Frustrated with surgeon's office...

[kordie 41]

Ugh... So, last week, I had my last few appointments, was signed off by psych, dietitian and the surgeon. Received an email on Saturday that my primary insurance has approved me for surgery but have not heard back from the surgeon's office yet. I both emailed last Friday and called this past Monday and have not heard back yet. I really don't want to be a pain in the a** and keep bugging them but I really need to get this surgery scheduled as soon as possible. There are only a couple of days in May that would work for me and the surgeon only does surgeries on Tuesdays. Can't take off of work at all in June as the other night nurse that works opposite of me is on vacation that month. I do have secondary insurance through my hubby which needs to deny me coverage before the surgery. I'm thinking that this is possibly the hold up? The message that I left on Monday, however, addressed that concern because if I need to contact the secondary, I will to get them to turn in the denial. Just very frustrated that I've had this hanging out there for almost a full week at this point and the insurance coordinator is not returning my messages. Rant over.

[Mattymatt 491]

1 hour ago, kordie said:

Ugh... So, last week, I had my last few appointments, was signed off by psych, dietitian and the surgeon. Received an email on Saturday that my primary insurance has approved me for surgery but have not heard back from the surgeon's office yet. I both emailed last Friday and called this past Monday and have not heard back yet. I really don't want to be a pain in the a** and keep bugging them but I really need to get this surgery scheduled as soon as possible. There are only a couple of days in May that would work for me and the surgeon only does surgeries on Tuesdays. Can't take off of work at all in June as the other night nurse that works opposite of me is on vacation that month. I do have secondary insurance through my hubby which needs to deny me coverage before the surgery. I'm thinking that this is possibly the hold up? The message that I left on Monday, however, addressed that concern because if I need to contact the secondary, I will to get them to turn in the denial. Just very frustrated that I've had this hanging out there for almost a full week at this point and the insurance coordinator is not returning my messages. Rant over.

My advice to you is be a pain in the butt because this is your health, and sadly, you must be your own strong advocate. Also, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Keep after them!

[FluffyChix 17,418]

Ouch! How frustrating! Sorry you're going through that! Be the squeaky wheel! Also if you have MyChart or anything, drop a note to the doc...explain that you only have 2 days in May...

[kordie 41]

1 minute ago, FluffyChix said:

Ouch! How frustrating! Sorry you're going through that! Be the squeaky wheel! Also if you have MyChart or anything, drop a note to the doc...explain that you only have 2 days in May...

Good idea! I am going to try calling again this morning and if that doesn't work I will send a message through MyChart. Thanks!

[FluffyChix 17,418]

They are very motivated to get their surgeries done. You wouldn't be this far along if the doc didn't want to do surgery on you and feel you will benefit from it. They only want good outcomes too...

[BostonWLKC 807]

I was told to give them 1 week and then be a pain-- do it! . I had a fixed schedule too for surgery so I can understand. Good luck and update us when you can!

[Creekimp13 5,840]

Depends a little on the person in charge of scheduling. Some are very customer service oriented and will do everything they can to make anxious patients happy ASAP....

On the other hand....being too demanding can read as off-putting entitlement....and you might be shuffled to the bottom of the deck if they've asked you to be patient and you're actively being a pain in the arse.

Legitimately, these things do take time to coordinate....having the client complaining doesn't really do anything to free an OR, it doesn't do anything to move insurance paperwork. it doesn't magically create openings in the doctor's surgery schedule....sometimes all it does is make you seem like a diva.

So be careful and be polite.

And be patient.

[kordie 41]

Thank you for the advice everyone. I called and left a message again right away this morning for the insurance coordinator and never heard back. I will try again tomorrow and message the doc on MyChart to see if I can get anything moving. My issue is that I have to attend a dietitian class (which only happens on Mondays) before I can start the 2 week liquid diet...if I can can't attend that class this Monday then surgery on the 15th of May is out and then the 22nd would be my only option. Ugh...this is so stressful!

[kordie 41]

So, they finally got back to me today. It sounds like they were waiting on the denial from 2nd insurance. However, their earliest surgery date at this point is May 29th. Ugh! I guess that I'm going to have to make it work as I don't want to wait until July to have this done. Am I being unreasonable wanting to schedule as soon as possible and not wait an extra couple of months?

Edited April 27, 2018 by kordie

[Frustr8 7,886]

no not at all, you just have worked so hard and haven't reaped the benefits as yet. An uber-normal reaction, I have a case also. No vaccine for it except moving dates closer. I am feeling and sharing your pain, I want,mine done as well😟