Getting frustrated w/surgeons office

I had my first appointment with my surgeon in January, later that month, I went to see the dietition and therapist. At the monthly support group meeting, my surgeons secretary told me that my paperwork has begun to come in, fine. Well when I went back to the surgeon's office on March 9th, I was told that they did not have any of my paperwork from either the therapist nor the dietition. I called both of them and was informed that they had sent in the paperwork and the dietition's office said that at least five times a week, they receive angry phone calls from people complaining that they had not sent in the paperwork when they have so it seems like the problem is with the dr's office. Both dietition and therapist sent in the paperwork again. Three weeks later, I call the office and ask what is going on. I believe that until I called, my paperwork sat on the secretary's desk. She had handed the paperwork over to someone else in the office who is responsible for sending it into the insurance company for approval for the procedure, I am getting a lap band. However I was told that they have a lot of cases ahead of me. That was two weeks ago. I am getting very frustrated because I feel that the office has been messing up with my paperwork. I think that this has been too long to wait for my paperwork to be sent to my insurance company. I am ready to call and start making a fuss but will that help. I'm not looking for answers, just needed to vent. It's frustrating because I thought about surgery for at least two years and then when I finally make the decision, the hold up is with the surgeons office who seem to not be able to get their stuff together.

Who is your surgeon, Joy? I'm upset with my surgeon's office too - in western mass. I was recently denied by my insurance company, and figured the dr's office would know what to do next. When I called, they didn't have much to say to me - "oh well" kind of attitude! I was led to believe, by reading others' stories on this site, that surgeons handled appeals routinely - but not by my surgeon, it seems. AK

Hi Amy, My surgeon is Dr. Fiallo. I have to say that I do like him and have heard great things about him, but his office staff is driving me crazy right now. I hope you figure out what to do about your appeal.

I had Dr.Faillo as my surgeon. The entire process for me was totally wonderful. Cheryl his nurse/assistant/coordinator was wonderful and she knew just want was needed for my insurance for me to get approval. I knew quickly that Cheryl was and is very competent with taking care of many aspects surrounding this surgery. Dr.Faillo spent much time explaining the choices and types of surgery to me and my husband and family. He has a super bed side manner, very warm and caring. This is not what one finds in a surgeon, they are usually only interested in the cutting not the warm fuzzy stuff. I found his assistant Dr.Haag very stiff and withdrawn, but he just assisted and checked in on me every now and than. Thankfully I chose to go to Mercy Medical Center for my surgery. I have had two surgeries at Baystate and while thrilled with the surgery and surgical staff, the post op care on the floors was horrid, I mean HORRID. So I picked Mercy. Dr.Faillo sent me to the Mercy Comprehensive Weight Management group. These professional are experts on this weight loss process. I saw the doctor, Dr.Kerocak, Candace, the nurse practitioner, Margy the nurse, Ann the nutritionist (wonderful), Mark the psych person, and Barbara the receptionist. These are all such well informed and caring individuals. They visited me each day while in the hospital to see how I was doing. I continue to see them now every three months and I go to the support group meetings twice a month and purchase my wonderful Opitfast vitamins from them. One of the things I love about the practice is that you can email questions and concerns to the providers and they get back with either email or a call. Unfortunately since January, Dr.Faillo had to stop doing surgery at Mercy. He and Dr.Haag had problems with the other doctors in Pioneer Valley Surgical Associates with getting them to cover their patients at Mercy, covering for each other is important and necessary. So now your only choice is Baystate. Please let Dr.Faillo and his staff know about your concerns and how they are making you feel. Remember you are a consumer of their products and you deserve good, timely, proper care and involvement. Monica 12/06/04 330/264/???

Hi Joy - Sorry you are going thru such a frustrating time right now . I cried practically every day waiting for insurance approval and a surgery date . I feel your pain, as I had to wait 18 months for a date. When I first started looking into WLS, I set up appointments thru both Mercy and Baystate. After having an appointment at Mercy scheduled for a few months, Dr Kerowack's (sp?) office called me a few days before the initial appt and told me they had to cancel and reschedule for A MONTH LATER . I kept the rescheduled appointment anyways because I wanted to check out their program. While I felt the office staff and Dr Kerowack were professional and courteous, I felt they were not receptive to my preferrences and needs for WLS. I went for my initial appointment at Baystate and was much more comfortable with Dr Munshi (no longer there) and his staff. So I decided to go thru Baystate for WLS and found them to be very helpful with insurance issues. But you will probably get half of your responses preferring Baystate and half preferring Mercy . Sometimes I think it is the luck of the draw and who happens to be on staff the day we call for insurance issues, etc. I also feel the same about the nurses in the hospital. Good luck to you, hope the rest of your journey is smoother . Mea 7/12/04 -110 lbs