Surgeon Seeking Feedback

JeninCO · December 17, 2007

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

The surgery worked. I'm really happy!

What do you hate?

No followup. None. Very little communication. Poor fills.

What do we do well?

The surgery.

What could we do better?

Act like you care. (I'm NOT saying all doctors are like this, but mine is. Very disappointing.)

What more could we do to help you succeed?

Act like you care. (see above)

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

Followup call right after the surgery. Minimum. Followup calls from time to time or a note. A little goes a very long way!

pashmina · December 19, 2007

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

My surgeon has been a Godsend. He was upfront from the start about every aspect of the surgery, and made time for me outside of his regular seminars to sit and answer my questions. He gives his e-mail address to patients and generally I have always had a response from him within an hour. I must have peppered him with at least 50 messages pre and post op. He has a bari-buddy program where he matches you up with a post-op patient in his practice and your age range that is willing to answer any questions that he cannot about personal expereince. He is professional, well-published and experienced, and his bedside manner is something to be replicated by my other doctors. I have heard nothing but rave reviews about his performance from other surgeons and specialists. Most importantly, he never sugar coated anything from risks to expected results. I could not be more happy with him.

What do you hate?

I hate that I can only get appointments on Fridays, but it is understandable since he is operating every other day of the week. I am not fond of his office admin's organization skills. More than once I have made an appointment only to call and confirm to find they did not put it in the electronic book.

What do we do well?

Informing. Informing. Informing.

What could we do better?

Offer to reduce your surgeon's fees for self-payers so people don't have to go to Mexico. (Mine was 100% covered by insurance, I am just speaking on behalf of others)

What more could we do to help you succeed?

My surgeon has done everything feasible to help me succeed, including telling me to keep message board visits to a minimum to keep from beating myself up over other's higher numbers.

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

Make sure you have a top notch admin staff, and a friendly, approachable surgical coordinator with excellent communication skills. (Mine was great)

JeninCO · December 19, 2007

I'm glad there are a lot of great surgeons out there!

Daisalana · December 19, 2007

My responses are in red!

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 is super friendly, his whole staff is friendly, THEY ACTUALLY ANSWER THE PHONE (None of my other docs answer the phone, you HAVE to leave voicemails and wait for them to call back.. days later if ever), he is encouraging.

What do you hate? The hospital they do their surgeries at, is horrible. Rude staff, understaffed, their accounting department is incompetent.

What do we do well? I don't know as a general answer, but my doctor is supportive and encouraging. Treats me like a friend, not a patient.

What could we do better? Another maybe not general answer, but my nutritional consultation with their dietician was in a group of RNY, and it was 99% RNY stuff, and they weren't sure what applied to me when I asked questions, so I didn't get any real direction on eating guidelines.. I got it all from the forums here.

What more could we do to help you succeed? Free Fills!

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices? Don't really have an answer.

Thank you in advance for the feedback.

brad

Foofy · December 20, 2007

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

Hi Brad, I was thinking about this last night.

I don't really love or hate anything about my surgeon yet. He's a nice guy, but really I've seen him less than an hour (including the consultation - I was banded on 11/12 and don't go back for a fill until 1/2)).

Since I am so new to this, I think I will just give you a general piece of advice. Please encourage your patients to do research on their own and try to provide them with as much information as you can.

I know this isn't easy. I educate communities about environmental risk. The range in level of comprehension and attention span of folks I encounter is enormous, and I know doctors must face the same problem.

My surgeon operates in a Center of Excellence in Montana, but that does not mean that I received a lot of information. My psych evaluation lasted three minutes (really) and my nutritional counseling was a group format and was only 90 minutes long. Necessarily, it was geared to the slowest members of the audience.

This has not been a problem for me, since I am used to doing research. From my own digging and the support of this website, I knew what I was getting into, and I was able to make informed consent and to deal with any issues that arose post-surgery. However, if you spend a few nights reading the posts on this site, it is apparent that many, many patients were (and still are) clueless about what to expect before, during, and after the band. It is not a miricle - it is a tool. The work still has to be done by the patient.

I think a website like this is an incredibly important resource for you surgeons. Lets face it. Neither you, nor your practice, has the time to spend covering everything that is covered here. Also, unless it related to them at that particular moment, most people would not adsorb the info - even if you provided it. I would counsel you to make your prospective patients spend at least a month visiting this website on a daily basis. It is easy, one-stop shopping. Have them listen to the highs and the lows. Let them hear how it is THEIR responsiblity to eat right and exercise after the band. Let them see that the band will not suddenly make everything all right. It will not fix finances or strained relationships. It might even make them worse.

This site has been immensely useful to me, and I am constantly surprised at how supportive other members can be to someone who appears to be whinning. I think it is actually teaching me tolerance. What a lovely side effect. LOL.

Thanks for your input on the site. We appreciate it.

reif78 · December 20, 2007

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

i loved my surgeon she did a very good job but some of her office people could do better with organization. lol

What do you hate? i hate that its so hard to lose weight. I never thought i would have to go to this extreme

What do we do well? well my surgeon was very professional kind and up front about everything unlike some of her office workers.

What could we do better? the only thing is to be more informative in the post op.

What more could we do to help you succeed?. nothing you can only tell us what we need to do and its up to us to listen

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices? dont hire to young of an medical assisstant cause then people who come in to you as a patient have to deal with sometimes a age-related attitude.

Thank you in advance for the feedback.

hope i helped. I was not a patient of yours persay but its nice to answer things i can relate to lol

brad

DrWatkins · December 20, 2007

Thank you guys for the awesome feedback!

Seems we surgeons have some work to do to reach perfection.

Your feedback is really appreciated.

Keep it coming!!!

brad

gweniper · December 20, 2007

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

Personable and willing to go over things even though at times it seems rushed

What do you hate?

The receptionist..... she sill holler to the nurse 'the H....are here' this was when we were going in weekly for weigh ins before surgery (losing the 10% body weight) you could hear her 3 stations away (they are in a medical center where each physician has a narrow office area).

then when I had to cancel my appointment as I was ill and was told I should not come in, the next day when there are no patients in the office, my husband and I went in to weigh. I received a phone call later that afternoon to call the surgeons office. I thought maybe there was a problem with my bill even though I am paying on it several times a month, she answers the phone says 'I am on the phone with an insurance company, I will call you back.' an hour later no call back and I am napping before going to work so I ask hubby to call, he then gets an earful about how dare we come in to the office (pubic large hospital run building mind you) and weigh I possibly make her and the nurse ill. Don't we know that they have plans for the holidays and one of them has a new grandchild.

wait just a minute...what are you....a doctors office. I was not contagious, but had a coughing attack when leaving after being there less than 5 min.

so now I am to blame for either of them getting sick....that is of course if they get sick... not the people that come in and are not aware that they are ill (local support group had a get together Friday and one of them was ill but did not know until later in the weekend and did not tell anyone until Tuesday. 2 from that group went to the docs office on Tuesday)

or all the people that she is in contact with outside of work nope me and hubby are the ones that will have made her sick. (hubby has a sinus infection btw)

what patient relations with the receptionist simply put not there

What do we do well?

they to get us in when we need a fill before our scheduled date

What could we do better?

teach receptionist basic human relations

What more could we do to help you succeed?

explain more on how you want things such as hubby has aa hard time with serving size, I try to get my Protein in and then get told no cheese yet cheese is approved Protein and use low fat explain this from the start

also let people know they should not feel a failure while waiting for restriction

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

New receptionist

Thank you in advance for the feedback.

Longhorn · December 20, 2007

My doctor's practice consists of the surgeon, an office manager/medical assistant, a nutritionist, and a physical trainer who also helps out in the office. The only slight complaint I have is that the staff gets stretched a little thin so that I've had to wait 30 to 45 minutes after my scheduled appointment. However, when it's my turn, I've never felt rushed so I just plan accordingly.

Otherwise, I couldn't be happier. The staff is responsive and efficient. Phone calls are returned and they do what they say they'll do. It was only two weeks from my initial consultation until surgery which meant I had a lot of appointments and labs to get done and the financing arranged but it all went off without a hitch. Every member of the staff, including the doctor, seems to love being there and doing his or her job.

I like that the after-care is part of the package price ($12,500 for everything but the initial consultation, nutritionist, psych eval, and labs) and that I meet with my surgeon once a month rather than just when I think I need a fill. I like that my doctor and I will decide together if I need a fill and that he does the the fills himself in his office and seems quite good at it -- no problem finding the port and I didn't feel a thing! I like that he is conservative about fills -- I would rather be too loose than too tight and I'm patient about losing weight. My doctor has told me there is no reason to be hungry and to just follow the rules but has not limited how much I eat. So I eat Protein first, chew slowly, and wait between bites and so far, I haven't experienced any "bandster hell" even though I don't have any noticeable restriction after one fill (4 ccs in an AP 10 cc band.) I don't know if it's me or the band but I do eat much less than I used to and I'm satisfied.

I especially like that my doctor doesn't talk down to me and he answers all my questions. He also adjusted the program, such as my pre- and post-op diet, based on my weight goals and issues with food and not a "one-size-fits-all" approach.

From what you've written on this board, I get a sense that you already conduct your practice in this manner, respecting your patients and trying to do what's best for them. Patients can tell when a doctor loves what he or she does or, on the other hand, is just in it for the money.

Thanks for asking and good luck! :clap2:

rkj123 · December 20, 2007

I have nothing but positive things to say about my surgeon- Dr. Bradley Thaemert in Sioux Falls SD. He was so great about explaining every aspect of the band to me (although I already knew a lot about it from the experts on this board) but he is so personable and puts patients at ease. His nurse Melanie is awesome also and is so helpful. They helped me fight the battle with the insurance company and once I was finally approved, it was less than 2 weeks and they were able to do my surgery on October 29. I went in for my first fill (3 cc's)on December 7 and after noticing no difference at all with restriction, I called them and they said I could come back on December 18 and I got another 2 cc's. WOW what a difference that made and I really appreciated them listening to my concerns. He said, why wait, I didn't get the band to still be hungry. He really seems up on the latest band research. He even remembered from my first fill that I have a needle phobia.

My only negative experience was with the hospital staff when I had my surgery. They really had no clue about the post-op lap band diet that Dr. T recommends. I think I educated them more than they educated me!!

Thanks for being on board Dr. Watkins - it's great to have you here!!

Robin

gkeyt · January 27, 2008

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

I had surgery at Oregon Weight Loss Surgery in Portland, OR. My original surgeon was Dr. Hong, but now I follow up with Dr Emma Patterson. All the providers at OWLS are responsive and receptive. They answer any and all questions and are very personable. Their practice is very busy, they do about half bands and half RNY, and they do some other bariatric procedures that their patients request (DS, etc). They did not have any bias toward one procedure or another when I was having my initial consult; they felt either one would work for me and simply explained the differences.

What do you hate?

Nothing really, but the surgeon who actually did my surgery moved back to Canada about a month after my surgery and didn't mention it to me when I saw him. It was a sudden, unplanned thing (family circumstances) but I was a little dismayed that I wouldn't be seeing my surgeon anymore and that he didn't tell me when I saw him for the last time. Fortunately the practice has 2 other surgeons and a PA that I could see for followup, and they are all very competent and helpful.

What do we do well?

In my experience, pretty much everything. All the providers I worked with genuinely cared about their patients and their health. They are very respectful and compassionate. They are all highly competent and I felt very confident in the level of care I received. The surgeons in the practice I went to always have surgical fellows working with them, and the fellows always ask permission before doing anything (like performing a fill). Some patients don't like seeing surgeons "in training" but I've always worked in teaching hospitals (their practice isn't in a teaching hospital per se) and I understand that providers need to train with actual patients. The surgeons seem to do a good job in choosing surgical fellows who have similar values towards patient care.

What could we do better?

This is an ongoing issue with all band surgeons, but you could help us when we have to move away from your practice. I understand all the reasons why band surgeons are reluctant to take patients they didn't do surgery on (liability, the cost of aftercare, etc), but the reality is that a lot of us have to move away for various reasons, making followup with our original surgeon difficult to impossible. The fact that band patients need a lot of followup and aftercare, for a long time after surgery, makes this complicated. Dr Patterson happened to know a surgeon near the city I just moved to and was able to refer me, but if she hadn't he wouldn't have accepted me as a patient, because he didn't do my surgery. (And because he didn't do my surgery, he requires a fill under fluoro the first time...no matter that my port is extremely easy to find...for a cost of $600 more than a blind fill. Only for patients he didn't operate on.) I'm in a graduate program in a city 6 hours away from my surgeon's office, and I simply can't get there in the middle of the week when they see patients; besides, I need someone local in case there is a band emergency. If surgeons could understand this and help us out a little more, realizing that this is a common problem with band patients, it would help a lot.

What more could we do to help you succeed?

Not much more, I think. My surgeons did their jobs, and it's up to me to do my part. Once the band is placed, assuming that the surgery is performed as expected, the rest of the work is mine, provided that I go to my appointments and get appropriate fills when needed. The band doesn't do it all and neither can my surgeon--and for most of us, the band does require a lot of work. But they didn't really tell me this. I think for a lot of patients it would help to hear from the surgeon that most of the work is up to the patient. Also it would help to explain how many patients don't have any restriction right after surgery and that it might take a few months before they have any and weight loss really starts in earnest. No one told me that part.

How could we improve your customer experience with our practices?

Choose office staff carefully. They are your first liason with your patient and make your first impression for you. A lot of patient dissatisfaction with their doctors actually starts with the office staff. If they are not courteous and respectful of your patients, that makes a huge difference for you and for your patients. Obese people are especially sensitive to perceived slights and have often been disrespected in public due to their weight, plus the insurance approval process can be very stressful, so it's important to have staff who are compassionate and respectful. Dr. Patterson's office staff are pretty good for the most part, but I have heard a lot of sad stories about office staff from a lot of patients elsewhere.

Thanks for all the insightful contributions you make to this board, Dr Watkins, and for taking time to ask and listen to actual patient feedback. Your patients are lucky to have a surgeon who cares so much about their experience and success.

amm.imperial · January 27, 2008

I am in MA, and have been involved in the program at UMass Medical Center in Worcester. They have an extremely comprehensive program that I love!!!! I don't have my surgery date yet, but I see my surgeon on Wed. and will get my date then. My first intake appointment was back in Sept. of 07. There was a series of nutrition classes and physiological classes, as well as meetings with a nutritionist, an psychologist, and a surgeon. I want to make sure I am still going to be successful 10 years after surgery. They also have monthly meetings(included in program fee) for support, information and chat with other patients in all stages of the process.

My insurance is covering mine, so I'm not sure how expensive the self-pay plan is there. I highly recommend you get some info from them. Dr. Gitkind is the Head Surgeon.

kbinaz · January 27, 2008

I have been pretty satisfied with my doctor and practice in just about every way.

I appreciate the one price thing - fills are free for the first year, I have access to the nutritionists and psychologist etc. without extra charges.

I like the support groups - statistics show that patients who are active in support groups lose more weight than those who aren't.

My doctor made us go through extensive education - pre and post-op classes etc. and that really helped. I felt very well informed when I went in for surgery and knew what to expect from the process.

One area where I don't think I was informed enough was the slowness of weight loss with the band as opposed to gastric bypass. I don't think I understood that I might not start losing good amounts of weight for a while after surgery because of needing several fills to get restriction. So I got really down after 2 months and really started second guessing my decision to have the band. That should really be stressed and the positive aspects that go with it should be explained too. (why it is healthier to lose weight slowly)

The other thing that is really important is that when I go in for my fills I need to feel supported not shamed. There is one N.P. where I go that makes me feel like a failure when I don't lose enough weight and the whole reason I am there for a fill is because I don't have enough restriction. I don't like not losing any more than she does, so I don't need her making me feel worse! People who resort to major surgery to lose weight have already had lots and lots of failures in their lives. The one place they shouldn't feel like a failure is in the office of a bariatric surgeon!!!

fritz · January 27, 2008

hi Doc...i was banded on the 31st of december 07 i lost 18 pounds in 23 days...then i started my menstrual cycle...and i havent lost any weight in a week....its very frustrating...can you please offer an explanation or any tips?

ann77 · January 28, 2008

IAASW - I had to laugh when I read your post about the psychological testing. I was banded by Eric Pinnar (when he was practicing with his father) and he and his whole staff were really great. HOWEVER, that psychologist who I notice is in his office now was HORRIBLE! I hated her. They actually had a separate (and actual) nutritionist when I was going through the process that was really great, and informative. At my "psychological" evaluation she spent most of the time talking about what to eat post-op. It was truly a waste of time. But, I will say one of the best parts of pre-surgical information was talking (while doing the 5 hours of filling bubbles in) with Patty (the psycho's receptionist) who is also banded. She is so nice and really gave me a lot good information. The should drop the psycho and let Patty do pre-op counseling!