Switching Pediatricians - Salt Lake City,UT

The next time you see the doctor, I would mention to the doctor politely the main issues that you are having with the staff. Perhaps the doctor has know idea the service that they are providing. You can then make a decision depending on the answer you receive.

I would definately switch to a pediatrician where the staff is trained to deal with childhood specific issues. As far as getting an answer back quickly, I have been to dozens of doctors and that is always an issue. I would avoid making a huge issue about the staff and then staying with that doctor. You do not want to get the reputation of being a complainer if you continue with that office, threats do not work with very many people.

Talk to the doctor, himself, about it. My hubby is a doc and he tells me that if his patients hadn't told him about problems like you described, he would never have known that he needed to make some changes. More and more doctors are getting clued in that, when it comes to office staff, they can make or break their practice. I'd tell him, "You know, we really think you are a great doctor and are so happy that we found you, but I have experienced a lot of communication issues with your staff and I am considering finding another practice." At that point, it is his responsibility to crack the whip, or to lose you. I'd give him the chance to correct his staff before just leaving without an explanation.

Before switching doctors again, you might consider speaking or writing a letter (or both) to the doctor and the office manager expressing your concerns. It could help.

When my 17 year old was a baby, I knew he had an ear infection when he wanted to be rocked in a rocking chair. He hated being rocked otherwise. When I called for an appointment, my pedi's otherwise excellent nurse, mocked me, not just once, but several times. I'm not a complainer by nature, but I was so shocked and upset by this that I told the pedi. She was very upset that her nurse would be so insensitive. I got a personal call of apology from both the pedi AND the nurse after that incident. And, yes, my son DID have an ear infection!

So, talking can and does help. If it doesn't, then you can decide to either suck up the bad service for the great doctor or find someone new. It's tough switching doctors but important to find a practice you can work with.

Good luck!

I had an issue where a message did not get passed on to my daughter's pediatrician in what he felt was a timely matter. He apologized profusely, promised his staff would be informed to improve and we've had no further issues. Finding a pediatrician who you can have confidence in is tough. Influencing positive change in office procedures is relatively easy. Stick with the doc and try to affect positive change for all his patients.

switch, everyone should feel 100% comfortable with their healthcare. good luck. :)

We became really frustrated with our first pediatrician's staff and started looking for another Dr. Several people suggested family drs but I like the idea of going to someone who specializes in caring for kids esp. when they are little. We finally found a great pediatrician with a wonderful staff. I would keep looking for a good pediatrician esp. since you have an infant because you will be in there a lot.

Switch. That level of ignorance and unprofessionalism in medical staff is unpardonable. You might want to tell the doctor why you are switching, (after you make the switch of course), however. If he gets enough feedback, he might change some of his policies.

Whether or not you switch, please take the time to let the doctor know what your experiences with his staff have been like. He can't fix what he doesn't know about.

The bilirubin thing would be the last straw for me. No offense to family doctors -- in Britain, where my husband is from, "general practitioners" handle the entire family, and pediatricians are considered specialists to whom you must be referred, unlike here. But I prefer having a pediatrician see my child; you should never get the "What is bilirubin?" response at any ped's office. I also think a ped's office is likelier (in my experience) to have things parents really value, such as weekend hours; 24-hour phone help that doesn't take forever to access; "triage" phone lines where you talk to an experienced pediatric nurse who can advise on whether or not a kid's problem is one they should see in the office; and separate "sick child" and "well child" waiting areas, so kids coming in for annual checkups aren't seated next to kids who are coughing and sneezing. Just a few things to look for in a pediatrician's office.

I was having similar frustrations with my OB/GYN. I am not pregnant, but have been trying to get pregnant again for 2 years and have a lot of ovary issues which have needed surgery. Anyway, I had no problems with the dr. but since you deal mainly with the staff, i was so annoyed. i finally switched and right after, i had an ectopic pregnancy which dragged on a month and half from +hpt to finish. the nurses were AWESOME; knew who i was each time i called right away, knew my situation, and were so nice, informative and explained things. they never once sounded like they were in a hurry. it made ALL the dfference in the world. i can not imagine having to go through all that with the old office.

you will deal with the staff more. if they're no good, switch.
ps. i plan to write a letter to my old dr. as a courtesy to let him know the reasons i switched, allowing him to address the issues in order to makes changes if he wants.

You might try calling the office first and ask to speak with the office manager and mention your concerns...they may be completely unaware what's going on. The thing that got me was, "what's bilirubin?", but still, call the manager and see what he/ she says. They might be able to address your concernsa nd "fix" what's going on in the office. I've actually done that with our ped and have been VERY satisfied since (been four years). :o)

Have you considered having your insurance set up with your old doc? I did that with mine because I couldn't bear to not go there and all I did is contact my insurance company, then I let the doc's office know I did it and they did the rest.

I would never stand for an office like that. Now if you cannot get your insurance set up at the old doc's office then maybe you need to have a discussion with the doctor at the new practice.

Good luck

I switched pediatricians for this same reason, and have been so glad I did!!!

I'd switch. While the dr may seem concerned about you and your child, the staff apparently is either over-worked or doesn't give a hoot. I'd switch in a heartbeat. There are other drs that are thorough and treats kids well.

Ask to speak to the office manager and voice your concerns. While I don't believe they will do anything about the staff wearing jeans, which is probably a policy they adopted to make the office a more pleasant place to work and to boost employee morale, you have every right to expect a time frame of some sort as to when you can expect to have your calls returned, and not to be routed to several answering machines/voice mails.

My SIL is an office manager for a urologists office who gets and handles complaints all the time. The funniest one (now) was when she and my brother were soon to be married, and someone called to complain about the "fat bride-to-be" sitting and thumbing through her bridal checklist off to the side and not helping them when the other staff was on the phone. She started crying, she was very Bridezilla and hormonal at the time having just found out she has fibromyalgia, and had to call them back to explain that she 1) was on a break when seen, 2) the break room was having lighting repaired and off-limits for the day, 3) she does not typically deal with patients in the front office but rather the doctors and staff and calls from the patients, and 4) that she knew she was overweight but that her fiance loved her anyway, at which point the person apologized for being rude.

If the office manager doesn't address your concerns adequately then it may be time to switch doctors or at least see if he has another office. Our pediatrician has 2 offices and the staff is wonderful at one and terrible at the other so we only go to the lackluster one in emergencies. BTW, our ped typically calls back the next morning when she gets in the office, around 8:30 am, regardless of what time I called the previous day or what it is regarding. So if it's something I need a faster response to I call the 24-hour nurse advise line at the hospital she's affiliated with❤

neither pediatrician or their nurses ever called us back quickly unless it was to say "go to the er". if i found one who did, i would stick with them.
i do know COMPLAINING can make it worse.

I would switch pediatricians and let your doctor know exactly why... if you can get a hold of him, that is.