Monday, September 17, 2007

Unhappy with CHOP

Maybe I'm a little biased, being that DuPont (and Virtua) did such a phenomenal job with Nathaniel when he was born, but CHOp just has not lived up to my expectations. All they've had to do in all of this is put tubes in Nathaniel's ears. So what could go wrong? Well, nothing "wrong," but it's been a lot less convenient along with some annoying foul-ups.

For example:
--CHOP had me call my insurance company to be sure the procedure they were doing was covered. Insurance companies speak a different language than normal humans, couldn't CHOP have a person on staff who deals with these things and speaks the language? Voorhees and DuPont had such people.
-- CHOP had us schedule appointments months in advance for a follow-up for Nathaniel ... then we still didn't get to see the doctor. I have nothing against nurse practioners or registered nurses or any other qualified medical professionals, but if we're waiting months to see the doctor, we'd like to see the doctor.
-- CHOP refused to take a copay at the office, despite my wife's insistence that there was a copay. Now they're hassling me because I forgot to pay when they billed me (admittedly, this one is my fault at this point, but (a) they wouldn't take the money upfront, as they're supposed to and (b) a CHOP bill is not part of my monthly bill-paying routine).
-- CHOP cancelled our latest appointment without telling us. We thought Nathaniel had another follow-up this week, but we couldn't remember when. I called last week to find out. I was passed around to several offices before someone said: "Your appointment was for last week, but it got cancelled. Let me transfer you to the woman who did that." Apparently the audiologist was not going to be available that day, so all appointments were canceled and (apparently) nobody was told of the cancelations. Now we're pushed back another three weeks ... and I'm not convinced the new appointment is with the right person (based on how confused the assistant was).

Oh, for the days of Voorhees and DuPont. (And, to make myself clear, I have nothing but the highest respect for the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who save countless lives at CHOP ... it's more the bureaucracy of medical care that bugs me.

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