Complaint Review: Forte Family Practice - Las Vegas Nevada

The Hippocratic Oath:

 I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.

I will not be ashamed to say “I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

Don’t worry, I’m not a Doctor.

I am but a single citizen that has decided to speak out to the crackpots, quacks, and blind leaders in the White Coat Mafia.

I have been going to the same doctor’s office for nearly 11 years.  During that time, I’ve watched her office go from a small practice that was able to take time to listen and diagnose, and change into an office filled with greed and speed.

In Las Vegas, this office is notorious.  The Notorious MD is what we should call them, but to those in this city, it is better known as Forte Family Practice.

I have been the victim of this gang.  Today, I charge them with violating the one oath that all doctors are sworn to – The Hippocratic Oath.

Since I’ve been going there, I’ve been over-charged, over-medicated, over-turned, and over-worked. 

The short list of crimes (there are many more, but this is the shorter of the lists):

1.  I went in after seeing their in-house Chiropractor.  He suggested that I might have Fibromyalgia because of a pressure test he did on the 18 vulnerable spots that all Fibromyalgia patients have on their body.  I scored something like 15 on a scale of 18.  I knew I’d always been sensitive to touch.  It’s not new for me.  In fact, during an examination by one of their gang, I commented on it and thought it was strange.  Never a word was said about the possibility of being a sufferer.  When I made an appointment to see my primary care physician who, by the way, is a Physician’s Assistant, she had other ideas about what my pain was.  Based on me talking about pain and fatigue alone, she told me that I had Bipolar Disorder.  WHAT?!  I’ve never had a single symptom that could even be linked with Bipolar Disorder.  Not one!  And, I know Bipolar Disorder because there are suffers in my circle of friends and family that have both forms of this awful disorder.  Pain and fatigue may be something that some Bipolar patients have, but I never showed symptoms of any of the other symptoms.  These symptoms include:

The manic phase may last from days to months. It can include these symptoms:

·    Easily distracted

·    Little need for sleep

·    Poor judgment

·    Poor temper control

·    Reckless behavior and lack of self control such as drinking, drug use, sex with many partners, spending sprees

·    Very elevated, expansive or irritable mood, such as racing thoughts, talking a lot, false beliefs about self or abilities

·    ery involved in activities

The depressive episode may include these symptoms:

·   Daily low mood or sadness

·   Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions

·   Eating problems such as loss of appetite and weight loss, or overeating and weight gain

·   Fatigue or lack of energy

·   Feeling worthless, hopeless, or guilty

·   Loss of pleasure in activities once enjoyed

·   Loss of self-esteem

·   Thoughts of death or suicide

·   Trouble getting to sleep or sleeping too much

·   Pulling away from friends or activities that were once enjoyed

 Persons with bipolar disorder are at high risk of suicide. They may abuse alcohol or other substances. This can make the symptoms and suicide risk worse.

Episodes of depression are more common than episodes of mania. The pattern is not the same in all persons with bipolar disorder:

·   Depression and mania symptoms may occur together. This is called a mixed state.

·   Symptoms may also occur right after each other. This is called rapid cycling.

Referenced from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001924/#adam_000926.disease.symptoms

 Now, I know what you may be thinking.  Some of these symptoms are normal for our modern life.  Who doesn’t experience distraction or a problem with sleeping on an occasional basis?  What she was talking about was crazy!  Not saying Bipolar people are crazy, but saying that trying to diagnose me as Bipolar based on my pain and fatigue is just downright crazy, not to mention irresponsible medical practice.  She dismissed me with a handful of prescriptions and sent me on my way, not caring or paying attention to the fact that I wasn’t finished with our appointment. 

1. You can’t call in and receive refills on prescriptions; not even ones you have been on for 20+ years.  I called this morning just to confirm this.  That is their policy and you have to be seen every 6 months or they will not refill anything.

 I’m sorry, but this seems like extortion to me.  You are supposed to see your doctor once a year to have a well-check checkup; but, trust me, you don’t want to do that at this office.  You will inevitably walk out of there feeling like a John at a w***e house.  They’ll take your money, work you over for 5 to 10 minutes, and send you on your way without your happy ending. 

 Case in point:

One afternoon, I was feeling short of breath.  I have had asthma since I was 13.  I’ve been on Albuterol on and off during these last 20 years and never had a doctor refuse to fill my prescription.  So, on this afternoon, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.  The allergens in the air were high that day.  I used my inhaler at home, but since it was pretty much out, I still felt like I couldn’t breathe.  I called the office to ask if they would please send in or let me pick up a prescription for this and they told me that I would have to be seen.  I tried to stay home just out of pure spite.  But, after it got too bad, I went in to their office as an urgent care walk-in patient.

 *Cue the longest wait ever*

 Once I was called back to the little room, they took my vitals.  Temperature was fine, oxygen level was near normal (94%), but my blood pressure was elevated.  Of course my blood pressure was elevated!  I’ve taken a substance that raises your blood pressure to open up the tiny little tubes that help you breathe.  Instead of listening to me when I told them this, they freaked out, freaked me out, and threw me on an EKG machine to make sure my heart was working okay.  All the while, the nurses are telling me that I might have to go to the hospital because my heart might be failing.  I’m in your office on a freaking Saturday with my 8 year old daughter and you’re telling me this?  Not only are you dumber than I thought, but you also scared the crap out of my kid. 

 After the results of the EKG come back completely normal, they send in a doctor.  He doesn’t introduce himself, doesn’t even look at me.  He simply says, “your heart is fine.  Come back and see your primary care on Monday.”  But, I didn’t come in here for my heart, I said.  I came in because I can’t breathe and I need my prescription of Albuterol refilled so I can breathe.  He listens to my chest and says, “no wheezing.  You’re fine.”  I was wheezing.  I was wheezing so much that you could hear it as I was talking.  I don’t care what the O2 sensor that you stuck on my finger tells you, I know I can’t breathe and it is about to get bad.  He writes me off as a drug seeker (you can tell by the way someone looks at you that this is what they are thinking) and sends me out the door without the prescription. 

 Who uses Albuterol recreationally?!  No one.  It doesn’t get you high and doesn’t contain any of the things that drug seekers want – narcotics.  I just want to breathe and suddenly I’m lumped in with the people who abuse doctor’s offices for fun.

I left there a broken and sad person who still wasn’t able to breathe.  Thankfully, and I know this is illegal but you gotta do what you gotta do, I have a neighbor who has Albuterol for a nebulizer and I was able to breathe after one treatment. 

 What went wrong?  The un-named doctor ignored everything I said; pretty typical experience for this office.

 Called the office this morning to ask for prescription refills, again.  Why?  Because I thought maybe they grew a heart and I like to give everyone the benefit of proving that they have changed.  But, of course, they did not.  I have to pay a $25 co-pay to go in and show them a list of medications so that they will write me new ones.

 Now, I’ve done some research.  NRS 639.2322 says that the only prescription which may not have an oral authorization to refill is some kinds of drugs which I don’t take.  Other than that, there is nothing in the Nevada Revised Statutes about refilling prescriptions over the phone or by fax.  You can’t claim Nevada law for your laziness.

 The only thing that I can think is that this office wants – no, needs – to have my $25 every couple of months so they can pay their bills.  EXTORTION!  Yes, I claim extortion.

 They hold my refills hostage until I pay my $25 fee to get them back.  I’m not allowed to have access to them unless I pay $25. 

 Oh, and this is only while I’ve had insurance.  I was uninsured for many years as a patient of theirs and paid them the reduced independent payment of $75 per trip in. 

 During a recent trip to my local Target, which I should own stock in, at this point, I stopped by the pharmacy to check and see what the status of my prescriptions were.  They told me I was out, but politely offered to send them by fax to the doctor’s office.  I thanked them, but said it is Forte Family Practice.  The girl behind the counter shook her head, laughed, and said there was no way I’d ever get them.  She said that they are the worst office in town when it comes to prescriptions and advised me that I should probably change offices if I ever wanted to be treated like a person.

 Professionals in the drug industry laugh at this office.  Yeah, it is that bad.

 Over the years, I’ve been treated both good and bad by this office.  There are times I still think they care, but more often than not, they don’t give a s**t about what is wrong with you.  They just want their $25 co-pay and give you nothing more than 3-5 minutes of their time to appease you. 

Well, I have an appointment today at 5:15 p.m.  I will not be a victim today.  I will be the one walking in with my brain guns loaded.  I’ve made a list of what I need to talk about and they aren’t leaving that room until I get some answers.

Yes, I’m pissed.  I’m pissed off that I’ve let them drag me around by the nose for 11 years.  I’m pissed off that I’ve been too weak to stand up to them.  I’m pissed off that people who take the Hippocratic Oath can treat others this way and have no repercussions. 

Well, it will not be this day! (Yes, I did just paraphrase a quote that Aragorn said in Lord of the Rings.)

To Dr. Dana Forte and all those who practice medicine under your wings: I charge you with malfeasance and malpractice.  You’ve directly violated your oath and have sent so many away when they needed your help. 

Today, I stand up to the White Coat Mafia.  The Notorious MD will not pull one over on me.

I’ll update this after my appointment.