After 4 years of searching, I finally found a new family doctor!
My current family doctor is an idiot. Sorry, but there is no other word for him other than "idiot."
When I went off work sick in July 2004, it took him 5 months to fill out and submit my long term disability form to the insurance company. I had zero income for that period of time.
In September, 2006 I reported him to The College of Physicians and Surgeons because he hadn't filled out a form that I had given him more than a year previously in August 2005! By the time the Collage got finished with all of their stupid reminders and finally played the "get it filled out by X Date or you are going before the board!", it was 17 months from the time he received that form to the time he filled it out and submitted it!
I gave him 3 forms in early 2007. One in April 2007. And 2 in June 2007. Between June and December I had contacted his office 8 times about them! In January 2008, I finally reported him to The College of Physicians and Surgeons for the second time.
When I reported him I no longer needed one of the forms filled out because of my bankruptcy last year. It was a credit card insurance form where the insurance company picked up the payment. The other 2 are Canada Pension Benefits, and Revenue Canada Disability.
In April I was told by The College that they got a letter from my doctor saying that he has now filled out the forms in question and that the matter was now resolved.
In April 2007, four months after I reported him the second time, he did fill out the Canada Pension Benefits form. When I gave him that form in June 2007 I was on a 100% no work/no exercise restriction and had been for a period of almost 3 years at that point which meant that I absolutely qualified for the additional benefits which would have helped me a great deal financially. But because it took him a year to fill out the form, and the fact that he put the "current" date (April 2008) on the form instead of the date I had given the form to him, I was declined the benefits because they only go back so many months, and by January 2008 I had been given the go ahead to start physiotherapy and ultimately return to work.
He also filled out the one for the Credit Card Insurance, even though I had told him that I no longer needed that one because he sat on it for so long and it was written off with the bankruptcy.
It is now the end of December 2008. As of today's date he still hasn't filled out the Revenue Canada Income Tax Disability Credit form which I had given him in April 2007! That's what? 18 months?
Unfortunately because of his delay in filling out the Revenue Canada form, I no longer qualify for a reassessment of my 2004 income tax because they only reassess to your benefit up to 3 years back. In April 2008 when the bankruptcy firm filled out my 2007 income tax return, I told them to apply the Disability Credit because my doctor had filled out the form.
Imagine my surprise to get a call from the bankruptcy trustee in June 2008 saying that my claim for the disability credit was denied. I also got a letter from Revenue Canada saying that it was denied because no medical form had been filled out! As a result my 2007 income tax was reassessed and now I owe Revenue Canada $900 in taxes for the year 2007!
In June I contacted The College again! They told me that they had closed the matter and that if I want it reopened I had to submit another complaint!
I told them that the matter wasn't completed because he didn't fill out the form and I shouldnt have to fill out yet another complaint and have them go through 5 months of "reminders" with him....yet again! After a "discussion"... ok, I steam rolled over them and threatened to bring in The Ombudsman and take it to the media ... they reopened the complaint and had someone go and talk to him. Of course he just got an "in person reminder"
In October 2008 I got a letter from The College with blank forms from Revenue Canada attached to it asking me to fill out my portion and to sign it so that my doctor can fill out his portion and submit it. When I had given him the form back in April 2007, I had filled out my portion and signed and dated it. What he did with that original form is beyond me.
At that point I decided to just cut my losses and forget about it.
At the end of November when I went to the pain clinic for a letter clearing me to return to work, the doctor there was nice enough to give me prescription refills for my medications for a year, because she knows that I'm so frustrated with my family doctor and would rather go without health care than ever go back to his office again!
In my search for a new family doctor, I've ran into some really ignorant ones. One actually told me, without laying a finger on me, and basing his opinion on my physical appearance, that I was faking my illness and that there was no reason for me to be off work and that I should go on a diet and lose weight and told me point blank that if he filled out a medical form for me, that's exactly what he would put down. This was over 2 years ago when I was passing out and falling down and breaking bones and I could barely remember my own name because I was so sleep deprived from sleep apnea.
Anyway, you stand a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a family doctor where I live.
There are 10's of thousands that don't have doctors because there is such a shortage.
Yesterday I asked one of the doctors on the ward if she was accepting new patients. While she isn't, one of her colleagues is! So I called and booked an appointment for January 15th for a "meet and greet."
The clinic is right next door to where I work, and I asked how they book their appointments. My current family doctor books 4 people every 10 or 15 minutes! Which means that there are 4 people arriving for a 2 pm appointment, which means that if you have an appointment at 2pm, you are lucky to be seen by 3:30 pm....which means that anyone coming at 2:10 or 2:15 or 3:00 have even longer waits because by the time you arrive for a 3 pm appointment there are already 15 or more people sitting there still waiting to see him. It's not uncommon to sit there 4 to 6 hours waiting to get in even though your appointment is for 2 pm! This new doctor doesn't book like that. Depending on what you are wanting to see him for, he books you for 10 or 15 minutes, no one else is booked in at that time. So you don't have to sit and wait for hours to get in despite having an appointment!
I'm sooo excited!
Now the next hurdle will be to get my file transferred from my current doctor over to him. By law he has to, but given his history, it will take months or even years. I may have to get The College involved for that too
Once I have my records transferred, I plan on writing him a long letter about his conduct and the fact that his actions and his "wait and see attitude" towards my illness and recovery not only affected me financially, but mentally, emotionally and physically. It also nearly cost me my nursing license because if he had been proactive with my care from the beginning I would have been back to work at least 2 years ago. I doubt it will even register with him though
My current family doctor is an idiot. Sorry, but there is no other word for him other than "idiot."
When I went off work sick in July 2004, it took him 5 months to fill out and submit my long term disability form to the insurance company. I had zero income for that period of time.
In September, 2006 I reported him to The College of Physicians and Surgeons because he hadn't filled out a form that I had given him more than a year previously in August 2005! By the time the Collage got finished with all of their stupid reminders and finally played the "get it filled out by X Date or you are going before the board!", it was 17 months from the time he received that form to the time he filled it out and submitted it!
I gave him 3 forms in early 2007. One in April 2007. And 2 in June 2007. Between June and December I had contacted his office 8 times about them! In January 2008, I finally reported him to The College of Physicians and Surgeons for the second time.
When I reported him I no longer needed one of the forms filled out because of my bankruptcy last year. It was a credit card insurance form where the insurance company picked up the payment. The other 2 are Canada Pension Benefits, and Revenue Canada Disability.
In April I was told by The College that they got a letter from my doctor saying that he has now filled out the forms in question and that the matter was now resolved.
In April 2007, four months after I reported him the second time, he did fill out the Canada Pension Benefits form. When I gave him that form in June 2007 I was on a 100% no work/no exercise restriction and had been for a period of almost 3 years at that point which meant that I absolutely qualified for the additional benefits which would have helped me a great deal financially. But because it took him a year to fill out the form, and the fact that he put the "current" date (April 2008) on the form instead of the date I had given the form to him, I was declined the benefits because they only go back so many months, and by January 2008 I had been given the go ahead to start physiotherapy and ultimately return to work.
He also filled out the one for the Credit Card Insurance, even though I had told him that I no longer needed that one because he sat on it for so long and it was written off with the bankruptcy.
It is now the end of December 2008. As of today's date he still hasn't filled out the Revenue Canada Income Tax Disability Credit form which I had given him in April 2007! That's what? 18 months?
Unfortunately because of his delay in filling out the Revenue Canada form, I no longer qualify for a reassessment of my 2004 income tax because they only reassess to your benefit up to 3 years back. In April 2008 when the bankruptcy firm filled out my 2007 income tax return, I told them to apply the Disability Credit because my doctor had filled out the form.
Imagine my surprise to get a call from the bankruptcy trustee in June 2008 saying that my claim for the disability credit was denied. I also got a letter from Revenue Canada saying that it was denied because no medical form had been filled out! As a result my 2007 income tax was reassessed and now I owe Revenue Canada $900 in taxes for the year 2007!
In June I contacted The College again! They told me that they had closed the matter and that if I want it reopened I had to submit another complaint!
In October 2008 I got a letter from The College with blank forms from Revenue Canada attached to it asking me to fill out my portion and to sign it so that my doctor can fill out his portion and submit it. When I had given him the form back in April 2007, I had filled out my portion and signed and dated it. What he did with that original form is beyond me.
At that point I decided to just cut my losses and forget about it.
At the end of November when I went to the pain clinic for a letter clearing me to return to work, the doctor there was nice enough to give me prescription refills for my medications for a year, because she knows that I'm so frustrated with my family doctor and would rather go without health care than ever go back to his office again!
In my search for a new family doctor, I've ran into some really ignorant ones. One actually told me, without laying a finger on me, and basing his opinion on my physical appearance, that I was faking my illness and that there was no reason for me to be off work and that I should go on a diet and lose weight and told me point blank that if he filled out a medical form for me, that's exactly what he would put down. This was over 2 years ago when I was passing out and falling down and breaking bones and I could barely remember my own name because I was so sleep deprived from sleep apnea.
Anyway, you stand a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a family doctor where I live.
Yesterday I asked one of the doctors on the ward if she was accepting new patients. While she isn't, one of her colleagues is! So I called and booked an appointment for January 15th for a "meet and greet."
The clinic is right next door to where I work, and I asked how they book their appointments. My current family doctor books 4 people every 10 or 15 minutes! Which means that there are 4 people arriving for a 2 pm appointment, which means that if you have an appointment at 2pm, you are lucky to be seen by 3:30 pm....which means that anyone coming at 2:10 or 2:15 or 3:00 have even longer waits because by the time you arrive for a 3 pm appointment there are already 15 or more people sitting there still waiting to see him. It's not uncommon to sit there 4 to 6 hours waiting to get in even though your appointment is for 2 pm! This new doctor doesn't book like that. Depending on what you are wanting to see him for, he books you for 10 or 15 minutes, no one else is booked in at that time. So you don't have to sit and wait for hours to get in despite having an appointment!
Now the next hurdle will be to get my file transferred from my current doctor over to him. By law he has to, but given his history, it will take months or even years. I may have to get The College involved for that too
Once I have my records transferred, I plan on writing him a long letter about his conduct and the fact that his actions and his "wait and see attitude" towards my illness and recovery not only affected me financially, but mentally, emotionally and physically. It also nearly cost me my nursing license because if he had been proactive with my care from the beginning I would have been back to work at least 2 years ago. I doubt it will even register with him though
