Change Of Pcp Request

[Rockhound]

Last Labor Day week-end, I got sick from a bacterial infection of the small intestine, I spent four days at my local VA hospital and I must add, they took very good care of me. Prior to this, my PCP (primary care phycisian) had quit and moved on, (that's another story) anyway, when they told me I would be assigned a new PCP, I made it clear that I prefered a female Dr. over a male Dr. and put in a written request to clarify this.

After my discharge from the hospital, I was given a follow up Dr. with my newly assigned female PCP Dr. or at least I thought she was to be my PCP from then on, but I found out shortly afterwards when I went in recently to request a referal to a Neuro Dr. only to find out that the previous Dr. I had seen was only a temperary PCP and that my new assigned PCP was Dr.XXX a male Dr. Of course this got my anxiety thermometer rising very quickly.

I asked how come they assigned me a male PCP when I had requested a female PCP, and that I had made the request in writing, filling out the proper request form and all. Well she said she would look into it and also see that my Neuro Dr. referal was taken care of also.

Today I got a letter from the VA Hospital letting me know that the mistake had been taken care of and also giving me the name of my new PCP, so when it was time to make my next appointment, I would know who to make it with or ask for.

So, my VA hospital is back in my good graces, but I am still upset with them over the reason my previous PCP felt she had to quit. It could have been avoided by simply hiring another Dr or two, to take some of the work load off her back, since it turned out she was the only PCP Dr, out of several left, to take care of the needs of the particular team I was assigned to. She was good at her job and well liked by her other patients I had known from talking with them.

I hope no one has to go through a switch in PCP or other Dr's but if they do, I hope it is a smooth transition and not turn out to be a mix up like mine was.

Rockhound Rider :( :o

[hotcoffee2]

i agree john. reviewing how to amend a clinical note might help. you have rights. and if something written by the VA "haunts" you, then contend it. contend it with medical facts. there is a process of rights associated with vha handbook patient privacy rights. if your amendment is denied, you have the right to a hearing with the chief of staff. i have made patient advocacy 'make' a practioner call me. i would not let them off the phone until they explained their rationale for the note they wrote. in my case, he was medically incorrect in the assumption he had written in my medical record. so i amended the record through the privacy officer to establish the correct medical diagnosis.

i'm so sorry you feel victimized like this. you have rights as a patient. i found the privacy officer to be most knowledgeable about my rights as a VA patient. they also can directly enter changes into your record online.

also before leaving a clinical appointment bring a xeroxed copy of a letter to the PCP of the points you would like to see covered in your record.

Just remember that anything you tell your PCP can and will be used against you when you file a claim. Anything you tell any VA employee can come back to haunt you. When I filed my CUE the VA went over my file with a fine tooth comb to try and find a reason to deny. They went back over 20 years to find a C&P exam opinion to try and hurt me. It did not work.

Edited November 3, 2008 by pattik