Tera Time Paisa, Aur Mera Time Waisa?

I hate going to doctors. The reasons are multi-fold:

• Dentists plain and simple hurt you.
• Eye doctors ask you to judge your vision.
• General Physicians want to draw blood.
• Gynaec's want to smear you.
• And if you go to any other doctor then you are in some trouble!

All doctors as much as they save lives, are trouble and inconvenience. I wish I did not have to say that but it is so true. How many times have you been pleasantly shocked when a doctor walks into the room when you are only two minutes into the second article on Parenting book?

I wonder why they all have Parenting Books, there are non-parents too you know, and parents who don't want to read a bunch of commercials, get Reader's Digest or US Weekly for the love of God.

I digress. Most of my experiences are doctor's office has been spent staring at the wall with a cheap photo or a mass produced art work sitting smug on a cheap frame. My Gynaec during my pregnancy was the worst. Her name was Dr. Kathleen F. Varadi and she works near Plano Med Center in Texas. She absolutely sucks. She has made me wait for two hours once without an apology. She walks in and kicks me out in two small minutes with terse replies and annoying attitude. She was one of my wrong decisions.

I had just delivered S and she was stitching me up with a tech asked her if it was a 3rd degree or 2nd degree episiotomy, when she cooly turned and said, make it 2nd, I got cited for too many 3rds...I sat there wondering WTF!

Now the general physician that I just found is not bad. She is talkative and spends time talking to me and understanding my problems, but then I just don't like the place. It is not like what you call patient friendly. I hate the nurse there and the others who seem to give me the impression that they are doing me a favor.

Anyhoo, the point is:

• All (99%) the doctors take their patient's time for granted.
• They overbook themselves so that if anyone cancels out last minute they can still mint money to pay towards their student loans and their $3 million mansions and oh don't forget the Lexus.
• They make you wait and feel that you should not complain.
• Their waiting rooms suck.
• They can cancel out on you and give you no excuse but you get slapped with $45 if you cancel out last minute on them.
• They can make you wait for 2 hours but you cannot be late by 10 minutes.
  
• The minute they walk out of the room you cannot remember any last minute question and ask them. They avoid you like plague and run and hide in their rooms. I know this for a fact because I designed and built two Medical Office Buildings in Dallas and all the doctors we were involved with wanted this convenience where they can go into hiding the minute they leave you in the room.
  

I can go on, but prefer to stop. One last doctor, Steven Peskind, Bab's ENT made me wait for the third time for forty five minutes. Just before he left the room he asked me, "so I will see you in six months?"

I told him, "No you won't."

He stopped in his tracks and looked back and asked me, "Why? Why do you say that?"

I replied, "I hate to loose my job because I spent an hour and half in the doctor's office waiting for him to come in spite of having an appointment."

"Did they do that to you?"

"I am not sure if they did, but you did."

"Sorry, I will make a note of it and make sure that this will never happen to you. Will you come back in six months now?"

"Ok."

I spoke, because I was mad, how many of us do? I should have told off my stupid gynaec Varadi when she made me wait 2 hours or 3 hours when I was pregnant and still working. But I did not then, I am done with taking their crap. If their time is so valuable that they don't have to be accountable for it to us, then I have choices too and I will find myself one who is more relaxed and punctual. Not like I expect immediate attendance, a 10-15 minute wait is ok...not an hour!

Tera khoon khoon, mera khoon pani??!!!! Damn it!

PS: Doc's nowadays rarely spend saving lives, they spend more time saving dollars! !@#@#$@#$@#$@#$