I don't care anymore. I'm naming names. I don't know or care if anyone reads my blog at this point, but hopefully this will POP up in a Google search if someone decides to search any of the players involved. Or perhaps some administrator at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC might actually care about this.
For approximately 5-6 years now, I have been going to Mt. Sinai Hospital's Radiology Associates at the Klingenstein Pavillion, for both, sonograms and biopsies of thyroid nodules.
While I have no complaints about Dr. Amish Doshi (who was highly recommended to me by my endocrinologist), the radiologist in question, I *DO* have a serious problem with everything about the administrative aspects of just MERELY getting in to see Dr. Doshi.
The MERE act of scheduling an appointment date/time has now reached epic proportions of stress. Perhaps I should get out a slide rule, consult an astrological chart, and perhaps offer up a blood sacrifice--perhaps that might make the experience easier.
I have been trying since 2/14/17 to schedule my appointment. For one full month, I have been playing telephone tag with Janice (I don't know what her last name is, all I do know is she signs off her outgoing messages with "God Bless," well, let's just say, I don't feel all that "blessed").
The first week of calls went something like this:
1. I call and leave a message. I clearly state who I am, and that I am calling to schedule an appt. I VERY CLEARLY state to call me back at my work phone AFTER 2 p.m. Note: I stated AFTER 2 p.m., because with MY luck, she will call back DURING MY LUNCH, thereby continuing this telephone version of "water torture."
2. She then calls MY ENDOCRINOLOGIST stating she could not call me back WHEN I wanted, and informs THE SECRETARY AT MY ENDOCRINOLOGIST'S OFFICE that I should call her back with two potential dates for my appointment.
3. Like a trained monkey, and in an act of utter futility, I call, and AGAIN, I get her voicemail, and AGAIN, I very clearly state who I am, what dates I am available for the appointment, and VERY CLEARLY state she should call me at MY OFFICE PHONE.
4. Like an idiot, she calls me at my HOME PHONE, and now has elevated this game of telephone tag to SISYPHUSIAN-INNER-RING-OF-HELL-ITSELF-FUTILITY, by informing me that Dr. Doshi was away, and she won't know until he returns whether those dates will work.
5. So I sit and seethe for two more weeks until March 8th, when I call and leave a voicemail following up YET AGAIN. No reply was received.
6. Which brings us to this week, and granted there was a blizzard on Tuesday 3/14.
7. I called again on 3/15. Her outgoing voicemail stated she was out.
8. I called again on 3/16. Her outgoing voicemail stated she was out and at the tail end of the message she stated someone else's name to direct my call. I called that person, and left a voicemail. And got no reply.
9. I called again, TODAY, 3/17, and Janice is in. Apparently, she left a voicemail TODAY ON MY HOUSE PHONE stating Dr. Doshi was available on 3/22--well now 3/22 is no longer good for me, as another co-worker will be out that day for medical stuff, and I need 3/29. (My head is just about to explode at this point). I then say, "Okay, when in April is Dr. Doshi available?" And this was met with, "You need to call me back regarding this as I don't know what his schedule will be like in April." I got loud and I got firm and stated the ridiculousness of it taking a FULL MONTH to merely try to get an appointment FOR A SONO AND BIOPSY and this unnecessary stress is doing NOTHING BUT STRESSING ME OUT MORE. I was put on hold YET AGAIN (and at this point, I am really just sick on a Pavlovian response level of sickness when I hear the piano hold music).
Just when I was about to hang up in frustration and reconsider the idea of the ultrasound and sonogram ENTIRELY, she finally got on the phone. I got loud and somewhat (for me) belligerent. And finally at that point she made the suggestion that I might see Dr. Aggarwal. At this point, I was like "At this point I will see anyone--can we just schedule this so I can get this shit done?" And all this said, this is not even a given! I gave 3/29 as the date, and I want the first appointment of the day--she still needs to call me back to confirm. And no doubt Janice, in keeping with her track record, WILL call me back at ANY OTHER NUMBER OTHER THAN THE ONE REQUIRED.
Then there are other systemic administrative failures--
EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I go in to see Dr. Doshi, there is anywhere's from 1-2 hours of my time pretty much ROBBED from me. Yes. I am being MUGGED and what is stolen is the most vital, most precious commodity: TIME. Time I will never get back.
Now mind you, going in for an ultrasound with the very real possibility of a BIOPSY is a stressful thing. A one-to-two hour wait on top of this, only exacerbates the anxiety and stress.
Last year's appointment had been scheduled, then rescheduled at least twice that I could recall. Rescheduled so many times, that I did not remember to change the time in the calendar on my phone. So imagine my surprise, showing up at 10 a.m. for an appointment, and sit there for over an hour, and realizing every one else who came in AFTER me had been tended to--and when I asked the receptionist when would I be seeing the doctor, she informed me my appointment was at NOON. At this point I blurted out, "At what point were you going to inform me that I showed up TWO WHOLE HOURS EARLY for my appointment?" She suggested I go off some place to get coffee or food, but that is not the point, in order for me to go for lunch, I'd have to walk to find a place, which then takes time, then WOLF DOWN MY MEAL, which takes more time, and then there's the matter of the time it takes to WALK BACK.
I don't recall if it was during this particular visit or the year before where I actually lost my shit to the point where I insisted on speaking with a hospital administrator regarding this.
Additionally "telling" about how poorly run this particular department at Mt. Sinai is run--there is never, ever a survey sent to me. Mt. Sinai Doctor's Practice sends out a survey. Every other office and department I have been to (nephrology, gynecology, cardiology, hematology) runs efficiently and timely like a Swiss watch. Radiology is the only department where I have endured piss poor customer service from the administrative staff.
So here it is, nearly an hour after I've had my most-recent interaction with Janice, and my head is pounding and I've got a raging case of oggida, and no recourse or resolution, so unless I find some place else to get my sonogram and FNA done, I have this to look forward to for the time being. And it just sucks (to put it mildly).
For approximately 5-6 years now, I have been going to Mt. Sinai Hospital's Radiology Associates at the Klingenstein Pavillion, for both, sonograms and biopsies of thyroid nodules.
While I have no complaints about Dr. Amish Doshi (who was highly recommended to me by my endocrinologist), the radiologist in question, I *DO* have a serious problem with everything about the administrative aspects of just MERELY getting in to see Dr. Doshi.
The MERE act of scheduling an appointment date/time has now reached epic proportions of stress. Perhaps I should get out a slide rule, consult an astrological chart, and perhaps offer up a blood sacrifice--perhaps that might make the experience easier.
I have been trying since 2/14/17 to schedule my appointment. For one full month, I have been playing telephone tag with Janice (I don't know what her last name is, all I do know is she signs off her outgoing messages with "God Bless," well, let's just say, I don't feel all that "blessed").
The first week of calls went something like this:
1. I call and leave a message. I clearly state who I am, and that I am calling to schedule an appt. I VERY CLEARLY state to call me back at my work phone AFTER 2 p.m. Note: I stated AFTER 2 p.m., because with MY luck, she will call back DURING MY LUNCH, thereby continuing this telephone version of "water torture."
2. She then calls MY ENDOCRINOLOGIST stating she could not call me back WHEN I wanted, and informs THE SECRETARY AT MY ENDOCRINOLOGIST'S OFFICE that I should call her back with two potential dates for my appointment.
3. Like a trained monkey, and in an act of utter futility, I call, and AGAIN, I get her voicemail, and AGAIN, I very clearly state who I am, what dates I am available for the appointment, and VERY CLEARLY state she should call me at MY OFFICE PHONE.
4. Like an idiot, she calls me at my HOME PHONE, and now has elevated this game of telephone tag to SISYPHUSIAN-INNER-RING-OF-HELL-ITSELF-FUTILITY, by informing me that Dr. Doshi was away, and she won't know until he returns whether those dates will work.
5. So I sit and seethe for two more weeks until March 8th, when I call and leave a voicemail following up YET AGAIN. No reply was received.
6. Which brings us to this week, and granted there was a blizzard on Tuesday 3/14.
7. I called again on 3/15. Her outgoing voicemail stated she was out.
8. I called again on 3/16. Her outgoing voicemail stated she was out and at the tail end of the message she stated someone else's name to direct my call. I called that person, and left a voicemail. And got no reply.
9. I called again, TODAY, 3/17, and Janice is in. Apparently, she left a voicemail TODAY ON MY HOUSE PHONE stating Dr. Doshi was available on 3/22--well now 3/22 is no longer good for me, as another co-worker will be out that day for medical stuff, and I need 3/29. (My head is just about to explode at this point). I then say, "Okay, when in April is Dr. Doshi available?" And this was met with, "You need to call me back regarding this as I don't know what his schedule will be like in April." I got loud and I got firm and stated the ridiculousness of it taking a FULL MONTH to merely try to get an appointment FOR A SONO AND BIOPSY and this unnecessary stress is doing NOTHING BUT STRESSING ME OUT MORE. I was put on hold YET AGAIN (and at this point, I am really just sick on a Pavlovian response level of sickness when I hear the piano hold music).
Just when I was about to hang up in frustration and reconsider the idea of the ultrasound and sonogram ENTIRELY, she finally got on the phone. I got loud and somewhat (for me) belligerent. And finally at that point she made the suggestion that I might see Dr. Aggarwal. At this point, I was like "At this point I will see anyone--can we just schedule this so I can get this shit done?" And all this said, this is not even a given! I gave 3/29 as the date, and I want the first appointment of the day--she still needs to call me back to confirm. And no doubt Janice, in keeping with her track record, WILL call me back at ANY OTHER NUMBER OTHER THAN THE ONE REQUIRED.
Then there are other systemic administrative failures--
EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I go in to see Dr. Doshi, there is anywhere's from 1-2 hours of my time pretty much ROBBED from me. Yes. I am being MUGGED and what is stolen is the most vital, most precious commodity: TIME. Time I will never get back.
Now mind you, going in for an ultrasound with the very real possibility of a BIOPSY is a stressful thing. A one-to-two hour wait on top of this, only exacerbates the anxiety and stress.
Last year's appointment had been scheduled, then rescheduled at least twice that I could recall. Rescheduled so many times, that I did not remember to change the time in the calendar on my phone. So imagine my surprise, showing up at 10 a.m. for an appointment, and sit there for over an hour, and realizing every one else who came in AFTER me had been tended to--and when I asked the receptionist when would I be seeing the doctor, she informed me my appointment was at NOON. At this point I blurted out, "At what point were you going to inform me that I showed up TWO WHOLE HOURS EARLY for my appointment?" She suggested I go off some place to get coffee or food, but that is not the point, in order for me to go for lunch, I'd have to walk to find a place, which then takes time, then WOLF DOWN MY MEAL, which takes more time, and then there's the matter of the time it takes to WALK BACK.
I don't recall if it was during this particular visit or the year before where I actually lost my shit to the point where I insisted on speaking with a hospital administrator regarding this.
Additionally "telling" about how poorly run this particular department at Mt. Sinai is run--there is never, ever a survey sent to me. Mt. Sinai Doctor's Practice sends out a survey. Every other office and department I have been to (nephrology, gynecology, cardiology, hematology) runs efficiently and timely like a Swiss watch. Radiology is the only department where I have endured piss poor customer service from the administrative staff.
So here it is, nearly an hour after I've had my most-recent interaction with Janice, and my head is pounding and I've got a raging case of oggida, and no recourse or resolution, so unless I find some place else to get my sonogram and FNA done, I have this to look forward to for the time being. And it just sucks (to put it mildly).
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