| rev:text
| - The positive: Today's digital imaging equipment is so incredibly precise that it can spot "irregularities" as never before.
The negative: Today's digital imaging equipment is so incredibly precise that it can spot "irregularities" as never before.
And that's why, when an ultrasound came back as irregular, Dr. Anne O'Neill ordered me to undergo a needle biopsy. But a week later I was scheduled to fly to NJ for my usual month-long March/April visit. I asked if I could delay it, but her assistant (what, actually talk to a doctor?) checked with her and came back and told me it was "stat."
The radiology facility didn't have any open appointments until after my scheduled flight, but the doctor's office got me in. I didn't want to cancel my flight if the results didn't warrant it, so the next day I called the office and asked the assistant to request that the doctor get the results expedited. I thought it was a reasonable request under the circumstances. Was it done? You be the judge. And so I set off for the east coast, and waited. And waited some more, paralyzingly unable to schedule any plans with friends or family until I knew for sure that I wasn't going to have to take the next plane back to Vegas.
One week later I called the doctor's office. Still no results. While friends consoled me by saying "No news is good news," I've had the experience in the past of lab results being overlooked, so I wasn't buying it. Twelve days after the biopsy I called again. The assistant said that the report was on the doctor's desk, and she would call me later. I didn't hear from her. I called again this morning, now 13 days after the procedure. The assistant said that the doctor was in surgery, but that she would be holding a staff seminar this evening, and she would be sure to talk to her and ask her to call me. Finally, I got a call tonight - not from the doctor, but from the assistant, who told me that the results were benign.
This kind of treatment is unconscionable. To force me to sweat out almost two weeks of nerve-wracking anxiety is simply not, imo, good medical practice. While Dr. O'Neill is personable and seems very competent, it's my belief that a doctor should treat the whole patient, not merely a body part or a report on paper. I highly doubt that my request to expedite the results was ever honored.
The office, while not near my home, is easy to get to. The front desk is pleasant, and the wait to be seen is not excessive. But when I am unnecessarily put through the wringer, as I have been in this case, the positives matter much less.
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