I totally agree Zoe, communication is key and too many doctors lack those skills. But, there are some downsides to the consumerization of health care. Too many patients walk in demanding a drug (antibiotics or something they see on TV) or rejecting a beneficial drug based on incomplete information. We all deserve the final word in every aspect of our own care, and it’s fair to expect that our doctors will listen to us, but sometimes I think people are too dismissive of what a doctor says because a doctor is too dismissive of them. There is definitely room for improvement on both sides of the stethoscope:)
Hello Tom:
Thank you for taking part.
So is this blackmail or not? Your answer is not clear on that point. Ever had this type of expereince yourself by chance?
Stuart
Doctors in my area are already starting to screen new patients for health problems. I was looking for a new PCP and had several places ask me a list of health problems & prescriptions that I take. One of the doctors that came highly recommended from a neighbor turned me down. I am sure it will only get worse.
Good point, Tom. I think there is definitely the Hundred Monkeys/Urban Legend effect both with the internet and tv advertising. (If you hear something a certain amount of times it becomes codified as “truth”) People who don’t do their homework but just "heard that my great aunt ida died after using that med. (ignoring that great aunt ida also had bubonic plague) don’t help our credibility at all. Doctors think, “oh here comes another one”. Of course that effect NEVER happens on tudiabetes!
I live in a state that you need a prescirption to purchase syringes & insulin (other than NPH & Regular). I did turn the doctor over to the state licensing board because he called the pharmacy and cancelled my refills on all prescriptions. All I had was insulin, pen needles, thyroid meds & BP med, no pain pills or anything. According to my state’s licensing board, he did nothing wrong. They said they will keep the complaint on file in case anything else ever comes up about him.
But what about the people that did do what they said and ended up with problems. What they said to do did not work but instead of thinking outside of the box and maybe what they wanted me to do actually did not work, I was labeled non-compliant. The first doctor to believe me was when I was in the hospital for a week and was controlling everything. He told me my BS baffled him! Then I found the DOC and found out why you don’t listen to doctors!
I usually speak in generalities because I don’t like passing judgment on people I don’t know. But, based on what you posted, I’d say that his actions are inappropriate but don’t quite reach the point of being blackmail and/or criminal. My answer would change in some circumstances: If his recommendations were contrary to “standard” practice, if he was the only doctor available to you, or if he stopped refilling rxs before you could reasonably find a new doc.
I have never encountered this particular issue, but I have changed doctors for much less. I have switched PCPs on two occasions because I simply did not like the way the doctor interacted with me. My current PCP pushes statins, which I’ve declined to date, but he is otherwise a good and responsive doctor so I have stuck with him.
LOL, you’re right on.
gasp!! That’s even worse! I bet your right.
Unbelievable that doctor’s offices aren’t accessible!
I’d have to say “yes”. He is threatening you if you don’t do what he wants. That is terrible.
The only threat I have had from my doctor was they wouldn’t fill a prescription unless I got blood tests and came in for a visit.
My doctor tells me that unless my LDL is 70 or below, he wants me on a statin, because that is the requirement if you have 3 risk factors:
- diabetic
- over 30 years old
- overweight
My kidney doctor doesn’t think they are necessary because he says my kidney problems are causing my liver to create more cholesterol, and that type of elevated LDL has not been linked to heart disease.
I don’t know about syringes, but you can always get Regular and NPH without a prescription; you just have to pay for them. Many states allow you to buy syringes without a prescription if you’re buying insulin at the same time, but I don’t know about your state.
Speaking of syringes, I buy in quantity from American Diabetes Warehouse. Tu D members get a discount http://www.tudiabetes.org/notes/Discounts. It’s cheaper for me to buy from them then from a pharmacy with my insurance co-pay. Go figure!
Do you mean American Diabetes Wholesale? When pricing syringes or pen needles, I actually found Walmart Relion brand syringes at about $12.50/100 ct to be pretty hard to beat in price. Of course, not everybody has the “joy” of living near a Walmart. I also found like Gerri that my insurance co-pay was higher than the price for needles, so I don’t even go through insurance.
And while almost all states allow you to by R and NPH without a prescription, there are still a number of states that restrict syringe sales to prescription (http://www.isletsofhope.com/diabetes/state-law/state-prescription-laws.html). So, in Massachusetts, you can buy the insulin, but you have to use a turkey baster to inject. That is smart.
What is it with doctors and statins? I flatly refuse to take them (I have the common muscle reaction, plus I’m pretty much persuaded not to take them for other reasons). But there’s no way my doc would ever withhold a script for anything else.
It’s my body and I will decide what I will and won’t put in it. It’s actually bizarre that doctors sometimes forget that we are paying them for a service.
There’s non-compliance and non-compliance. Depends on what it is. I’m making an informed choice.
Am I non-compliant by not eating the 300 grams a day of carbs that are STILL being recommended? Am I non-compliant because I react badly to a class of drugs and refuse to take them? Am I non-complaint if I do not follow some advice that I know isn’t in my best interests? Maybe. But to be held to ransom over it is absurd!
The reaction you are describing “Rhabdomyolysis” is muscle pain, not the symptoms I had. I had some sort of intolerance, probably did not metabolize statis properly. Statins could make my cholesterol plunge, total cholesterol less than 100. Cholesterol is the substrate for a lot of biological processes. I had just a bunch of things just kinda shut down, it clearly showed up in my lab tests.
I have never been blackmailed, if so, I would find another doc.
The only thing close to it is the prescription I was written once 7-8 years ago by one doc to take a blood pressure medicine, which endos seem to think will keep our major organs from burning out. I didn't have high blood pressure then and still don't. I never filled it since then the insurance company will mark me down with blood pressure issues I'm sure.
That endo retired so I went to a new one 1/2010 and she tried the same thing. I just told her to save the ink that I would not fill it. She asked why, I told her about the previous time, she said I should still do it. After all of my blood and pee tests came back to her, she told me not to worry about it, I was doing fine.
That was the end of that. I look at the docs to give me direction (which I choose to follow or not) and to heal me if I get sick, not to be overbearing with me.
If I were you I would shop for a less demanding doc. Just my opinion though.
A clear case to use the consumer feedback too Angie's List. Let the world know what a sack of sh*t this doctor is.
One of our clinics in town, definitely plays that game with their patients. If you see one doc and don't like them or can't get along with them, or they aren't what you are looking for, too bad. You can't see anyone else. They play the medicaid / medicare game with patients and advertise for new patients but won't take these. Which I can understand, BUT, don't get me in there, make me pay for a visit, and then tell me you aren't taking any more Medicaid patients. I think because many still have a GOD complex, ,that yes they blackmail us, because in the end, we are dependent upon them for something.