Monday, November 14, 2005

Why I have issues with Kaiser (Fairfield anyways)

The first time I went to Kaiser in Fairfield, around May 2002, it was determined that since I have 5 tattoos....I'm a walking STD factory & needed to be tested for everything under the sun except for AIDS. When I asked them to tack on an AIDS test they said 'why do you think you have it?' I'm sure they were surprised to find out what I already knew....I'm squeeky clean. The Kaiser in Fairfield has me listed as 'morbidly obese.' I know I'm overweight....but morbidly? Maybe I'd agree if I was 200++ pounds overweight, instead of the 100 I was at the time I first saw them. The female medical professionals in Fairfield that I dealt with....weren't exactly slender themselves....so it's hard to take weight loss advice from someone who could stand to lose 50 pounds themself. The last time I dealt with the Fairfield office (Spring 2004 I think), I was lectured for over 10 minutes regarding the benefits of having children & why I should be doing my duty as a married woman by having them. So....to the present...On 11/4/05, went to the Kaiser website and ordered my baby-repellant online....like I have been doing since August 2004. Like I have always done, I requested it to be mailed to me & have my bank account debitted. Once I was finished, I printed up the confirmation page which stated that the order was received & that I should be getting the pills in the mail around the 12th. So...the 12 comes & goes...no pills. I hop on-line Sunday, and click to check the status of my order...."we have no record of your order." Um....Huh??? So I emailed their Member Service Center with the problem, trusting that I'd get an email or phone call today. By 4:30 PM, nothing.... So, I called the advice nurse, & asked for advice. She kindly informed me that since I'm due to get my girly-bits examined...they will not refill my baby-repellant until after I get my bits poked at. Then she tells me that the next available appointment is in December... Um.....no, that's not acceptable. But that's the 1st available appointment in Fairfield....um, wait a minute, I don't live in Fairfield any longer. Well you never selected a new primary provider....so we just assumed....I told her that frankly, due to the embarrassing & humiliating lectures that I received from the Fairfield staff regarding my weight issues & my lack of procreation....I was less than enamoured with idea of getting another permanent doctor. She at least was able to tell me that if I didn't like my new doctor, I was free to change anytime, as many times as I wanted.....which was nice to know, since when I joined Kaiser in 2002, I was told that once I picked a doctor, I was stuck with that doctor....period. So I said to the Advice Nurse...Fine, send me to someone in Martinez, Walnut Creek, or Hayward...whoever has something open the soonest. How's this Thursday at 6:45 PM in Hayward? Perfect, I'll take it. So tell me.....wouldn't it have been better to send some sort of reminder notice, say a month or 2 before I'm due for my annual poke-and-prod, instead of yanking my prescription...and now completely throwing me off cycle, since I won't be taking any pills for at least a week??? I mean, sheesh, they send out the mammogram reminders pretty regularly (according to my boss, who has gotten 2 reminders in the last 3 months).....

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