I think that it's better to temporarily provide no service rather than poor service. That is why the Spiceland Pike Medical Center will be closed Sunday, June 3rd and not reopen until Sunday, June 10th. This will mark the first time in our 10+ years of business that we will be closed for more than 2 days in a row.
I pride myself on being the hardest working doctor in New Castle. I work more days a week, more days a month, and more days a year every year than any other area doctor. I do this because I love my work and I care for my patients and want them to have access to my services as much as possible.
In the past few years, I have opted to hire a "locum tenens" doctor. That is a doctor provided by a temporary agency. Unfortunately, that has been a disaster to varying degrees all three years. Despite the agencies assurances of the quality of the doctors, the locum agencies universally committed a cardinal sin of business by over promising and under delivering.
I explained to the agencies in great detail the type of practice I have and the skills and speed that are required of a physician to perform a competent job. The companies would then fax me resumes of "qualified", available doctors. I was then permitted to review the credentials of the doctors and have a phone interview with them ahead of time to directly and explicitly explain what was required of them. This only proved to me that anyone can talk a good game, but actions speak louder than words.
The first year we hired a physician who showed up late on his first day, worked incredibly slow, and took breaks to eat during the day despite a waiting room full of people that needed medical attention. His work quality at least was satisfactory.
When I talked with the locum agency upon my return, I was given a sympathetic ear. I was asked what I would like done to rectify the situation, I stated that I would like to be reimbursed for the time he spent eating instead of seeing patients and that I would like to leave a letter in his file to inform future clients of my concerns. Not surprisingly, while both requests were accepted, only the former was acted upon.
The second time I used a locum agency was worse. I was told a week before my scheduled vacation that the original doctor had backed out. But I was not to worry because they would find a new one in time. They had no answer for my questions of what would happen if they didn't and what would happen if this replacement was unacceptable to me.
A new physician was found and I was assured that the company would stand by her fully since they had used her before and received good reviews from her past employers. Well, this didn't turn out to be exactly true.
While she did exercise some questionable medical judgment at times and was incredibly slow, she did manage to work when she was supposed to instead of eating.
The bigger problem was that she failed to dictate on the office visits for many patients.
This creates two problems. I cannot submit insurance claims for patients if I have no record of what transpired during the visit and I cannot adequately address problems a patient might still be having if I don't know what was diagnosed and how that was determined.
The doctor blamed the equipment and initially refused to write out or re dictate the findings from the office visit. The locum agency was largely antagonistic and unhelpful in resolving this issue. Only after I refused to pay for her uncompleted services was the work done.
When I asked the company's representative whether there had been any other hiring physicians' complaints against her, they admitted that she had never worked for them before despite assurances to the contrary made earlier. I was transferred to their lawyer when I requested to speak with a supervisor. The lawyer made it clear that the agency had no interest in retaining me as a customer and did not care that I was unhappy with their last minute replacement physician.
The third time was going to be different. I was using a different agency and I was paying extra to hire a physician who could handle the sometimes hectic pace of a walk-in clinic.
What a relief when they sent me a resume of a doctor who already worked for them extensively as an urgent care physician. The best part was that the doctor had worked over the past month filling in at a local walk-in clinic.
Not wanting to take any chances, we called the local clinic and received glowing reviews on his speed and conduct. I had him stop into the office to personally talk with him and show him we ran things. The third time seemed like it would be the charm.
Not quite. He turned out to be the most unprofessional and irresponsible of the three. He would answer his cell phone to take personal calls while in rooms with patients. He would take frequent breaks to eat instead of seeing patients. He would dictate in front of patients about their "deviant lifestyles" if they were homosexual or had what he considered to be inappropriate or too many piercings. He would not treat anyone with a sexually transmitted disease. The list goes on.
When I voiced my concerns to the locum agency's representative I was told that if I was unhappy with his services I should have dismissed him. I asked them if they would have provided an immediate replacement. "We would have tried," was the response.
When I balked at paying the higher rate for a physician who could handle an urgent care volume I was told that he was an urgent care doctor because he stated that he was one. But calling a Nova a Cadillac doesn't make it so. After much arguing, the representative admitted that they had no obligation other than providing a warm body with a medical license. They were sorry that he had performed unprofessionally and unethically, but that was all.
I threatened not to pay the full amount. They threatened to sue. I retained an attorney and received a small discount. They still call back several times a year to ask if I want to use their services again. I think not.
So three strikes and I am out. These locum firms are interested in money, not customer satisfaction. They excuse the conduct of their physicians and do not properly screen them to provide suitable candidates for doctors like myself who are trying to provide continuous satisfactory care for patients.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but this year no physician will be available for one week. For your convenience however, a nurse will be available from 12:30 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. from Monday through Friday to answer questions, provide medical advice and provide refills when indicated. Thank you for your understanding of this difficult decision.
