[kkelly]

Does anyone know what is a normal patient load for a pain management doctor? My doctor informed me on Friday that he has 2,000 patients who have "emergencies", and are dying or have infections. This was in response to my request for information about the revision surgery that I must have due to crossed SCS leads. He was actually yelling at me and suggested that I remove the device so that he no longer has to treat me. Note that I informed him that there was something wrong at the beginning of January and did not get an x-ray until February. It took another week for him to get back to me with the x-ray results even though he required me to go to his facility so that he could look at the results "immediately".

Is anyone else having these problems? I am discouraged.

[fiberowendy2000]

How rude! I think you need a second opinion. You should not be treated like a second class citizen just because HE is overbooked. GRRRR! I hate docs like this.

[LindaM]

Hi Kelly,
It's really sad the way some of these Dr's get by with treating their patients.
I wish I had some good advice for you about what to do with him, only I don't
I do however want to tell you that you need to do something before long about the leads to the SCS the longer they stay the way they are the harder the surgery will be to replace them because the scar tissue that is needed to keep them in place will be happening and it will be harder to remove them.
Your Dr knows this too..
I wish you the best of luck, I ended up having to have mine removed .
Linda

[finz]

It doesn't matter what a "normal" patient load would be, that's unprofessional behavior.

Is the pain clinic part of a hospital ? Anyone in the community can request to talk to JCAHO (Joint Commission for the Accredidation of Hospitals and Organizations). I'm sure they would not consider getting back to you a week later, while you are in pain, to be a timely return of that phone call. You could also send a letter to administration at the hospital and make sure to fill out the survey that most facilities send out after any procedure.

[mollymcn]

Hmmm - this doctor wouldn't be practicing in or around Rochester NY, would he?

[nancy-h]

finz is absolutely correct. Even doctors have bosses they must report to. Keep pushing your case upward until you get some action. If you are in a large enough city, find another pain doc asap!

Nancy