist after the surgery a couple months down the road, just to reaffirm that everything is still going ok and that any other questions could be cleared up once having more experience with the band.

I would also like to attend the support meetings but it's only held once a month and on the same day and time. Unfortunately my work schedule doesn't allow me to make it but if there was more than once a month or maybe switch up a day, it might help those who can't make the other one.

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

*I am quite pleased with the office. All of the staff are very nice and are completely willing to share their experiences (as most of the staff have been banded). I think that it helps a lot to have at least one person working there that has been banded - they can give a lot more insight than a staff member who hasn't been. Everyone has always been very polite and professional. They also notice that you've lost weight and are quick to tell you that your jeans aren't fitting anymore. :huggie:

[blahblahblah 4]

What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice? I love that they are truly knowledged in banding procedures...also, I love that they know who I am from visit to visit. It is obvious by the things they say that I am me...not just another fat woman.

What do you hate? I strongly dislike that I have to wait a month after a fill (with fluero) to meet with the dr. and then set an appt (usually a month away) for another fill. I'd prefer to be able to do these things on my timeline...I am not a child, I know what my body needs and don't like waiting two months for something I know I need. Also, waiting over an hour for my appt. is unacceptable...

What do we do well? The support for the banded patients is excellent. The office staff is generally top notch and personable.

What could we do better? just the above mentioned thing re: getting fills.

What more could we do to help you succeed? When I call to tell you that I am having a problem or would like to discuss how to jump start my weight loss...don't tell me that I've already gone beyond the statistics of the band. I don't care that I'm doing better than I should be doing (statistically...)...I wan to know how to change things for me!

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices? nothing to add ehre.

rain

[Jeni 85 0]

I was banded by Dr. Shayani at Loyola Hospital in Chicago. But since then he has moved to a different Practice Day One Health and i have also followed.

<br /> What do you love about your band surgeon and their practice?<br /> Dr. Shayani is good and kind hearted surgeon. He made me feel comfortable from the moment i met him on my first consult... It is very important that a Dr. makes a patient feel safe and educated. And Dr. Shayani succeeded this in everyone. Including going above and beyond for his patients. As he did in my case.<br /> <br /> What do you hate?<br /> Nothing.<br /> <br /> What do we do well?<br /> DayOne Health is an excellent place where they truely believe in making sure there patients are always comfortable. I find that being a smaller practice then Loyola it is a lot easier to schedule an appointment.<br /> <br /> What could we do better?<br /> Nothing just keep doing everything the way its done.<br /> <br /> What more could we do to help you succeed?<br /> Be a little more specific with the post-op stuff... I found i was a bit confused at first.. But this board definitely helped.. I would suggest maybe recommending patients with access to computer to this site if they ever need any advice or support from fellow bandsters.<br /> <br /> How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?<br /> Nothing... They are good the way they are.<img src="http://www.LapBandTalk.com/images/smilies/happy.gif" border="0" alt="" title="" smilieid="60" class="inlineimg" /><br />