My Kids' Doctor

My youngest daughter has been having a tough go of it for sometime.  She has been sick almost every other day (so it seems) for months.  She will be happy and full of energy one day and then, crazy upset and ill the next.  When she's down, she has a runny nose, puffy cheeks, congestion, cough, swollen belly and "boogery" eyes.  It wasn't as if we didn't try to make her well.  My wife took her to the lame-o pediatrician on several occasions and they prescribed some meds that seemed to have little affect.  They are idiots.  Yes, I said that.  I know that they spent a considerable amount of time on their education and licensing but that doesn't change the fact that they suck when it comes to treating my daughters like patients and not cattle.  First, a little back story:  Our first pediatrician was (is) AWESOME!  She is a little on the hippy side, personality-wise but, that suits us just fine.  Her practice is fairly small and we never had a problem getting our oldest in to see here whenever we had a problem.  Sometimes, she would be seen within an hour of the initial call.  That is unheard of in the medical field.  She has a back door and waiting area for kids who are infectious so that they do not mingle with the other kids in the main waiting room.  She often took her time to talk with my wife and daughter about all the little things that could build a better picture of the ailment.  If my wife would see her out in public, she would not only ask how my daughter was doing (by name) but also, how her sister was doing....how our dog was doing...our cat, etc.  She truly cares for her patience and has established a level of trust that is how the standard for patient-doctor relations should always be.  Sadly enough, it is not.  Two years ago, my company switched our health care benefits provider and our pediatrician was no longer covered under the new plan.  We filled out the forms and submitted them to try and get her into our network but, two years later....she has still not been admitted.  So, we had to find another pediatrician.  My sister-in law and our friends continue to use our old pediatrician and she always asks them about us.  It is almost like we are a little family/community.  But back to the new pediatrician...  For starters, it is a facility that houses multiple pediatricians.  This means that there are plenty of sick and infectious kids in the waiting room (playing with toys - snot running down their faces, coughing into the air).  My daughters have actually gotten sicker from going to see the pediatrician!  Sometimes they have to wait an hour or, longer in this environment.  And this is AFTER my wife called in to make an appointment.  I must also add that when she calls to TRY and make an appointment, the receptionist takes the information and then, consults (someone - who, I don't really know) and then calls back - later that day - to tell her if she can bring them in!  And then, they cannot even remember (much less read) my daughters' names!  They keep calling them by their last names.  After enduring the infectious gauntlet, you'd expect to see a doctor...not gunna happen.  Of the many many times my daughters went there, not once did they see an actual pediatrician.  Every time it was a nurse practitioner.  Now, I don't mean to diss nurse practitioners (mainly because I must profess my ignorance as to they training and qualifications) but, I want my daughters to see the best...not the second string.  So, there it is....they stink.  So, my wife took a chance and took my youngest to her allergist.  Surprise, surprise...she is allergic to peanuts, molds and eggs.  Crazy because we have been feeding her eggs this whole time and peanut butter after she turned one year old!  So, we cut that out and she was doing a little better but kept having a couple of other chronic issues.  We finally had enough and decided that "Damn the @#$#%&^*^$#$!! insurance, we are going back to our original doctor!"  My wife took my daughter and it was great to be back.  She diagnosed the issue and gave my wife some sample pak meds to offset the cost increase.  Instead of the $20 dollars that we pay at the crappy pediatrician, we paid $75 but got $40 worth of meds.  So, it costs us about $15 dollars more.  Now, I am definitely not made of money.  I do HATE to spend money when it can be avoided but, in this case, I think it is worth it.  I have had doctors treat me like cattle before and I didn't particularly like it.  When someone treats my kids like that...well, that's just bullshit and I'm not going to subject my kids to that.  Anyways, that's another rant off my chest.