An unprofessional Doctor

Get another doctor.

Run, don't walk, to see another doctor.

I agree with you, however this is the VA so it's complicated but I did manage to get the directors attention but getting another doctor isn't easy because it's the VA however I am lucky I'm on Medicare so I think I should just get a Medicare doctor but what about all the other people who are mistreated by this doctor who doesn't report it? Well you have to be responsible for your actions. But I still need a VA doctor for my meds.

Contact your senator and give them the information. Send a copy to Bernie Sanders on the VA committee.

You can get contact info here

http://www.veterans.senate.gov

You indeed are lucky to have both VA and MediCare. I'm not sure whether you have a co-pay for meds with the VA, but under MediCare and Kaiser Hospital, my meds costs only $10 or $15 for 100 pills.

Bad doctors need to be reported to their supervisors. Only when enough people complain about any one doctor will administration take action. There is absolutely no excuse for any doctor to be insulting to a patient.

*****

My niece is an Ophthalmologist, and I met one of her patients on one of my trips to Europe a couple of years ago. It just so happened that my niece turned out to be her doctor, and he said she's the best doctor he's ever had, because she hugs him every time he goes to her office. My nephew is a doctor at Queens hospital in Honolulu, and is now in Liberia helping with the crisis there. They are both dedicated to their patients, and I admire their commitment to helping others. My other nephew who is a Dentist volunteered for one year in India helping patients there. My brother, also an Ophthalmologist. used to go to Mexico to help patients there. My doctor at Kaiser is one of the best doctors I have had during my lifetime. She's from India and trained at Stanford. She's the one who assisted me through my prostate cancer from beginning to end, and she's also taken care of other problems I've had in the past. She's not a clock watcher like many doctors I've had in the past, and will spend as long as needed.

Doctors should be there for the patient's physical and mental health.

Sorry to read that you're having problems. You need to see the Patient Advocate. Every VA hospital has an advocate and their posters and business cards are in every clinic and patient waiting room. PA are there to help with such patient issues and problems.

As a veteran, when I asked for a different doctor, I had no problem. I'm not sure what is missing from this story.

If this might be true, See the Patient Advocate. They have at least one office in every hospital. Your voice will be heard. If your complaint is legitimate, you'll be providing a valuable service to other vets. My experience and other vets in my area of So Fl. with our large VA Hospital is exemplary. You just need to follow through with your complaints, especially if you feel that you were mistreated.

The amount a vet pays out-of-pocket for their meds depends on the coverage and Income level verified by the means test (taken yearly). I pay $8 for most of my meds.

There used to be a times when I got my meds from the VA...without any charge. But a few years ago some things changed...and the VA started charging for meds...and it ended up with meds from our local pharmacy were no more costly than at the VA.

Maybe you ought to check into the pharmacy pricing.

As for the doctor...he is an ass...and you should IMMEDIATELY get in touch with the Patient Advocate as Ragman mentioned so that the guy can be brought under control. He may be doing this with several patients...and none are talking to the Advocate about it.

As I wrote prior, many people, depending on how their means test and outside insurance Medicare/Medicaid sorts out, are charged $8 per script, unless it's a specialty med. For example, check first but often time you can shop locally for common meds such as enteric (coated) aspirin outside the VA pharma system.

Another example, generic Nexium (AKA as Omeprazole for GERD/reflux disease) is $8. Now that this med is an over-the-counter at any pharmacy you could purchase at local pharmacy for less. However, as for my heart meds and other meds, my bennies from VA save me a fortune.

Heaven forbid you ever get diagnosed with arthritis, cancer or a serious life-threatening illness, the chemo or specialty drugs could bankrupt you. The out-of-pocket expenses for my chemo meds hardly were a problem for me.

There are good doctors in this world and bad doctors like everything else. I think that doctor get away with more at the VA than they would get away with at a hospital outside the VA. I went to the Director on this one and they are telling me that they will change me to another doctor but I have to have that doctor for one year no matter how bad he treats me so when I go in I will say as little as possible. A male nurse told me in the rudest way to get out of his office because I ask "Is it on your computer" I went to the director on that one and they will never tell you what happens because nothing will happen. At the VA they can get away with anything.
Butrflynet - Thanks I bookmark your link

Lostsoul, frankly... you're credibility is slipping. The scenarios you write about and protocol you describe is not how VA hospitals are supposed to operate... that is not within the charter of VA Hospitals is proscribed.

FWIW, on a daily basis I speak with Veteran who before his retirement from a 20+ year career...was an assistant director of 2 or 3 different VA hospitals. Furthermore, he has visited Wash and represented VA at the Federal level advising them. I've repeated what you wrote, and he concurs there is something missing from this story.

He suggests: Follow up with VA Patient Advocate

Youve said nothing about seeing the Patient Advocate. Report these events to the PA office and do the follow up.

If you don't get success from PA ...and, if what you're saying is 100% true, and this hospital operates as you wrote, you need to go over their heads, which may include reporting to Senator.

Exactly, Ragman.

If the Patient Advocate is not acting on this...there almost certainly is something missing from the narrative.

Lostsoul...go to the PA...not to the director of the hospital. Let the PA take it further. And if the PA is not able to assist you...take it up with your congressman.

There's always two sides to the story, isn't there?

For BOTH the Dr. and the Nurse to be labeled as "rude" there has to be other circumstances of this incident.

"When one person calls you a horse's ass, ignore him. When two people call you a horse's ass, turn around and see if you are wearing a saddle."

Many doctors are acting this way both in and out of the VA. A good approach may be to keep this particular doctor( as your PCP) and at your next visit with him/her take someone with you as a witness into the examine room. That procedure may cause the physician to change his unprofessional behavior.

I think it's illegal to record your private conversations with your physician.
However, it's not illegal to post about your VA treatment on websites like YELP etc, but I would avoid using the doctor's name ( until you clear it with a lawyer).

Good post and one that is needed during these times of medical malpractice.

Good Luck!

I seen the Patient Advocate who reports to the Director who I also contacted and nothing will be done in house period so I did write a letter to the AR VA senator. I have had 3 issues with this VA and after two of them I put my house up for sell to move to another state because I have been all over the United State and use VA a lot all over and I have been here for a year and I can't believe how I have been treated. However I am going to use my Medicare and pretty much forget the VA until I move.

Sorry but that was totally unclear to me. What does AR VA senator mean?

There are run-on sentences, no punctuation and statements that aren't coherent. I can't make sense out of what you wrote.

After reading a bit as this tale unfolds, I need to ask you, with sincerity, do you have some cognitive issues? I don't mean this in any insulting way....but I'm seeing a trend here.

AR VA senator

AR stands for Arkansas
VA stands for veterans affairs
Senator is a position in government

Just for what it's worth, VA hospitals are also the subject to Inspectors General. Not sure how you reach the one for your district, but that might give you a clue as what to look for.

http://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-08-03126-229.pdf
I can't figure this out, take a look and why is a lot of it black out?
This is suppose to be the Inspector General of Fayetteville AR but it looks weird. It's a small PDF file.

I don't know. I did see phone and email contact information at the bottom.