Medical Advice.

[bullox]

I have an interesting situation going on with my new doctor.

 

Recently I was looking for a new doctor in the area because I wanted to have something checked out and I wanted to be referred to an allergist (food allergies). I picked out a local guy and set up an appointment.

 

When I got there for the first appointment, he was in a rush and said he had to "make this quick" because he was running late. What exactly am I paying him for, my health or his schedule? Anyway - he scheduled me for some tests and referred me to an allergist. I also wanted to have my wrist checked out because it was giving me pain, but for some reason I let that wait until my next appointment with him since he was in a rush, and I had to come back to get my unrelated test results anyway.

 

So when I came back, he tried to tell me that everything was fine with the issue that I had tests for, actually made me feel as if it was my fault for it becoming an issue. I was very skeptical of this. Anyway - I also had him look at my wrist and schedule me for an x-ray.

 

This was more of a test of him...I was having pain in my wrist and I knew exactly why. I broke it twice - once about 15 years ago and again about 4 years ago. Neither time was it fixed. I didn't know that I broke it the first time until I had an x-ray done 4 years ago when I broke it the second time. That doctor found scar tissue building up in my wrist.

 

The second time I broke it was pretty bad, but I was in a hard time and didn't have medical insurance so I never got it fixed.

 

So basically, I knew my wrist had been broken. I told this new doctor that I didn't really know if I had ever broken it before, but I lost range of motion in it and it was giving me pain recently while doing push ups (which of course were both true). I just got the letter in the mail from him regarding his x-ray. He told me it was fine!

 

Is this malpractice? I know I have a problem with my wrist. It's been broken twice, never fixed, and there has been scar tissue building up for 15 years. Either he doesn't know how to read an x-ray (doubtful) or he is lying to me.

 

Advice?

[bullox]

I'm thinking that maybe I should just go see a new doctor.

[trwi7]

Yeah I'm pretty sure finding a new doctor would be a good thing to do after reading your first post.

[PKBadger]

Sounds like a quack. If it was worth the hassle, I'd sue his ass.

[homer]

Good lord don't sue. Just find another doctor.

[trwi7]

Quote:

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If it was worth the hassle, I'd sue his ass.

---

 

There's no way something like this is worth the hassle of taking the guy to court.

[JoeHova]

I wouldn't sue either because his misdiagnosis didn't (thankfully) cause you any real injury. However, I would report him to the Better Business Bureau or whatever the equivalent of that is for doctors. A guy shouldn't be able to just get away with being incompetent, people should have a way to find out what a doctor's track record is like. After all, as my dad is fond of saying, half of all doctors finished in the bottom half of their class (perhaps not literallly true, as some lower echelon guys probably don't finish their residencies, but I still think it's funny).

 

So, to conclude, I would look into what sort of consumer organization collects complaints about bad doctors and report him there. Then I would find a new doctor. I know that can be a huge hassle with the many restrictions most insurance companies have, but I don't see how you could trust that guy (or anybody at his practice) anymore.

[igor67]

Yeah I have to agree with Joe the grounds for winning a lawsuit are pretty shaky and I can't imagine you'd be in line for any sort of significant damages. But I think you are ethically obligated for the sake of other patients to make a report to the state medical board.

[Nicole the Baker]

I've had a LOT of experience with this type of thing. I've found that if your problem is too complicated or a pain to deal with, doctors pretend not to see it. Most of them shrug and insist it must be something that you are doing wrong.

 

Don't settle for that kind of doctor. If you ever need surgery or a procedure done/referred by him, you'll worry yourself sick about the possibility that he will mess up something and you'll be stuck with the consequences for life. I've found that my gut reaction to nearly every doctor I've ever had has been spot-on.

 

If you need a good internist or general practitioner, I can make a few recommendations.

 

When you see a doctor and need a referral, ask him who he would see if he had your problem. Don't necessarily settle for someone in the same clinic. I've had numerous doctors, and finally have a core group of them that I trust. It is SO important that you can trust their advice. Also, in my opinion, try to find someone that has a conservative treatment plan. Don't trust a doctor that, in an initial appointment, recommends surgery. There are frequently many non-surgical solutions to non-acute problems (such as physical therapy).

 

I hope this helps.

[ccbrew]

Among the people that you absolutely need to trust, your doctor is one of them. It's your health that's in question - if there's anything that makes you doubt your doctor or his competency, make the switch. I don't mean to sound overly dramatic here, but it's 'only' your wrist that's hurting right now..what happens next time when it's your heart, prostate, or anything else vital?

[PKBadger]

Sorry, I should have been more clear with my earlier statement.

 

What I meant when I said "If it was worth it" was that.....it's almost never worth it to sue. Even if the guy deserves to pay for being a moron.

[bullox]

Thank you all very much for your advice. I will look into getting a new doctor and try to find a way to let someone know about this doctor's incompetence.

 

Thanks again.

[whizkid]

Internists and GPs generally aren't going to read the xrays themselves. They get a report from a radiologist. The report may have noted the previous breaks but noted no current issues with them and the doctor just said it was fine. Soft tissue problems leading to pain aren't going to show on an xray.

 

Doctors are under pressure from insurance companies to see as many patients as possible. It's not your problem when they're running late. If a doctor short changes you because of the pressure it's time to get a new doctor especially since you have no history with him/her.

[viking188]

I had (have) a similar problem with an ankle. It was broken, and mis diagnosed in an ER as a bad sprain. After years of trouble, I went to an Orthaopedic Surgeon, who specialised in Sports Medicine. Find one, get a good one. Find out who the Brewers use, Admirals, Bucks, Badgers,etc.... Most of these Surgeons will see new patients. The guy you want is a specialist that the Pros use. I know from experience, they really don't charge any more than a GP, and they know what they are doing(at least in my experience.)

I'm not allergic, so I can't help you there. Good Luck.