I made an appointment with a Dr. specifically to get a follow-up test of the Ferritin level in my body. We live in TN but spend the winter in TX and this past Spring I was diagnosed as being Anemic with very low if any Ferritin in my body. The only reason the Hematologist in TX found it was because she was testing for the possibility of Myeloma. Fortunately the Myeloma tests came back negative but meanwhile I was given iron infusions to try to overcome the anemia. I did pretty well and my blood levels also improved so we came back to TN in May. I started feeling the extreme fatigue around July, along with many of the symptoms I had experienced before. I decided to go ahead and find another Hematologist here, as this is our home, instead of waiting for the November follow-up appt. in TX that was scheduled. I felt and still feel as though my levels may be going down again. I've suffered from internal bleeding that hasn't been diagnosed for the last two years. That's another story.
I called and made the appointment with the Dr.'s nurse and explained everything to her and she said that she would get me an appointment to have the Ferritin level checked. I went ahead and got my blood work done that had been ordered before my appointment on 8/11. I went in to my appointment and waited for the Dr. When the Dr. came in she said that the blood work had come back normal and asked if there was anything else I
was concerned about. I asked specifically if the Ferritin level in my body had been tested with that last test she had referred to and she insisted it had been.
Well, it wasn't. All that had been done was the basic CBC panel with differentials that had been tested. I am SO upset about this. The Dr. had the appt. notes from the previous Hematologist explaining the extensive blood tests, x-rays, and ultrasounds that I had had. I've seen them, they are very clear. I expressed very clearly to the Dr. and the nurse what my recent history had been and my concern over being Anemic again. The Dr. either dismissed, not read, or ignored any of the notes from the previous Hematologist. She did the very same with my explanation and my concerns over my health. When I added the fact that my GP discovered I had gained 20 lbs over the last 6 months that were unexplained, she dismissed it as nothing more than I needed to diet, eat half as much as I normally would and I would lose weight.
Clearly the Dr. has no experience on how to take care of a patient who has seen a different Dr. previously for an issue they are seeing her to help them take care of the issues they are experiencing. In my eyes that is the poorest of customer service you could ever give to a customer and the fact that this care is given by a Doctor makes it all that much worse. I'm disgusted and angered at the fact she was at the least, careless of my situation. Which for all I know, still could be cancer. I have no use for people like that, would warn ANYONE of ever going to your facility for care of any kind if this is the way your staff of Doctors "care" for anyone.
Btw, the Dr. told me to make another appointment in November for a follow-up. Funny how that appointment mentions the Ferritin test after all. Do you think I'm going to keep that appointment or cancel? I also know a bit about reputation management and how to get the word around. I believe I'll spend my time and money on that instead of wasting both being attended by any Doctor there at the Thompson Cancer Center of Knoxville.
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- EIN 62-1250943
- (865) 374-6864
- 1420 Centerpoint Blvd Bldg C Knoxville TN 37932-1960 USA
- www.thompsoncancer.com
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Mission: Thompson cancer survival center provides support services for cancer patients, in alignment with covenant health's mission to serve the community by improving the quality of life through better health, regardless of a patient's ability to pay.
Programs: Cancer support services: see schedule o. Cancer support services. Expenses: $5,350,835; revenue: $2,152,987 thompson cancer survival center's program service accomplishment is the provision of a range of cancer support services with the aim of supporting patients who are undergoing treatment at covenant health facilities. Support services include social services, treatment care coordination and oncology clinical trials. The social services department receives referrals from covenant health facilities when patients are identified that could benefit from the services provided by this department. In 2016, social services supported 1,580 new patient referrals and 3,956 follow-up patients. Additionally, there were 997 new patients referred for nutritional counseling and education and 3,557 follow-up patients were also supported. The social services department includes a genetics clinic staffed by two licensed and certified genetic counselors who provide breast cancer and hereditary cancer risk assessments and who coordinate genetic testing. In 2016, the genetics clinic received referrals from covenant health facilities for 588 new patients who were in need of counseling, including 470 who pursued genetic testing. Of those, 12% tested positive for a hereditary cancer syndrome. Whether patients tested positive or negative for a hereditary cancer syndrome, decided not to pursue testing, or were not appropriate candidates for testing, they and their families were able to make informed decisions regarding their medical management based on the genetic testing they received. Multidisciplinary treatment facilitates specialty physicians discussing treatment options based on the individuality of one's circumstances. The multidisciplinary cancer care coordinator schedules a private consultation for each patient with the members of the specialty team. This approach affords the opportunity for the physician to relate one-on-one with the patient and explain treatment choices in layman's language. Patients in need of this support come from various covenant health facilities. In 2016, 413 breast patients were under conference discussion and 154 were seen in clinic; 143 chest patients were under conference discussion and 12 were seen in clinic; and an additional 334 general tumor patients and 144 neuro cancer patients were discussed in conference. In addition in 2016, tcsc added 4 nurses to the patient navigation program. The nurse navigators assist patients according to their needs and help them overcome multiple barriers to healthcare. Common barriers include financial, education, transportation, logistics, language and culture, emotional, and a complicated health care system in general. Our navigators guide patients to sources of financial support, help complete paperwork, educate patients on diagnoses and medical procedures, arrange and coordinate appointments with multiple providers, help with transportation, assist with housing, communicate with providers about unique patient needs, ensure medical records arrive at scheduled appointments, direct patients to support groups or counseling services, and attend patient appointments for support. They work diligently to meet the needs of our patients and families. Navigators are working with patients having all solid tumor cancer types. Tcsc nurse navigators lead the low dose ct lung screening program for fort sanders regional and fort sanders west. This program was started in march 2016. There were 244 total patients scheduled with 143 normal results. 31 patients were found to have abnormal screening followed by 3 or 6 month follow-up and 4 had abnormal pet, biopsy pending. There were 4 patients screened that resulted in a positive cancer diagnosis. Since the opening of tcsc in 1988, the clinical trials department has enrolled 2,326 patients in clinical trials. The tcsc clinical trials department currently has 20 active treatment patients who were referred from covenant health facilities and 160 patients in follow-up. In 2016, tcsc clinical trials department enrolled 22 patients to oncology clinical trials. To help with screening efforts, research nurse coordinators are assigned to specific physician schedules for screening and to specific locations for coverage, including thompson oncology group's oak ridge, sevierville, west knoxville, downtown knoxville and blount sites. Opening new studies increases referrals locally and regionally and gives current patients the ability to be treated with state-of-the-art care in their own community. Involvement in prevention and treatment trials offers an improved means of health strategies for individuals at risk for certain cancers, as well as access to proven standard cancer treatments and new, developing cutting edge therapies for those diagnosed with cancer. Other programs include east tennessee cancer registry, fellowship center, and cancer outreach services.