primary doc visit instead of the endo

[czardoust]

Im kind of in the air on what to do with Katerinas endo. We love him, Kat loves him, hes been with her since her dx 4 yrs ago so he is all she knows as far as her "diabetes dr" is concerned. But we have had major problems getting in to see him since he got a new office manager. She demands the copay upfront or else the appt is canceled, and she did not let us know that her dec 21st appt was no good since he would be on vacation. Her last visit with the endo was in July of 08. Her October appt was canceled due to the lack of complete copay (they would not accept 1/2), then it was rescheduled for 2 weeks later. That appt was canceled by the endos office due to "overbooking" on their part supposedly. It was rescheduled for December and then the Friday before her Monday appt they called to say he had been out of the office since Novemeber and would not be back until January. Then the earliest appt they had was February 09. Im fed up to be honest. Well, today I did what I would never in a million yrs thought I would ever do, and I give KUDOS to the army and their dr staff for catching this curve ball and running with it!!! I called and made an appt at the army clinic with kats regular doctor (the one who sees her for un-D related things like colds, whatever) and this nice woman saw her today.

She gave us the prescriptions for all her D supplies and meds.
She ordered the A1c blood test.

All having never done this before with anybody! Shes an intern bless her heart. I told her how thankful we were, how important that A1c was to us since she was dx'ed with glaucoma back in July. Now I have to think about what to do with her endo. Our other option is to travel 300 miles to Birmingham, AL. The intern did mention something to us.... that most dr's do not like to have Tricare patients because Tricare will only pay a set amount (what they deem necessary, so if the dr charges $150 but the average price for his services across the area is $80, Tricare pays $80). Im thinking that the new office manager is trying to get rid of us. That makes me really sad. I am planning on letting her endo know when (if) we get to see him in February. I need you guys imput. Your thoughts? Yeh....

[PixieStix]

Yes, TRICARE is not known to be one of the better payers, but when a practice agrees to be a network provider they are agreeing to accept the set fees. Have they been asking you to pay more than the $12 copay upfront? What about a non-network provider that accepts TRICARE in your area? You could request permission to see them possibly.

[czardoust]

Our copay is $12, the day we were to go (and were canceled due to that reason) I only had $9 on me. Her endo is not a regular Tricare beneficiary, we got Tricare to give us a referral to keep going to him all this time because we found him to be really likeable and helpful. I wish the office would be up front with us.

[PixieStix]

Since you really like this endo and had good experiences until this new staff member came, I would tell the Endo of your latest experiences and that you are considering leaving his practice. Oftentimes the docs have no idea what is happening out at the front desk and would be shocked at the exchanges that happen w/ patients. I hope it all works out, sounds frustrating.

[Darryl]

I just posted this in another thread tonight, and would like to copy it here, as it is relevant to the question in the original post:

We use a pediatrician who has had T1 for many years. He uses both
a pump and CGM, and started using the CGM at the time when CGM's
first became available. The first thing he said when he met our daughter
(at the time, she was 8 years old and 3 months after dx) was "Does she
have her CGM prescription yet". He got her started immediately, and
supported us with extensive answers on using the CGM until we were
self-sufficient. Since that time - nearly 18 months ago, our daughter's
highest BG on record is 279, her A1C has been around 5.6%, and she
has had no significant low's.

We have no interest or need to see our endo, who failed to recommend
the pump or CGM for our daughter at her diagnosis. Our pediatrician has
an Endo we can consult with if necessary.

[Heather(CA)]

Originally Posted by czardoust

Im kind of in the air on what to do with Katerinas endo. We love him, Kat loves him, hes been with her since her dx 4 yrs ago so he is all she knows as far as her "diabetes dr" is concerned. But we have had major problems getting in to see him since he got a new office manager. She demands the copay upfront or else the appt is canceled, and she did not let us know that her dec 21st appt was no good since he would be on vacation. Her last visit with the endo was in July of 08. Her October appt was canceled due to the lack of complete copay (they would not accept 1/2), then it was rescheduled for 2 weeks later. That appt was canceled by the endos office due to "overbooking" on their part supposedly. It was rescheduled for December and then the Friday before her Monday appt they called to say he had been out of the office since Novemeber and would not be back until January. Then the earliest appt they had was February 09. Im fed up to be honest. Well, today I did what I would never in a million yrs thought I would ever do, and I give KUDOS to the army and their dr staff for catching this curve ball and running with it!!! I called and made an appt at the army clinic with kats regular doctor (the one who sees her for un-D related things like colds, whatever) and this nice woman saw her today.

She gave us the prescriptions for all her D supplies and meds.
She ordered the A1c blood test.

All having never done this before with anybody! Shes an intern bless her heart. I told her how thankful we were, how important that A1c was to us since she was dx'ed with glaucoma back in July. Now I have to think about what to do with her endo. Our other option is to travel 300 miles to Birmingham, AL. The intern did mention something to us.... that most dr's do not like to have Tricare patients because Tricare will only pay a set amount (what they deem necessary, so if the dr charges $150 but the average price for his services across the area is $80, Tricare pays $80). Im thinking that the new office manager is trying to get rid of us. That makes me really sad. I am planning on letting her endo know when (if) we get to see him in February. I need you guys imput. Your thoughts? Yeh....

I think that if you really like this Endo, see him one more time and explain your concerns. It may or may not help, but at least you would have tried?

[wdhinn89]

Originally Posted by Darryl

I just posted this in another thread tonight, and would like to copy it here, as it is relevant to the question in the original post:

We use a pediatrician who has had T1 for many years. He uses both
a pump and CGM, and started using the CGM at the time when CGM's
first became available. The first thing he said when he met our daughter
(at the time, she was 8 years old and 3 months after dx) was "Does she
have her CGM prescription yet". He got her started immediately, and
supported us with extensive answers on using the CGM until we were
self-sufficient. Since that time - nearly 18 months ago, our daughter's
highest BG on record is 279, her A1C has been around 5.6%, and she
has had no significant low's.

We have no interest or need to see our endo, who failed to recommend
the pump or CGM for our daughter at her diagnosis. Our pediatrician has
an Endo we can consult with if necessary.

It would be great to have a pediatrition as knowledgeable as this one but unfortunately, they are far and few between.

Personally, I think an endo is very important and unless the ped is as knowledgeable as the one quoted above, I would not give him up. I would call and let him know the front desk cancelled the appointment for $3. I don't think he would be very happy to hear that.

[Lee]

ISn't this the endo that some other posters here have had similar problems with? I thik a couple of them ended up swithcing endos becuase of similar issues??? Or I could be remembering wrong!

[Ellen]

Can you ask to speak with the endocrinologist on the phone to discuss your issue with the office staff? It seems pretty unreasonable that if you were willing to pay the $9 right then and there and owe $3.00 thereafter, they weren't willing.

BTW, is your daughter seeing an opthamologist quarterly for glaucoma pressure checks?

[Aidan'sMom]

Originally Posted by Lee

ISn't this the endo that some other posters here have had similar problems with? I thik a couple of them ended up swithcing endos becuase of similar issues??? Or I could be remembering wrong!

This was Aidan's previous endo....I am sure you remember my problems with him and his staff....not to offend you czardoust, but when it came to caring for Aidan he didn't seem to know his a$$ from a hole in the ground. Never could get him on the phone, waited hours and hours for doctors visits and sometimes couldn't even be seen. He even charged me $50 for a phone call once whe Aidan had only been diagnosed for 2 months and I was still so new to everything. Once he changed offices it only got worse. Anyways, enough ranting. The past is the past.

Just wanted to say that I am sorry for your situation and that I am glad Kat loves him. Aidan was scared of him and I couldn't even hold a conversation with the man.

I hope things improve for you and you resolve the situation.