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Doctors and the law
Savash
Registered User new member
Registered User new member
I'll spare you all the details and cut right to the chase. I'm being harassed by someone that has a lot of social connections locally. For example, I had to see a specialist. After my first appointment, I call to arrange for my records to be sent somewhere, and make another appointment. While on the phone, I'm told the doctor wants me to have surgery.
My next appointment, the doctor says no surgery. (He's also really interested in my name, which now seems suspicious.)
I get referred to another specialist and they make the appointment for me and say they'll call when it's made.
They never made the appointment and they never called me. I called them to ask about that and they say they'll call me back. They never call.
I call to get my records sent somewhere else and I find out that they never sent those records from before, and I have to come in to sign a release to send my records. I make arrangements to come in and sign that, and pick up a copy of my records because they are going on sabbatical.
The day I am supposed to go in, the day they told me would be the last chance to pick the records up, they have gone on sabbatical.
Now, it's possible that he simply has the worst office of any medical professional ever. But for the sake of argument, what is the doctor risking by taking part in this harassment?
My next appointment, the doctor says no surgery. (He's also really interested in my name, which now seems suspicious.)
I get referred to another specialist and they make the appointment for me and say they'll call when it's made.
They never made the appointment and they never called me. I called them to ask about that and they say they'll call me back. They never call.
I call to get my records sent somewhere else and I find out that they never sent those records from before, and I have to come in to sign a release to send my records. I make arrangements to come in and sign that, and pick up a copy of my records because they are going on sabbatical.
The day I am supposed to go in, the day they told me would be the last chance to pick the records up, they have gone on sabbatical.
Now, it's possible that he simply has the worst office of any medical professional ever. But for the sake of argument, what is the doctor risking by taking part in this harassment?
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I'd go into the office and raise hell, to be honest, and get your medical records. They aren't allowed to hold those hostage.
If it turns out that they are actively trying to screw you, and you have evidence, you can file a complaint with your State/Province's College of Physicians and Surgeons or equivalent.
From the example, I'm gathering, and please correct me if I read this wrong.
- you went to doctor A and doctor A turned out to be a dud, you were referred to doctor B
- doctor B is also a dud, and doctor A is being a pain in the ass about giving you back your medical records
What else has been involved with this process to make you think someone is using their influence to harass you? Is it just this one doctor?
Not quite.
Doctor A referred me to a different type of specialist. (Doctor
I haven't seen Doctor B because Doctor A's office was supposed to give me the referral, was supposed to arrange an appointment for me, told me they'd done both, and they actually did neither.
I'm going to Doctor C (same type of specialist as Doctor
What makes me think this person is using their influence is that they've done this before to someone else, and they told me they were going to do it to me. It can't get any plainer than that. This particular Doctor may just have a shitty office, of course. But I've had shitty Doctors with shitty offices, and this takes the cake.
If you feel you were singled out for bad service then there are several ways to get satisfaction, starting with filling out one of those online patient surveys. If it turns out a needed surgery was delayed because of this, I would file a complaint with the state medical board.
They told you they were simply not going to actually refer you to a specialist? Or that they were intentionally not forwarding your medical records? The first is malpractice, the second is illegal.
If you're hinting that a receptionist or other office staff member has threatened you this way, s/he has absolutely put the physician in a position where the doctor could be sued for malpractice. If the doctor is made aware of the threat, and your records and referrals aren't made in a timely manner, than the doctor could also be found guilty of medical misconduct.
Honestly, if you're seeing Doctor C (the same specialist type as the Dr. B specialist you didn't get to see because Dr.A is acting either incompetently or like a TV cartoon villain) and have been referred by Doctor F (your primary) then don't worry TOO much about Doctor A. Doctor C should be able to get the information for you, either directly from Doctor A, or from your primary (Dr. F).
I'm assuming a few things here, one is that your primary doctor (F) referred you to Dr. A in the first place. If that's true, than Dr. F should have been sent automatically records from Dr. A. If not, then Dr. F should be (professionally) harassing Dr. A for the records.
And no, you don't have to go to Dr. A's office, you can sign a medical release form at either Dr.F's office or the new specialist (Dr.C)'s office.
You want to make sure that Dr. F and Dr. C know what's going on. Particularly Dr.F who will likely stop referring so many people to Dr.A if he doesn't straighten out his staff. You also would be within your rights to file a complaint against Dr. A and his office with your county/states medical board.
I'm also assuming that Dr. A is not the one who personally threatened you, because that's really nuts, but it means that Dr.A is allowing his staff to threaten patients and possibly cost him his license. I couldn't tell from your OP if the doctor was actively involved or not, but to answer your original question, Dr.A is risking his medical license, a malpractice lawsuit and possible jail time.
The current problem with Dr. A is that their whole office is supposedly on sabbatical for who knows how long, so getting my records from them or having them sent anywhere is impossible.
I'm trying to paint an accurate picture here, but obviously I can't go into too much detail.
Well, the details you've provided do not suggest harassment in any way. So my assessment is this: fI you think you have already provided the key details that suggest "harassment," then your conclusion is almost definitely wrong. If not, we can't help you until you share those details (which you may not want to do, understandably, but then we cannot properly assess your situation).
Sounds like incompetence to me. I've seen offices (both medical and dental) close earlier than they told a patient (my mother, and my father multiple times). It sounds crazy, but it happens.and being slow with referrals and other admin tasks? Not uncommon.
You mentioned that they've "done this before" - you know that from who? Doctor B? The wronged patient? Some other random person? And what made THEM think it was harassment?
Harassment indicates that they are doing something to bother and affect you, and not sending medical records is not harassment. That's "I'm lazy and incompetent and forgetful."
Whether it was harassment or incompetence, heads are rolling for it.