First: At my wife's doctor's request, she had a Stress Test (aka Cardio Test). Last time she seen him, she told him that a couple of times recently she experienced a little chest pain. The pain went away, but was curious about it and wanted to tell her doctor. We picked up a copy of her test yesterday and she sort of wondered about a couple of comments made about it. One of the comments was "abnormal EKG". She did get tired on the treadmill and asked for a break. Now, even with this comment written, her doctor has not contacted her about the test, so we figured she was ok. Thinking about it more, I told her that she should contact him and see what he thinks. We both just wonder why she hasn't heard from the doctor concerning the comments. Second: I had an MRI done on my left shoulder this past July. Had rotator cuff surgery done on it last year, in March, but am still getting some nagging/achy pain daily and taking an OTC pain med for that (reason for MRI). My surgeon seen me earlier this month concerning the MRI and told me "the shoulder looks fine". Gave me a "pressure test" on the shoulder and no problem. Got the results of the MRI and a cd/photos of it as well. One of the comments was about a small tear that showed up on the MRI. Don't know when this small tear happened, but, apparently, it's not serious. Only thing is, my surgeon never told me about this or any of the comments written about the MRI. All I can say is "Hummmmmm????? So, am really wondering: #1 Why hasn't my wife's doctor, or his nurse, called about her results? and #2 Why didn't my surgeon talk to me about the comments on the MRI report?
I had an abnormal EKG, the EKG was part of my medicare wellness test. The EKG was abnormal ...it showed a right bundle branch block so I had to have a stress test and an echocardiogram. That showed everything was ok with my heart and that abnormal EKG is normal for me and it's my baseline. My dr told me right after the test the results but I got a call a couple weeks later from his office which confirmed it. The tech told me if I stop on the treadmill, it doesn't count. Machine stops and I have to start over. If it's something I'm concerned about, I call the dr. I also had a pap smear and wasn't called about that but I wasn't concerned and when I had my regular appt they said everything was ok and they would have called if it wasn't.
Well, she would just like to know what the comments on the Report were written for. I really believe her doctor's nurse should have called to discuss the results. A phone call from her doctor would be nice, but he doesn't get paid thru a phone call. As for myself, when I was having the Consultation about the MRI, I would have thought he would have told me what the report said/comments written......but that didn't happen. Perhaps, in a few months, I will have another surgeon go over the report with me.
So, is everything ok with your wife? Did the echo say abnormal or the EKG? My EKG said abnormal also,that's why I had to have the other tests. I had no complaints and the EKG was routine. Had it been normal, I wouldn't have needed the other tests. My dr is a cardiologist though. That's not why I chose him 12 yrs ago as my dr. My friend recommend him and his office is near my house. All these tests were done at his office and not the hospital. If I was your wife and nobody discussed anything with me, I'd be calling them.
The Cardio Test/Stress Test Report comment said "abnormal EKG". Her doctor is just a regular PCP. Don't know why the doctor's office hasn't called her, but she will call them. The lady that printed out her report, told her and I "if you don't get a call from the doctor, then things must be fine. Only thing is, the word "abnormal" doesn't go along with the word "fine"! I just don't understand why my surgeon didn't discuss the comments on my MRI report with me and, why she hasn't heard from her doctor.
Mistakes are made. When I had my gallbladder removed, the surgeon repaired an umbilical hernia at the same time. I know that he told me that he had used a mesh to hold it in place. After hearing of problems that some people were having with a specific type of mesh that had been used in hernia repairs, I asked for a copy of the report on my hernia so that I could see if he had used that type of mesh. The report said nothing about using any type of mesh, although I am one hundred percent certain he had told me that had used a mesh. The same report described me as having several cigarette burns on my chest, and I have no burns of any kind on my chest and the only way that I can imagine anyone getting several cigarette burns on their chest is if they were severely abused as a child or passed out on the couch holding a lit cigarette and, even then, I would think someone would have to do that more than once. Unfortunately, the surgeon has since retired and the hospital was unable to find any notations about his having used a mesh, although he had used a mesh in several other hernia operations. The best that I could do was to get them to let me insert a notation in the file stating that it was inaccurate. The way such errors occur is that the doctors and the surgeons don't generally write up their own reports. They might do dozens of operations per day, write hastily scribbled notes and dictation, leaving it for a medical transcriptionist to type up at the end of the day. My wife was a medical transcriptionist at Cape Fear Hospital in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and she said that it's nearly impossible to understand what some of these doctors are saying in their dictation, and we all know about their handwriting. Probably that erroneous section of my medical record belonged to another patient, and was inserted into my record by mistake, while someone else has a record that says that they have a mesh in their stomach that they don't really have.
@Cody Fousnaugh, I am just guessing. Your doctors sure look busy as not to bother with details. There are doctors like that as if they would be wasting their time to spend some more minutes when the information is trivial. In other words, I think you are both okay. But again, I am just guessing. My husband has the same problem with his doctor. He was there last week of July for his 3rd checkup. But he had noticed that the doctor seemed to be always hurrying because he talked too fast. My husband has that impression because that doctor has a long line of patients in his home clinic. He may be a good one because of the countless patients but his he may always be in a hurry because of that (too many patients to handle). Now my husband is thinking of moving to another doctor.
Will, Ken, "mistakes are made" just isn't good enough for this "old boy"! Doctors and nurses make a darn good salary not to make mistakes. The two people that the public don't like tolerating making mistakes is their Doctor and their Banker.
They might make a good salary but many are on very long tiring shifts, especially in the ER. Crazy schedules and long hours shouldn't be allowed but they are.....nurses also. They aren't God and only human, so mistakes are made...just like in any other profession wether high paying or minimum wage. My brother in law is a dr in the ER and I wouldn't want his crazy schedule for anything in the world.
I've never known anyone who has never made a mistake on the job. Doctors aren't any different, although their mistakes may be more significant. These days, there are often sufficient checks and balances in the hospital setting, at least when it comes to treatment. Nurses will question doctors who order the wrong thing and, in my thyroid surgeries, there were two surgeons involved, as well as the rest of the team.
My own experiences with doctors over my lifetime have been harrowing, to say the least. I'll try to be brief, but in the first case, and some here may remember my OP about it elsewhere, takes time to understand. Age 19, severe abscess in molar tooth. Good Friday, family dentist off, went to a young guy my sister recommended. He took lots of X-rays, referred me to an oral surgeon, the following week, by which time the swollen gum had burst open, pus drained out, pain subsided. My Mother accompanied me to the oral surgeon, who had complete skull X-rays shot, told us I had a cyst in my upper jawbone. He was going to do what is called the Caldwell-Luc Radical Maxillary Operation, even set up a day with the hospital. He explained the procedure in detail; we were horrified. A hole is sawed through the skull above the molars, all 4 of which are removed, the "tumor" removed through the access hole. My Dad got home from work, heard the story, called the surgeon, told him in no uncertain terms there would be no operation. Dr. tried to scare my Dad with some tumor talk, my Dad called him a "quack", and hung up. I went to our regular family dentist, telling him only about the pain, no mention of the other two drs. He took one X-ray, declared the molar could not be saved, he pulled it out, and I asked him what if there was a cyst present? He said, it would be given time after the extraction, to see if it heals; if it did not, further treatment would be needed. In a couple of weeks, everything was fine. 6 months later, during routine check-up, I told him the whole story. His face turned white, he pulled down a big text on dentistry, showed me the photos of the Caldwell-Luc operation. Pretty horrible to see. My Dad's gumption had saved me. The "kicker" here: I always took extra care noticing details. Both the young dentist I saw first, and the oral surgeon, had graduated from Northwestern University Dental School in 1955! They were working in cahoots! The last straw? Story above, 1961. In 1995, visiting my dying sister in the hospital, I spotted the oral surgeon's name on a bronze plaque: Member, Board of Directors! Politicians are not the only crooked "professionals". I'll spare y'all the rest of my "doctor dilemmas" for now. Frank
My daughter almost went to northwestern dental school but it was way too expensive. I hate when people have a bad experience then bad mouth all drs or dentists. You can bet my daughter would not be in cahoots with another dentist wether they went to the same school or not...stories like that just p*ss me off! You already told this story with gory pictures once, Frank....
Well, wife will her doctor's office tomorrow and I will contact my surgeon's nurse next week. We both need to find out what the comments are about on our reports. BUT, we shouldn't have to call them, good "patient service" isn't done that way......in my book, anyway.