Another thing that really, really annoys me about dealing with doctors' offices (on either side of the Pond) is the inability of the admin staff to acknowledge mistakes that they make. Don't they realise that having to fight and argue every time I deal with them will eventually make me find another doctor?
Following on from the post last week, I collected four of five prescriptions this morning. My pharmacist told me that one of the dermatology creams is no longer available from the manufacturer. He had faxed a request to the doctor for an alternate prescription, then followed up with two phone conversations. Nothing. Finally, I called the dermatology office (again) and was told that a) this was the first they'd heard about anything, and b) there was no fax. Even when I told the woman that my pharmacist had actually had real live conversations with someone at her office, she continued to suggest I must be wrong because "this never happens". Even after I told her that the same crap service had happened last week, she persisted with her "this never happens" line of reasoning. Seriously?
Why couldn't she just have said she was sorry for the inconvenience? Instead, I had to really have a go at her and threaten not only to find another doctor, but to make sure her boss knows why. I am penning a letter of complaint as I speak, but the doctor will probably never see it.
The pharmacist eventually got a new prescription, which turned out to be for something that I can buy across the counter, saving me quite a bit of moola.
Why couldn't they have just said that in the first place? Sigh. Waste my time why don't you?