This is in regards to the recent letter from Roxanne Parker Henry whose husband was misdiagnosed.
First of all, my heart goes out to you and your husband, and I hope he is well on his way to a complete recovery.
My husband also just had an experience that we question. He had been feeling "punky" for a week. Our regular doctor was out of town so he had to see a doctor who was filling in. According to his symptoms, the doctor said he had a sinus infection and prescribed some meds. After no improvement over the weekend, and knowing our doctor wasn't back yet on Monday, he went to a local "clinic" after lunch because, with our insurance, any lab work that needs to be done is covered under our plan there.
The doctor on duty checked his heart and pushed on his stomach. She told him she heard an "irregular heartbeat" and thought his discomfort was due to his gallbladder. She told him she would call the ER and set up an EKG, along with bloodwork to be done and an ultrasound.
He came home to get me to go with him and I immediately questioned as to why the ER when this was no emergency. He said he had no idea. We proceeded to the ER and told them what the doctor ordered but that it was not an emergency. Since the doctor had mentioned an "irregular heartbeat," the person in admitting asked if he had pain down his arms or in his jaws indicating a heart attack. He told her no and again stated that it was not an emergency. He was admitted anyway.
After two hours in the ER, EKG taken, bloodwork done and all was normal, he was told by the attending doctor that the ultrasound could not be done because he had eaten lunch. He had to wait a minimum of six hours after he'd eaten. What kind of doctor would send him for this ultrasound right after lunch? Was she so incompetent that she didn't know? She never even asked if he had eaten and, of course, we had no idea. All these tests could have been done as an outpatient at the Bayer building for our minimum co-pay. Now we will have an ER bill to pay.
Unfortunately, our local newspaper will not let the names of these doctors or facilities be published so others can learn from these bad experiences. I tried to locate you, Roxanne, to find out where your husband had been treated but couldn't find you.
Unfortunately, many of us are forced by our insurance to go where we would not choose otherwise. Maybe we should start our own newspaper to warn others of these incompetent doctors and clinics. They need to be exposed and held accountable. Word of mouth just isn't working.
