Providence Medical Group-Cascade

Here’s the thing. We love our doctor, and we’ve been coming to this clinic for 12 years. We love his nurse, too.
We drive from Hillsboro to get here. It’s not close.
When our angel doctor goes on sabbatical to help poor people in underdeveloped nations, we hang with them and see his substitute. Because he is that good.
But the reception people are like the ironclad gatekeepers to hell. They do NOT want to give you an appointment, they do NOT want to send communication or questions back to the nurse or the doctor, and they will do EVERYTHING in their power to keep you from seeing them. No, you can’t leave doctors or nurses voicemail, and no, you cannot e mail anybody.
You have to go through them. The ironclad you know whiches. Which is actually that other word. Even though their voices are sweet, they are so NOT.
Yesterday my husband got hit by a car while riding his bike to work. He is battered and bruised but thankfully, alive and not broken.
Today we tried to get him in to see the doctor.
Receptionist ironfisted gatekeeper girl: «Dr. _​_​does not have appointments.» then silence. Expecting me to say something? so, I say…
«Ever?»
Her: «None today. You can see x doctor at 4:20 or you can call tomorrow at 7am and maybe see about another appointment tomorrow or Monday, maybe.»
I heard a lot of maybes.
I took this other dr appointment, grudgingly, because it’s all I was given.
But wait, there is MORE.
She calls back later «um, dr. X has an important meeting and can’t see your husband. Oh, and since he hasn’t been in since 2004 he needs to go to urgent care, and he will need a new patient appointment next time, and OH, we’re not accepting new patients. «
So, our family doctor is not my husband’s doctor, because he is, oh, I don’t know, HEALTHY. (Honestly, I can’t get him to go in for a check up because it’s so damn hard to get in.)
They dumped him.
I guess they will still see us, as long as we have been in the last two years, but it sounds like they could dump us too if it takes us too long to get an appointment. Which it undoubtedly will.
When were they going to tell us?
I filed a complaint.
I also, unfortunately, am doctor hunting. At least for my husband… maybe for the rest of us? The last time my kid needed an appointment for her well child it was scarily hard to get. And the last time I tried to come in for an infection I had to go to urgent care three times in thee weeks and fail to get better and then BEG to get in.
It’s too much.
But hey, best healthcare system in the world, right? I have good insurance. I hate to think what other people go through. (well, I know, but it’s not good for anybody these days, is it?)
I know it’s not the doctor’s fault, but I am P. O’d
HIT BY A CAR and family doctor won’t see him. Seriously?
************************Update****************************************************
So, after filing a grievance this afternoon, the supervisor of clerical people (I think) at the clinic called me and I told her my story. My husband now has an appointment with our doctor for next Friday afternoon. She explained that the computer drops you out of the doctor’s caseload after two years without an appointment, but noted that if we’ve had him as our family doctor for 12 years she would have listened to that if it had been her on the telephone and thought about continuity of care and it would have gone better.
So, it did get fixed, somewhat. I still have issues with how they triage everyone out to urgent care… why would we need to have a family doctor if every time we call his office we get sent elsewhere? especially when it’s something big, like being hit by a car? I dont’ know. Still pondering this one.