I am 30 weeks pregnant today. I was on my way to the dr appt this morning, and I had a soft tire on the way there, so I pulled into the gas station 2 blocks away from the clinic. 2 jackasses were parked in front of the air pump and i was stuck waiting for several minutes, and i knew i was going to be late to the appointment.
I am normally 10 min early to the appointment and most of the staff know who i am, first name basis and all that. I dont make their jobs harder than they have to be, i just get seen for my baby stuff and i go home.
But today, holy shit. Their policy that they just enacted today, states that if youre 15 min late to the appt then you are a no show.
1st time offense: warning
2nd time offense: you pay for the appointment
3rd time: you are banned from getting medical services there
I was 14 min late, from the tire fiasco, and they had already no-showed me in the system before i ever had a chance to go. I pulled a Karen and demanded to be seen because I am an OB patient and have had this appointment booked for a month. The doc had no idea this was happening and was willing to see me anyway today. But they would have canceled me if i was not an OB patient. I was 2 blocks away and didnt feel the need to call because i wasnt super late anyway, and the phone call would have made me past 15 min late. Then they ask me if my phone number is up to date. Yes. Why didnt y'all call me? I have never been to a clinic that didnt call to make sure a patient was ok or needing help, if they were running late. They make it your problem for them making money. Fuck you clinic! If i wasnt almost done cooking the bun in the oven, I would have sought medical help elsewhere. Sorry, long winded, and needed to get this off my chest. Where is the humanity for patient care? Why do receptionists at a medical clinic get to determine whether you get the help you need? Tyranny at its finest.
Edit to add, I felt like i was being treated as if it was a tanning salon, because that's how our local tanning salons operate too 😆
EDIT ALSO TO ADD: I DID NOT RAIL ON PEOPLE LIKE A KAREN, IT WAS A FIGURE OF SPEECH. I was assertive and respectful, people keep blowing up my comments and that was my bad for saying that in the first place. Calm down lol.
To clarify a couple things, I didn't bide my time, I was actively working on the tire and trying to make it to the clinic. I didn't waste any time. This clinic used to call patients and the standard used to be a lot better than it is now. I was only there to check baby heartbeat and do lab work so nothing invasive. I do trust my OB, bc he is the only one that respects my anti vax stance. I was respectful when pulling the Karen, I guess my terminology was more dramatic than how I meant. But I was angry because I had been waiting to be seen for a month now and I was already paying them to check on my kiddo. I already have a plan so that they can't vaccinate my kid behind my back, I have family that will make sure of that when I am sleeping or whatever. My husband and I have the authority to call the shots in this case, so I'm not allowing people to deviate from our established care plan.
Good... hope all is well and goes well, with blessings and a perfect little one.
Thanks fren!