GRRRR!!!! Military docs & staff can be SO incompitent!! Do you have a horror story?

Question

I've just HAD it with these idiots!! They leave me stunned at their incompetence on a regular basis!! How hard is it to run a medical clinic?!?! Civilians do it every single day!!

This is what they did to me today: I had a referral to go see a civilian Neurologist, because I had a brain tumor removed 3 years ago, and all of a sudden, something is going wrong again (I'm in EXCRUTIATING pain). The neurologist gave me a prescription for an MRI. So, I called the clinic, and asked them what I needed to do with it. They said "just drop it off at the front desk where you sign in for your appointments. Then call back in a few day". So I did exactly that.

Well, I just called them, and guess what!!!! Apparently, people aren’t even supposed to drop prescriptions off at the front desk, they are supposed to go to the Radiology clinic!!!

So WHY did the person on the phone tell me to do that? And why did someone at the front desk take the prescription if that was the wrong place to bring it? Because they are MORONS!! So now the prescription is lost in the great void of incompetence, and time is a'wasting while I'm in so much pain I want to jump off a building. If you are wondering why I am SO upset, I have been dealing with these kinds of people for a VERY long time, and I have just HAD it. They literally screw up EVERYTHING.

DO YOU HAVE A MILITARY MEDICAL TREATMENT HORROR STORY?????

Yeah, I know this story doesnt seem that bad (even though I am in EXCRUTIATING pain). But this was just the straw that broke the camel's back. There is a LONG list of other screw-ups.

For example: The doc at my last base diagnosed me with having neck spasms. Turns out it was a BRAIN TUMOR!! And he had refused to let me have a CAT scan for over 2 years. I could have died!!

Answer 1

Yeah. Back in 1979, I was having "female" problems. They did test after test after test. I literally had a brown grocery bag 1/4 of the way full of just about everything. Two pregnancy tests done, comes up negative. They said I had Cancer in the 3rd stage, and scheduled me for a biopsy to further examine...?WTF
So......
I went AWOL, my mom took me to a private OB/GYN, an Lo and Behold, I was 9weeks pregnant!!! My supposed "cancer" is now 27yrs old with children of his own. Thank god I went AWOL, or who knows what they would have caused by their stupidity. P.S. my military doctor? was a Full Bird Colonel!!!
What a moron!!!!

Answer 2

I've had more good luck than bad luck with military health care.. I guess the worse thing that's happened in 28 years of being covered by active duty insurance, first under my dad, then being military myself and now being married, is that my daughter sustained a brain injury when the ultrasound tech misread a series of ultrasounds while I was pregnant. As a result, I've learned to be assertive when seeking care. I no longer go by what someone told me on the phone.. I always go into clinics to talk to a warm body. If I'm not happy with what one clinician tells me, I've learned to utilize the chain of command until my concerns are addressed. There is always someone who can help you.. you just have to find that person. The system can be incredibly frustrating, but having experienced civilian care exclusively for the last 2 years, I'd much rather go back to Balboa.. at least there I know what buttons to press to get what I want!!!

Answer 3

I had problems with old PAs units used to have. I kept having a twisted ankle, over and over. I got the usual, "Here is some Motrin and no run, jump or march for 2 weeks." That went on for 3 years. Then one day on a PT test I collapsed on it. They finally decided to X-Ray it and saw a callous growth that they estimated was 3 years old.

Then there is Tricare. My wife had to have an MRI. So I called them to make sure it was okay. They got mad at me for calling and said I should have read my book because the only need to give approval for head, neck or spine, and the doctor wrote torso, even though the problem was her spine. So on a follow up MRI for the same problem they got mad at me for not calling them because this doctor wrote spine instead of torso and tried to charge me $2500.00. That got fixed, but it was infuriating. It helped that they could track the first call I made since I complained about the courtesy of the operator.

The real horror is that people that want socialized medicine, have no idea what Government Socialized medice is like.

Answer 4

I feel for ya.Here is a little bit of my experience with military medical. A shoulder surgery gone wrong. Basically the mandatory rehab that was suppose to happen was stop a week into rehab because I had PCS orders and when I reach my new unit the PA didn't want to send me to Phy Therapy. I took me 4 months after surgery to get Phy Therapy and by that time my shoulder had heeled wrong and there was nothing they could do for me. Also had another surgery where my bursell sac in my right elbow was removed and the didn't give me any antibiotics so it got infected and it took my First Sgt to get involved to get my meds. Also i fractured my collar bone in Iraq and the PA wouldn't do anything so the bone fused together wrong and now no doctor will touch it. Don't get me started about the eye disease I got while in service and the nightmare that was or that the Army knew I had hypertension but refused to diagnosis me. I wasn't diagnosed until the VA look at me and clarified I had hypertension with for last year of my service. Sorry that you had to listen to me ***** but I left service feeling to it was better to look for medical from a homeless shelter than in Army Medical.

Answer 5

I dont know if I have a horror story but I will tell you that we used to always joke that they were military doctors because they couldnt make it as civilian doctors.

When I had mono (real bad) I had this miserable female Lt. Colonel who poked and probed and told me to stop being a sissy, the second time I went she looked at me with disdain and bent me over a table ( I think to humiliate the wimp) and then my commander who hated my guts (I might have talked back a bit when things were done improperly) sent me back because she said I looked like I as dying (having lost 30lbs in two weeks) so I got this young captain and the first thing she did was a mono spot- imagine that- after two visits in two weeks I finally got someone with a brain.
My ex wife nearly died because they told her at the TMC (troop medical clinic) that they couldnt hear a heart beat but come back the next week for a check up (pregnancy) He squad leader said no, go to the ER, we did and she was admitted and had emergency surgery the next morning- the doctor said she would have been dead in a few days

Answer 6

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Our neighbor and dear friend has nothing but problems with the VA, but I actually have a GOOD story to tell about military docs.

My cousin is a Marine and got seriously injured in Iraq when they ran over an IED. He took a lot of shrapnel in the thigh, shattering the bone and severing his femoral artery. Fortunately, he was sitting next to a medic who saved his life. He was sent to Bethesda for medical treatment. I saw him this summer, about six months after it happened, and I couldn't believe it. If you didn't KNOW anything had happened to him, you'd never guess it. He DOES wear a leg brace when he's working, but if he's just kicking back he doesn't have no. Not a sign of a limp, AND he worked his butt off, wrangling horses in the tundra.

Please remember that incompetence is not limited to military doctors. I could tell you stories.....

Answer 7

One of my friends had a pretty good scare when in basic training, if this had happened in civilian life he'd have had a great malpractice suit.

As you know basic training can get pretty funky. Apparently in the haste of getting ready for yet another fun day of training he put his tee shirt on inside out. Not too bright but then again recruits don't always do bright things.

When spotted by the company commander (he was in the Navy) the man had him pull up the collar and put it in his mouth. He had him in this position for quite some time. Then that night to provide further incentive as to not do such a thing again my friend and a couple other recruits who screwed up that day had to undergo some pretty intensive PT.

The next morning my friend had a stiff neck and a very sore throat. When he mentioned it they send him to sickbay thinking he had freaking meningitis.

My friend had to undergo a spinal tap, the person doing it was inexperienced because after trying 3 times he finally had to call someone else who succeeded in getting the spinal fluid.

Turned out my friend didn't have meningitis but only sore muscles from the workout and a sore throat from the soap residue on the tee shirt.

Answer 8

Isn't that the truth?! I think people outside the military think know I that they are the best. I used to until I needed fertility treatments to get pregnant and I went on a message board on iVillage for support. So many of them had military docs and the stories were incredible!

My story is about my brother in law and his wife who were having their third daughter. The doc actually dropped her on the floor when she was delivered because she turned away to do something else. My niece has learning problems because of it. The funniest part is that when they sued and the doctor testified, she actually told the court that the baby "flew out over her shoulder." Did she actually think anyone would believe such a thing? Needless to say, they won the suit but they'd rather their daughter be better, though they know it could have been a lot worse.

Answer 9

I went 5 years with some "untreatable Auto-Immune disorder." I had blood work ever 2-4 weeks for 5 years. I was diagnosed with every possible Auto-Immune disorder possible. For FIVE years I did this. I've seen more specialists than I care to imagine. Then I saw a civilian contractor PA- not even a dr.- she took one look at me and my family history and correctly diagnosed a thyroid disorder and anemia. She didn't even order new blood tests she simple read the ones in my chart. I had years of this blood work by now and you could literally track my ups and downs. And while it might not have killed me immediately, I was within the danger zone of having a thyroid storm which could have.

Answer 10

I've actually gotten far better care through MTFs than through the civ sector. People will screw up no matter where you are. You just have to stand up for yourself and make sure everyone is on the same page. Yeah, they might get annoyed, but it's better to be safe than sorry.