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Are doctors in US slow to response?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/18/2022 8:17 AM (GMT 0)
I moved to a city with 20k population in US with my UC. Looks like in US it's usually harder to get immediate response upon flares. My doctor's team might leave me suffering for 1 week before providing a meaningful response, while the criteria to come ER is quite strict.

My UC symptoms escalate rapidly within the past 3 days. I've contacted the doctor's team and have been still waiting for a response after they're back to work next week. So I'm currently suffering now until receiving a reply from my doctor.

I start to think if other doctors/hospitals in US, or if I might find a doctor that can respond to flares faster in bigger cities with larger hospitals. I wonder if anyone in US has some insights? Really plan to move or look for another doctor if that's the case.

Thanks!
Posted 9/18/2022 1:28 PM (GMT 0)
If I have issues, my doctor responds within a day. I'm in New York.
Posted 9/18/2022 2:07 PM (GMT 0)
Does your dr have a patient portal so you can send a message? If you are not sure, call the office & ask. All of my drs have a patient portal & I really like it because I get answers no later than 24 hours. With a patient portal you have a paper trail, phone calls, it's your word against the person taking the message.

I live in a very large metroplex & after 2 years of horrible care from 4 different drs, I switched to a dr in a small town 30 miles from me & never looked back. There is no guarantee moving to a large city will yield you better care.

You can always look for another dr local, but in the meantime keep trying to contact your dr. Sorry you are having such a rough time.
Posted 9/18/2022 3:38 PM (GMT 0)
I get a response within a few hours or within about 24 hours. I can usually get an appointment within a week or two but I’m an established patient and I know that getting an appointment with my GI as a new patient can take longer than 3 months.

If you don’t get a reply through the portal then you should call your GI’s office.

I drive over an hour to see my GI, it is worth it to me. He is an IBD specialist in New York City.
Posted 9/18/2022 5:06 PM (GMT 0)
A lot of doctors are. The good ones aren't. I'd see if you can find a new one. My current GI responds the same day almost always. A week is unacceptable to me. And the bigger city ones aren't necessarily the better ones. I've seen a lot of different GIs over the past 15 years...
Posted 9/18/2022 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
My GI gave me his cell phone number at my first appointment with him and said to call him right away if I start to flare. He also checks the portal and writes back wishing a few hours. My previous doctor was slow to get back to me, usually 2-3 days so I switched and haven’t looked back.
Posted 9/18/2022 7:06 PM (GMT 0)
First question, what meds are you on?

q
Posted 9/18/2022 8:29 PM (GMT 0)

momto2boys said...
My GI gave me his cell phone number at my first appointment with him and said to call him right away if I start to flare. He also checks the portal and writes back wishing a few hours. My previous doctor was slow to get back to me, usually 2-3 days so I switched and haven’t looked back.

You are so lucky. I once had a GI who gave me his cell number after I was hospitalized. It was amazing. He unfortunately moved out of state 2 years later and I had to switch doctors.

For the past year, I've been seeing someone virtually who is really good but the only problem is they're 4 hours away. My very first appointment with him wasnt a long wait either. You could call some large IBD centers and ask if you could seek a second opinion from them virtually. It depends on your insurance too for who and what states they will cover. Of course, this really isn't ideal for long-term care or scopes, etc.
Posted 9/18/2022 9:21 PM (GMT 0)
There’s so much IBD now that it’s really hard to get into a new GI. One of my GIs (younger dr who had just finished his fellowship) told me there’s a quota after medical school for how many drs they allow into the fellowship program for GIs. He said he was trying to get that changed. That would have been 5 yrs ago now so don’t know if it’s changed.

Anyway some drs are very slow about responding but those are the kind I wouldn’t want to be seen by. It does help if you’re an established patient. You have to be really proactive sometimes and call or message every day to make sure they understand your situation.
Posted 9/18/2022 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi All,

Thank you so much for the replies! I'm new to this forum and really didn't expect so much help. I think I got some idea about my situation.

I chose my current doctor because he is a professor in the University specializing in IBD research. The issue is that he has a long reporting chain. I'm only to see him every 6 months, while I would see his assciate doctor from the team usually. I'm indeed using the designated patient portal to communicate with them, while I would usually only reach the assistant/nurse. The makes the decision process specifically slow if it's finally up to the professor.

Some background: I had a relapse earlier this year while I was on Entyvio, had to take oral Prednisone to mitigate and switched to Stelara. Now I'm having a relapse again, and I suppose I either need to switch to Infliximab or need to take Prednisone again for mitigation.
Posted 9/18/2022 10:20 PM (GMT 0)
Sager,

Welcome to the forum.

Waiting a week to address your medical needs is not good. Personally I would be looking for another asap.

I am located in Texas. We have many GI doctors in this area. I live in the country now but am only a few hours away from Dallas/Fort Worth. My current is a specialist at Dallas Baylor. I drive over 2 hours one way to see him. (traffic is the issue.... Not the distance) He gave me his cell number. I do not use it unless I am on my way to the hospital. I use the patient portal. They usually get back with me within 24 hours. If it's a bad flare I've been known to send a second message within the same day.... (His assistant probably does not like me -- but at least she does not ignore me anymore...lol) The previous doctors I tried... 2 got back to me within 24 hours and the other 5 to 6 of them took their time and it was anywhere from 3 to 7 days. The two that got back to me within 24 hours were in the suburbs (small towns) and they both were good... (I was in a terrible flare and they both referred me to my specialist I use now. Once I stabilized...one of them said he'd work with my specialist to help out if I found myself in an emergency. The other said he wasn't going to treat me unless he was my only GI.....)

I personally prefer doctors at a teaching university hospital because they may have different resources. I can tell you that even within the same hospital setting different GIs perform differently. One up there waited a week to get back to me.

So you may have to "shop around" a bit. Do you have a Crohn's or UC support group close by where you live? I'd check in with them. They might have a name of someone that's outstanding.

I hope you get your flare under control soon.

Good luck!
Clo

Post Edited (clo2014) : 9/18/2022 3:23:07 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 9/20/2022 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
I have my GI’s cellphone, I don’t think that I’d ever use it unless I was headed to the hospital.

My GI sometimes calls me just to check in and see how I am feeling. He’s like I was thinking of you and just wanted to see how you were feeling.
Posted 9/20/2022 4:29 AM (GMT 0)

ks1905 said...
I have my GI’s cellphone, I don’t think that I’d ever use it unless I was headed to the hospital.

My GI sometimes calls me just to check in and see how I am feeling. He’s like I was thinking of you and just wanted to see how you were feeling.

I'm very jealous.
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