Potomac Pediatrics -- major vent!

[Anonymous]

I cannot believe their exclusionary criteria for administering their first available doses of the injectable H1N1 vaccine. Despite my child's medical history, she is being excluded. Well, at first the nurse said I could bring her in. And then when we arrived later that day, we were kicked out of line because she doesn't, afterall, meet the "criteria" that they have established for high risk, which I believe my child is. Their staff is being very rude about this, and not returning calls anymore either. Definitely time to move on to another pediatrician's office, and if anyone is particularly pleased with their Rockville pediatrician's office over administering H1N1 and other things in general, please make your recommendation known. I'm about to have baby no. 2...and I will not tolerate being treated the way I currently am by Potomac Peds.....

[Anonymous]

OP, this isn't there first shipment of H1N1 vaccine. FIC, who operates the flu clinic for Potomac Pediactrics has had the shot as well and I have received email updates each and every time the shots and mist have been available from either FIC or Potomac Peds. I am not angry about their policy at all. It is their shipment to ration and they want to get the young babies, under 2's and sick kids the vac.

You have had ample opportunity to receive the shot elsewhere. Fairfax might be a hike but the clinic was EMPTY on Saturday. If it were that important for your child to get the shot you could have gone to ten other places already.

Please don't bash a doctor's office based on the fact you feel they wronged you. I imagine they are dealing with hundreds of angry moms who feel THEY deserve the shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this isn't there first shipment of H1N1 vaccine. FIC, who operates the flu clinic for Potomac Pediactrics has had the shot as well and I have received email updates each and every time the shots and mist have been available from either FIC or Potomac Peds. I am not angry about their policy at all. It is their shipment to ration and they want to get the young babies, under 2's and sick kids the vac.

You have had ample opportunity to receive the shot elsewhere. Fairfax might be a hike but the clinic was EMPTY on Saturday. If it were that important for your child to get the shot you could have gone to ten other places already.

Please don't bash a doctor's office based on the fact you feel they wronged you. I imagine they are dealing with hundreds of angry moms who feel THEY deserve the shot.

meant THEIR, sorry for the typo

[Anonymous]

I think you are going to find most of the ped offices are working this way. I know our group has really cracked down on communications regarding H1N1 and they no longer take any calls about the flu vaccine.

I'm sorry, I understand your frustration, but I think all of the ped offices are really feeling the pain of this flu season. They are swamped and trying their hardest.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the posters. I have been frantic trying to get the shots for my family. I had a baby less than one week ago, and will be camping out early at a Fairfax clinic tomorrow morning to get the shot. Nothing like looking at a newborn to make you realize how fragile life is and how horrible it would be if he got sick,

My other two kids will be vaccinated at their ped later this week b/c of our newborn. Believe me, it is annoying that I can't get the shot at the same time, but I understand the policy.

[Anonymous]

OP here -- to 11:12 -- today is their 2nd offering of the injectable shot, either via FIC or Potomac Peds. FIC has had the mist before, which I refuse to give my child based on her medical history which I feel strongly about. The facts of which are no one else's business, so I won't get into those details. Suffice it to say, I will not give her the live viral vaccine. And they have not offered the injection before last Thursday, so please get your facts straight. As for other places to go, how am I supposed to know which clinics will be practically vacant and which will have 2-3+ hours' wait line? I am very pregnant and can go any time now. Well, at least someone else's peds in MD have offered shots according to criteria that captures a broader audience. Referral please? I am continuing my search for peds offices in the area that can accommodate us as soon as possible. And since Potomac Peds obviously has too many patients to handle and can't offer broader criteria for "high risk" as set by the CDC (i.e. children under 4, parents caring for newborns, etc), then I'll just have to take my family elsewhere for future care. It has become quite clear to me that they will not be opening up their shots to a broader audience for the foreseeable future. And I won't blame the "limited supply" since according to 11:12 there are plenty of shots to go around "elsewhere".... I blame supply and demand at this particular office. They can't accommodate their patient load -- because they have too many patients. Cattle herding comes to mind, and not just in this instance. I am also tired of being told to treat my child's fever with tylenol and call back in a couple days if she's not feeling better, only to end up taking her to Nighttime or the ER. Several of these instances over the past 2 years, and therefore no consistency in treatment from the actual doctors. Enough is enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here -- to 11:12 -- today is their 2nd offering of the injectable shot, either via FIC or Potomac Peds. FIC has had the mist before, which I refuse to give my child based on her medical history which I feel strongly about. The facts of which are no one else's business, so I won't get into those details. Suffice it to say, I will not give her the live viral vaccine. And they have not offered the injection before last Thursday, so please get your facts straight. As for other places to go, how am I supposed to know which clinics will be practically vacant and which will have 2-3+ hours' wait line? I am very pregnant and can go any time now. Well, at least someone else's peds in MD have offered shots according to criteria that captures a broader audience. Referral please? I am continuing my search for peds offices in the area that can accommodate us as soon as possible. And since Potomac Peds obviously has too many patients to handle and can't offer broader criteria for "high risk" as set by the CDC (i.e. children under 4, parents caring for newborns, etc), then I'll just have to take my family elsewhere for future care. It has become quite clear to me that they will not be opening up their shots to a broader audience for the foreseeable future. And I won't blame the "limited supply" since according to 11:12 there are plenty of shots to go around "elsewhere".... I blame supply and demand at this particular office. They can't accommodate their patient load -- because they have too many patients. Cattle herding comes to mind, and not just in this instance. I am also tired of being told to treat my child's fever with tylenol and call back in a couple days if she's not feeling better, only to end up taking her to Nighttime or the ER. Several of these instances over the past 2 years, and therefore no consistency in treatment from the actual doctors. Enough is enough.

GIven what you think of them, you should definitely switch practices. I loved my practice . . . but because I love them, I won't be referring you. You sound like a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Just another patient at Potomac Peds, and I just want to say for the record, that I love the care that we have received for our two boys. I have never felt like cattle, or that they were understaffed. I have always been seen within 10-15 minutes of my appointment, by caring doctors who are great with my children. I have 2x had very young children with quick onset high fevers - and never been told to take Tylenol - in fact, they sent us downstairs to the place to get blood drawn so they would know immediately whether it was meningitis. Moreover, the place where blood is drawn had very good technicians that were experts with the veins of very small children.

The flu shot situation is a one-in-a-generation thing. Yes, I sat in line with a 2 1/2 year old for 2 hours waiting for the flumist. Did I blame the doctors? No (I did blame other PITA parents who were taking lots of time with their questions that could have easily been answered by phone or online, but I understand the concern). Also, this is a service they contract out for - if you don't like it - be one of the thousands going to the free clinics. Frankly, I feel sorry for the next doctor you bestow your queenly self-righteous entitled self upon.

[Anonymous]

OP, once again, not my problem you are blaming Potomac Pediatrics for your need to be given the flu shot right away. Just because you are about to "pop" doesn't mean you get special treatment or that you can't wait in line. Send your husband if it is THAT urgent. We all risk it when going to get the shot, how does anyone know when there will be a wait.

If this is the pediatricians second shipment of mist/shots, then it is indeed NOT their first shipment. If you decide not to use the flumist, then GREAT, but dont complain about it like it's the doctor's fault.

We love Potomac Pediatrics and have NEVER had to wait and have always had great care.

[Anonymous]

Ah, I see the anger of the forum is now shifting from the clinics to the doctors. Handling H1N1 vaccine is like holding on to a piece of dynamite. It's like we're on a desert island and one person is running around with the last canteen of water.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ah, I see the anger of the forum is now shifting from the clinics to the doctors. Handling H1N1 vaccine is like holding on to a piece of dynamite. It's like we're on a desert island and one person is running around with the last canteen of water.

Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

GIven what you think of them, you should definitely switch practices. I loved my practice . . . but because I love them, I won't be referring you. You sound like a nightmare.

Ditto, I love my practice too, but I think OP will have issues with any practice she sees.

[Anonymous]

OP again and geez you guys really mis-read into what I'm saying. I have NOT blamed the doctors at all. You didn't read my post clearly. Those that I have been to see have been great, when we've been there. The problem I was pointing out is that when I call with an illness, the gate-keeping nurse is the one who tells me to use tylenol and wait out the illness before coming in to see a doctor. And then it gets so bad at night that we end up somewhere else, like Nighttime or the ER. and as a result of this, there is no consistency with the doctors actually following my child and getting to know her. How can the doctors get to know my child and her tendencies for illness if half the medical reviews and reports are coming from someone other than themselves? From which there is also no consistency. No it isn't the doctors' faults themselves. They probably aren't even aware of how many times their nurse tells me to "wait it out". Being a new parent 2 years ago, I had heard so many good things about this office, so I just assumed that this is the way a great pediatricians' offices handle all their patients. I"m glad to hear others are having better experiences than I am. And maybe I should have known better quite a while ago and insisted on appointments when my child was sick rather than simply "waiting a couple days" as I was regularly advised. But what is a parent to do, but listen to the advice of their doctor's office -- the nurse whom you are to rely on? I am not a "nightmare" parent -- I am trying my best for my child and have currently lost faith in the system.

As for their "shipments" of the injection -- yeah today is their "second" but like I pointed out, their exclusion criteria has not changed. So what's the difference. I had asked a couple times about when their shippments were expected, and at no point did anyone in the office suggest that they would be handing out their first shipments only under certain very exclusionary circumstances, which is why I was waiting for my primary care pediatrician to take care of my child's H1N1 vacination need. After all, the other clinics around the region do not appear to have anywhere near the highly exclusionary criteria as this office does. This is the last thing that I ever expected out of such a highly rated pediatrician's office. Furthermore, a little advanced notice on their plans for handing it out under very controlled circumstances would have gone a long way to let me know to seek a shot elsewhere before now.

And finally, I find it really sad that many folks on this particular forum are so incredibly unhelpful and completely arrogant and judgemental, rather than at least trying to be helpful or supportive to a frustrated parent. How sad. I don't need your sympathy, though some of you do have mine for the rude responses you've provided so far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again and geez you guys really mis-read into what I'm saying. I have NOT blamed the doctors at all. You didn't read my post clearly. Those that I have been to see have been great, when we've been there. The problem I was pointing out is that when I call with an illness, the gate-keeping nurse is the one who tells me to use tylenol and wait out the illness before coming in to see a doctor. And then it gets so bad at night that we end up somewhere else, like Nighttime or the ER. and as a result of this, there is no consistency with the doctors actually following my child and getting to know her. How can the doctors get to know my child and her tendencies for illness if half the medical reviews and reports are coming from someone other than themselves? From which there is also no consistency. No it isn't the doctors' faults themselves. They probably aren't even aware of how many times their nurse tells me to "wait it out". Being a new parent 2 years ago, I had heard so many good things about this office, so I just assumed that this is the way a great pediatricians' offices handle all their patients. I"m glad to hear others are having better experiences than I am. And maybe I should have known better quite a while ago and insisted on appointments when my child was sick rather than simply "waiting a couple days" as I was regularly advised. But what is a parent to do, but listen to the advice of their doctor's office -- the nurse whom you are to rely on? I am not a "nightmare" parent -- I am trying my best for my child and have currently lost faith in the system.

As for their "shipments" of the injection -- yeah today is their "second" but like I pointed out, their exclusion criteria has not changed. So what's the difference. I had asked a couple times about when their shippments were expected, and at no point did anyone in the office suggest that they would be handing out their first shipments only under certain very exclusionary circumstances, which is why I was waiting for my primary care pediatrician to take care of my child's H1N1 vacination need. After all, the other clinics around the region do not appear to have anywhere near the highly exclusionary criteria as this office does. This is the last thing that I ever expected out of such a highly rated pediatrician's office. Furthermore, a little advanced notice on their plans for handing it out under very controlled circumstances would have gone a long way to let me know to seek a shot elsewhere before now.

And finally, I find it really sad that many folks on this particular forum are so incredibly unhelpful and completely arrogant and judgemental, rather than at least trying to be helpful or supportive to a frustrated parent. How sad. I don't need your sympathy, though some of you do have mine for the rude responses you've provided so far.

OP, when we call the office we make an appt. We don't get the nurse. Are you asking to speak to the nurse, if so, just make the appt to be seen.

[Anonymous]

I've had similar mixed experiences with Potomac Pediatrics. I really like the doctors which is why we stay but the OP is not crazy. The practice has a lot of patients and there is a system which is not the best.

If your child is sick you basically must call right at 8am and be able to take whatever appointment is available. I'm OK with that and will turn my schedule upside down if my kid is sick. If your child becomes ill during the day though there is little chance of bring them in in the afternoon. The office staff is very bad in taking a morning call with a yes you should come in but call in the afternoon when they are booked and you get a he will be fine message. You do get a recommendation to just do Tylenol and go to the ER if its gets worse. They seem to view the ER as an extension of their practice when they are busy which is not good healthcare. They have very limited to no-existent after hours call support. If your child is sick after 9pm then either wait or go to the ER. Since they operate like this I end up bring my kid in more. I can't really afford to wait around in the morning and see if he gets better in the mid morning or afternoon. I feel like I am wasting their time but he is high risk.

On the flu shot, we waited in line at PP for about 2 hours on Thursday. I was surprised at that criteria though. DS did had a documented asthma reaction in the office about 10 months ago so we qualified. However, when he develops a cold and becomes asthmatic we do the albuterol and neb right away. They prescribe it over the phone. When I bring him in I usually have done a neb treatment right before so he is not wheezing when we are in the office. I wonder if we had not missed it that one time 10 months ago and he wasn't wheezing in the office if we would not have qualified. I guess in the future I should let him wheeze until we get to the office so I don't have to risk him not qualifying for the right care in the future.