Anyone Else Having Hard Time Getting Appt With Orthopedic Back Doctor

[63SIERRA]

Well heres how the va avoids that. The urgent care desk is down the hall from the primary care providers offices. If you go to the urgent care desk, unless its a dire emergency and life or death, they make you go to your primary, and sign in as a walk in patient.

I dont want to go after hours to emergency, and take up that slot, when someone could possibly have a life or death situation and be in the way of them getting to them quicker.

I have seen on several occasions where patients started yelling at staff at waco va urgent care, because they dont want to let them see an urgent care doc, they try to send them to walk in primary, and sit all day.

Imagine some poor old veteran, sitting in a wheelchair having chest pains, turning purple, and having to argue with a retarded desk nurse, abt whehther he should go to his primary or not. I seen this with my own eyes. Finally he started yelling at her, and they took him into emergency,

Edited October 18, 2013 by 63SIERRA

[63SIERRA]

Even since the sermon I gave them today I still dont have an appt. The nurse said they will send out a letter, requesting me to call, to SET UP an appointment for my twice yearly check up, at that time, I can let my primary know, and he can evaluate my back, to see if I meet the criteria, to see ortho. For some unknown reason, they just refuse to actually schedule an appointment. Whats also strange is though they say I dont have a back problem, they have been giving me hydrocodone .aceto for over 2 years. FOR MY BACK.

[63SIERRA]

The previous joke of a doctor, told me that when they checked my kidney after surgery, for cancer, they checked my back out then. She then called and saif she wanted to have a phone conference. I talked to her on the phone explaining that ,my back pain had gotten worse, after my kidney surgery, and that they had to twist me like a pretzel to get it out, and they told me it was a long , rough surgery.

The doctor told me she looked at my xrays and there was no problem, all normal. So I asked her what xrays did u looks at, the ones from 2 years ago?>> and she said yes. So thats when I went request a new doc, and im dealing with that new one now.

I asked the nurse today, why is it, that Its not problem getting a referal to a dietician, urologisst, pediatrist, oncologist, pyhscologist, sleep study, stress test, ect.. But when it comes to ORTHOPEDIC, it HELL NO. and she couldnt answer , except her standard, repeat answer of.... you have to meet the criteria.

[63SIERRA]

Also today was the first day EVER that a actual doctor who was on staff, in the building, on the floor, did not actually come into the room and see me. The nurse went down the hall and asked him questions, and came back The nurse took on the doctor role. . I find this very strange He was right down the hall and couldnt even pop in, grin, fart, and leave? Am I not even worthy of that.? Thats blue ribbon health care? Thats the best care in the world, when the doctor doesnt even come acknowledge his patients presence?

[free_spirit_etc]

Odd on the diagnosis. You had spondylisisthesis in the military. I didn't think that went away by itself. I don't use the VA for medical care -- since I am not eligible -- but I read somewhere that if you commnicate with them on the https://www.myhealth.va.gov/index.html system that it becomes part of your medical records. Of course, it isn't the doctor's statements, but you can create a record (i.e. paper trail) of complaining of back pain. Not sure about that -- but read it somewhere.

[63SIERRA]

im going to go get my records of todays appointment next week and see if they wrote down that I requested an appointment with an ortho doc, if they didnt, Im going to call the va inspector general and find out what can be done. The patient advocate that works FOR THE VA HOSPITAL, is a waste of time, and is just a buffer, and early warning trip wire, for the hospital administrator. You cannot see the hospital admin, because she, the patient advocate ... " handles" your problem. Its all set up to shut you down.

Edited October 18, 2013 by 63SIERRA