Warning - I am all fired up right now, so this could be intense! I just had the worst experience trying to get a new OB here in Portland. My situation is a little unique since I will be on Tricare Prime insurance (military) until Sept. 30th and then switch to Providence Insurance (school district) on October 1st...the baby's due date. So, anyway - being the person that I am, I have done a ton of research trying to find the best OB possible who will accept both insurances. My aunt, who is a nurse with Providence Health has also helped me a lot with recommendations. After a lot of searching, I finally found two doctors who came highly recommended and I was happy about.
Well, in order to be able to make an appointment with an OB, I had to go to a random family practice doctor today to get a referral. That was a whole different experience that I could rant about, but I won't since I will never be seeing him again and I got what I needed - a referral. Thinking that everything was smooth sailing, I called the OB's doctor's office to get set up with one of the doctors whom I had researched only to learn that they don't take Tricare Prime insurance...even though Tricare said they did. Ok...so I went to the next doctor on my list, only to learn that the clinic was full for the stage of pregnancy I am in. Ok...so I got a recommendation from that clinic, only to learn that the next clinic didn't accept Tricare either. AHHHH!!!! At this point, I am freaking out. Pregnancy hormones or not - I like to be prepared and educated before I make a really important decision.
I ended up googling "Women's Clinics in Portland" to find a list of potential clinics. This was scary to me, but what I had to do. I found the only clinic that is relatively close to our new house, read their reviews - half of which were good, and decided to call to see if they even accepted both health insurances and new patients. I guess a positive thing is that they are - yay! So I decided to make an appointment. I asked the receptionist if I could come in for a trial appointment with a doctor just to make sure it was a good fit, and she told me that they don't do "meet and greets." Seriously?!?! Is that how you treat people on the phone!! I then got really irritated and tried my best to hide it, but not sure how successful I was. :) I ended up making an appointment with a random doctor and prayed that it was OK. After I got off the phone, I ended up reading the reviews again and noticed that all of the positive reviews were of a specific doctor, so I decided to swallow my pride and call them back to ask if I could switch doctors. I got a different receptionist lady this time, but she told me that she already knew all about my phone call with the other receptionist. She also treated me like I was a child, but convinced me to stick with the doctor I originally got.
As a result of fear that I will never get an appointment, I decided to keep it with this clinic and doctor...but definitely not based on customer service. I couldn't believe it! I am not crazy!! Yes, maybe there are some pregnancy hormones that have been triggered, but I also am just trying to ensure the best care possible. And all the planning I had done previously was just thrown out the window. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
I will report back next Wednesday to let you know if it was a positive experience. I hate being treated like I am an idiot, but maybe it was just a big misunderstanding. We'll see...
11 comments:
if a person daily deals with pregnant women, he or she should be better equipped to handle them! i can't believe how rude these women were. i would be equally frustrated. would they not also want the best care possible??????? yikes! best of luck. i hope everything goes well today. i look forward to the update.
How rude!! I am sorry, but healthcare professionals work for YOU! They are being paid by YOUR insurance and you should be able to change your mind, ask questions, etc. Wow, that is really tricky timing Sarah, I am sorry! It will all work out great though! At least you found a place that takes both insurance's. Can you imagine meeting your new dr. as they are delivering your baby? Awkward!! :)
P.S. Isn't it crazy that Amber is having a girl too? We will have to have a cute little playdate when she comes to town with her baby!!!!
P.S. Where are you guys going to church now that you are back in Portland?
This may be going against the grain of hormones here, but so long as the baby comes out healthy, all the rest of truly just icing.
eeeew, mean ladies. That is so frustrating. I had to go through the same thing you are when I was pregnant with Chase. I had Aetna insurance with Matt's company he worked for, then switched to Tri-care when he left for OTS. It was so complicated because my OB (who I LOVED and had been with for 6 months) didn't take tricare. It all worked out in the end when he made an exception and so did Tri-care. Here's my question, the office who was full for women as far along as you are.....will they still be a month or so from now? When more women deliver? Maybe if you're persistent and REALLY REALLY nice, they'll work with you. Just a thought. Ask to have the Doctor himself call you back and beg.
so...how'd it go? are you happy or more angry???
Kelsey, my appointment isn't until next Wednesday - but I will definitely keep you updated. Hopefully it will go alright. I have talked with my aunt a bunch who is trying to see if she can work anything out on her end, but so far no luck. Hopefully I will end up really liking the doctor. I am at least going to see what she is like. At that point, I will either get much more persistant (and nice) about trying to find a different doctor, or remain with the doctor I am currently set up with and tell her how rude and unprofessional their receptionists are. :) I'll keep you updated.
I'm so sorry you have to deal with this right now! Just know that God's got the perfect doctor lined up for you :) Hope the appt. goes well next week! Keep us posted
Well, you can always go see my midwives in Tualatin. They were awesome, took pretty much any insurance or helped you to figure out a payment. I had the most amazing waterbirth experience, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Two of my friends (and my mom) who were skeptical of my crazy decision to do birth naturally, now want midwives/waterbirths, the works after going to my hour long appointments in which everything (Physically, Spiritually, Mentally, emotionally, etc) was covered. Good luck though, I had a really easy switch when I "moved" to Portland, but I totally feel for you.
Things will work out how they are supposed to, eventually! When I found my OB in Yukon, I went with the only female in Yukon that took my insurance. I had no idea about reviews or anything, but she ended up being absolutely WONDERFUL! And I'm very very sad they I can't go to her for our next baby :( You will find the right person to care for mini-Sarah!
Sarah,
Sounds like God is preparing you for parenthood - where things don't go as planned on a regular basis. I'll be praying that your doctor/insurance situation works out for the good - healthy mom and baby.
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