Why does it have to be so hard to make any kind of specialist appointment for my baby?

[Anonymous]

Absolutely talk to your pediatrician about getting an appointment. We were able to get appointments with the dermatology departments at both JHU and Children's within two weeks when our son had out of control eczema. Our pediatrician is great, but he's just a small time guy out in the 'burbs, so it's not like he's getting big time favors or anything.

[Anonymous]

Might I respectfully suggest that if you think the issue will not exist by June, then it is not really necessary for you to see the dermatologist? I mean, you seem to think the issue will go away on its own regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely talk to your pediatrician about getting an appointment. We were able to get appointments with the dermatology departments at both JHU and Children's within two weeks when our son had out of control eczema. Our pediatrician is great, but he's just a small time guy out in the 'burbs, so it's not like he's getting big time favors or anything.

This. We had an allergic situation our pediatrician called the top guy in our area we had an appointment the next week. Specialists *rely on* pediatricians to do this, otherwise they have no way to know that there’s anything pressing about your case.

[Anonymous]

The good provides don't take insurance. Too many people have insurance so there are king wait lists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you ever have the option at work, I highly recommend Kaiser! They are great for stuff like this. Pediatrician wanted something looked at by derm for my son a few months ago, she took a picture of it and sent it to the derm on the floor above her, derm responded back saying she did want to see my son because of it. Kaiser called ME the next day and offered me an appointment that week. Nothing is perfect, but I really have found it amazing with kids because it avoids a lot of this. I realize this isn't helpful to you now, but in case you are a fed and have the option to switch to Kaiser next open season.

Yes but let’s say you don’t like that Kaiser derm and want go to somewhere else for a second opinion. You can’t. You stay within Kaiser. Not saying Kaiser is terrible but it’s good for some things and not for others.

NP: I agree — but you will have multiple options for Kaiser dermatologists throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. So you can get a second opinion. What you can’t—usually — do is, as you’ve said, pick a doctor outside of the Kaiser system, although Kaiser providers do consult outside of the system if it’s needed.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes if you call and tell them it's for an infant, they'll find a way to squeeze you in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Might I respectfully suggest that if you think the issue will not exist by June, then it is not really necessary for you to see the dermatologist? I mean, you seem to think the issue will go away on its own regardless.

This. Can’t be that serious.

[Anonymous]

It’s crazy. I just nicely ask each receptionist what is the best way to get in sooner. Some say call at 8 every day, some say call at 4 - either way, it has always worked within a week to get me an immediate appt.

[Anonymous]

Lol! Try having a child with a chronic condition that requires multiple specialists year-round. You basically constantly need to have them scheduled 3-6 months out at a time. Sucks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it's urgent, ask the ped to call. When I called myself I was offered appts that were months away. Pediatrician called the derm and we got an appt the next day

This

+1. Derms all have long waits now. I just asked my own internist for one and they called the next day - because the internist asked them to work me in

[Anonymous]

This is just a derm medical field thing. They all work like every other Thursday from 10-12 and one Monday a month from 9-930.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you ever have the option at work, I highly recommend Kaiser! They are great for stuff like this. Pediatrician wanted something looked at by derm for my son a few months ago, she took a picture of it and sent it to the derm on the floor above her, derm responded back saying she did want to see my son because of it. Kaiser called ME the next day and offered me an appointment that week. Nothing is perfect, but I really have found it amazing with kids because it avoids a lot of this. I realize this isn't helpful to you now, but in case you are a fed and have the option to switch to Kaiser next open season.

Yes but let’s say you don’t like that Kaiser derm and want go to somewhere else for a second opinion. You can’t. You stay within Kaiser. Not saying Kaiser is terrible but it’s good for some things and not for others.

You can always go to another provider - you'll just pay out of pocket/cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes if you call and tell them it's for an infant, they'll find a way to squeeze you in.

I don't think a pediatric specialist's office will be super impressed that the patient is a baby. Many of their patients are babies, it doesn't make their visit necessarily any more urgent than the 3 year old's visit. This is why it all depends on what the issue is, and if it's something like "I'm worried this newborn has neonatal erythroderma" which is an actual dermatologic emergency, vs "this baby has facial eczema and the mother is very anxious about the appearance but the baby is healthy and thriving, therefore, yes by all means you can see derm but I'm not calling the office to get you squeezed in quicker because I need to save my favors for the babies with true urgent matters"

[Anonymous]

I had an awful time trying to get a dermatology appt for myself this summer when I was in pain due to an infected cyst. I went down my insurance company's provider list and called everyone. Most had a wait of several months for new patients but I was finally able to find someone slightly further away who was able to see me in 2 days. I was annoyed to see how many dermatologists only do cosmetic. They took scarce residency spots just to make $$$ instead of contributing to society.

[Anonymous]

We’ve always had good luck, but our pediatrics group calls in and they work with specific doctors at Children’s.