The darn doctor! How many times?

Question

How many parents are fed up with primary care. My son has had two sinus infections that turned into a massive ear infection in the past five weeks. I had him to the doctor on Monday of last week just to make sure that everything was o k to only turn around on Thursday and take him to an urgent care facility to find out he had a massive ear ifection. Where do i draw the line. I paid for a visit when he was completly healthy and now i have to pay again for a re check. Is this fair? i know that my childs health is the most important thing but my pockets are empty. Any suggestions. Should i ask the doctor office for a free visit?

Answer 1

Call me so I can be there when you ask him for a free visit, ( I really need a good laugh)

If your boss at work asked you to come in and work a free day because of some things you missed in prior days, you you want to do that ?

Doctors can only do so much and children get infections, ear infections, actually on the TV last week was a discussion that actually most doctors over medicate most commom childhood issues.

Answer 2

IMO the only time you should trust a doctor is when you need life saving help. Why take your child to a doctor? You have the internet, learn how to care for your children yourself. A doctor is nothing more than a licensed business man that has been trained to recogize ailment and offer a treatment (spelled drug) for the symptom. If he were able to cure anything then you wouldn't need to go back at all. When the doctor uses his tools ask him to show you what he sees then go out and buy that tool on the internet. I believe that most of the things a doctor does are useless anyway. If everyone would find a licensed doctor that doesn't use drugs or surgery then the allopathic profession would collapse and the entire nation would be healthier. Have you ever noticed that when doctors go on strike the mortality rate drops? I fired all my doctors almost a year ago and my entire family has greatly improved in health. I take full responsibility for mine and my family's health care and never leave it to some doctor that will poison us with chemicals. If you don't want to take responsibility for you health then let the doctors rob you blind.

Answer 3

Colds, sinus infections & ear infections are par for the course with a little one and they can spring up overnight. Their sinuses and ear canals are not fully developed and are prone to infection. Your pediatrician may have felt your son's sinus infection didn't warrant treatment on Monday and by Thursday it had progressed to something that did need treatment. I don't think it's fair to get a free visit because your son was healthy. It is "fair" that the doctor needs to charge for his or her time, whether the patient is healthy or sick. If you cannot afford the follow-up visit your doctor may be able to work something out or bill you to pay later.

However, if you feel that your doctor is not as responsive as you'd like, or that he or she overlooked the ear infection when you brought your son in, you should look into finding a new pediatrician.

Answer 4

It is true that ear infections can pop up VERY quickly. I have taken my child to the drs before in the afternoon & their ears were "fine" only to return at 8am the next morning with a serious ear infection. The dr has made the comment "If I hadn't seen her ears yesterday afternoon myself I might not have believed this". Although I know it's frustrating there really is nothing the doctor can do. Hope your little one feels better soon!

Answer 5

If you feel that strongly about your Dr. being incompetent, you should be looking for a new Dr., not a free visit. Personally, illnesses come on very quickly. You didn't see any symptoms yourself, because you were only in to see the Dr. to "make sure that everything was OK".
I don't understand how primary care has anything to do with it though, you still get to pick and change your primary care Dr.

Answer 6

Doctors don't know everything. And when your child is healthy or deemed healthy at a visit and few days later he or she is sick - you have to realise there might not have been anything visible to the doc at the time of the visit. I do know that I was having a hard time paying a specialist for my son's food allergies and I talked to the office staff thta handled billing and they lowered my bill by $100.00 because they knew we were struggling. It never hurts to be up front with these people.

Answer 7

This was actually something we covered in class the other day; as others have said, ear infections are so common in children and there really isn't a whole lot you can do to prevent these from occuring. Some children are prone to have them more than others. In regards to asking for a "free visit"...don't hold your breath. Or actually, don't waste it asking for one -- very unlikely.

Answer 8

Ear infections pop us quickly, there is no sure fire way to tell if they are going to happen in the next couple of days. I am taking care of my sis's kids and had one at the doc on Friday for a checkup and had him and his brother back on Monday for other med problems and he had an ear infection. Unfortunatly that's life. Your doctor can't predict an ear infection, it sucks but it's true.

Answer 9

I would find a new Dr. and tell the old office you are no longer comfortable with their level of care when it comes to your child. It is perfectly within your rights to seek another opinion in this case. Surely there has to be another dr. in your area that accepts your health plan, and if not, call your provider and explain the situation to them. They should have a list of providers in the area, and they will also want to know of any complaints you have concerning the providers on their list.

Answer 10

Doctor's can't predict if it will or will not turn into an ear infection. It's not their fault or your fault either. The doctors did what they could to help him with his sinus infection and that's that.