Consultation Question

[HairBear22]

Hello All,

I recently had a consultation with a respected doctor of this site. The consultation with the doctor was very brief. I was told he had a patient in the chair, which is always priority (understandable). We made some initial small talk, and then I sat in the chair and he drew the ideal hairline and quoted me a price based on the amount he felt would give me the desired density in the area. I would venture to say that I may have spent around 5 minutes with the doctor while I was actually in the chair. I did spend quite a bit of time with another associate of the practice who may be responsible for more of the on boarding or education of prospective patients. I later emailed the gentlemen who I spent the majority of my consultation with and I never received a response from him. I'm assuming he still is representing the doctor, but it's possible that could not be the case. I had a consultation many years ago with another doctor, and my experience was very different. Should I let this impact my decision to move forward with the doctor, or is this a normal experience? Any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Speegs]

You need to trust your intuition a great deal once you're educated about what course of action you want to take.

 

It sounds like the doctor in question fit you in to a busy schedule, were you made aware of that beforehand or did you go in assuming the expectation of more time?

 

Since it was presumably a free consultation it's hard to altogether argue with the lack of personal attention beyond a glance over, the doctor's time is potentially strapped and precious, but at the same time you should never feel rushed or unsatisfied with your vetting of a doctor before committing to any surgery with them.

 

Most reputable doctors on this forum give you a more thorough look when they have the time, perhaps the benefit of the doubt should be given to this doctor that their schedule was just too stretched for them to do so at this time.

 

But I would always default to where you feel comfortable the most, and not ever feel rushed into a decision just because you fear availability of a big name.

[HairBear22]

Thanks for your response. I was contacted by the office, and was informed that the gentleman tasked with patient education was not longer working for the practice, hence why I never received a reply when I reached out to him.

[gillenator]

Having a rushed appointment is never good for either party regardless of the circumstances.

 

It would have served both of you better for the clinic to have re-scheduled you for a time when the doctor could give you his undivided attention, and at the same time you could have your questions and concerns addressed.

[pkipling]

I agree with what Speegs said, in that ultimately you need to trust your gut and your intuition. That said, if you do otherwise feel comfortable with the doctor, you could speak to his office about your experience and find out if the rushed consultation is par for the course or if it was more of an isolated incident due to you being "squeezed in" to a busy schedule. Who knows - if it was a fluke and not typically how he runs his consultations, you could try to reschedule with him.

[gillenator]

Nobody should be "squeezed" or "rushed" into a quick appointment, PERIOD. There's never an acceptable reason for this IMHO.

 

There are just too many issues to cover in a comprehensive appointment and every individual deserves that and should expect nothing less than that.

 

There simply just needs to be allotted times when consultations are done when surgery is not being performed....at the end of the day...whatever.