Posted by Snowie on June 7, 2000, at 6:54:44
In reply to Re: It's all about the Benjamins, posted by Kim on June 7, 2000, at 0:40:40
Rockets and Kim,
What's wrong with wanting it all? I understand that most pdocs are nothing more than med dispensers because that's what the insurance companies require them to be. However, not all pdocs are willing or content to be puppets of the insurance industry. And pdocs ARE trained in therapy, but many forego that aspect of their training because they can make more money by dispensing meds for patients who constantly march in and out, much like an assembly line. My ex-pdoc saw me for 10 minutes every other month or so. How can any pdoc know what meds a patient needs in that amount of time? IMHO, he can't ... only a pdoc who has spent TIME listening and conversing with a patient can correctly identify the problems of the patient in order to prescribe the proper meds for that individual. For the rest of the pdocs, it's just a hit or miss proposition, which seems to be forcing many of us to research our own meds. Also, although it is about money in general, my pdoc's bills were always paid in full at every visit. He got his ... I'm still wondering what I got.
Snowie
> > I think we should set our expectations a little more realistically. pdocs are trained medication dispensers who make quite a bit of money to do that. Sometimes you get lucky and find one that is more than that. They usually charge more too. I personally use a really good pre-qualified psychologist/counselor for emotional support and therapy. I only expect my pdoc to dispense the right medications properly. Most pdocs are not psychologists. Their training is different.
>
> Rockets--That's why I fired my Pdoc. I was only seeing him for "medication management," but he was still a jerk. He once told me I should work with my therapist on my "psychotic delusions"--which was his interpretation of my comment that I didn't feel like I should do something fun unless my house was clean. (Obsessive, maybe, but not psychotic or delusional.)
>
> But the final straw was that he did NOT prescribe my medication correctly. He told me to take temazepam up to three times a day. He thought it was an anti-anxiety, and it's a sleeping pill. Fortunately my pharmacist caught the error.
>
> I think you're right, it must be about money. The information sheet he gave me on my first visit said that his office "chooses not to handle emergencies," and was limited to patients who were not "seriously disturbed." In other words, the easy bucks.
poster:Snowie
thread:36199
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000603/msgs/36398.html