Doctors Refusing to See Particular Patients

I was just 'triaged' by a specialist i was refered to and she has refused to see me.

how often does this happen?

what are the reasons for it?

Comments

      • Surely you can ask for feedback/advice from the practice staff, or request from the specialist herself?

  • +13

    This entirely depends on your specific situation (i.e. the referral) and is impossible to answer accurately without specific information to your circumstances (which you obviously don't need to share with the internet)

    Triaging refers to the practice of prioritising appointments for new and returning patients, and the urgency in which they need to be seen (if at all) and generally doesn't operate on a first come, first served basis. The most common example of this is how an emergency department picks which patient to be seen next, from Category 1 (an immediately life-threatening condition) to Category 5 (Usually a chronic or minor condition which can be assessed and treated within a few hours without detrimental effect).

    There are many reasons for a declined referral including:
    - Not enough information in the referral / unclear reason for the referral. Especially for public specialist clinics which are usually well overbooked at the best of times let alone post-COVID. Unfortunately the referral process isn't the best laid out for GPs some of the time (and hospital doctors) and occasionally there are errors and a patient is referred to someone who isn't the best person to manage a patients particular problem
    - The reason for the referral may not be strong enough to indicate the need for specialist management at that time (e.g. chronic kidney disease that could very well be managed by a GP at the current stage)
    - The referral could be inappropriate (i.e. to the wrong specialist as I said above) or the specialist may only operate a clinic that has strict eligibility criteria which you don't fit e.g. a chronic pain clinic that can only accept patients who fit a certain criteria including willingness to trial non-medication based pain management. This is common when new clinics are funded for hospitals, which often have stricter eligibility requirements than long standing clinics
    - The particular specialist the referral was referred to could be overbooked and unable to see you in a reasonable timeframe, or think they are not the right doctor for you
    - Or the specialist may no longer be working in the area in which the referral requires (e.g. surgeons no longer doing that type of operation; or specialists refining their scope of practice), aiming to take leave or reduce their workload; or just plain too busy to take on more patients!
    - And as mentioned above, safety concerns are very rarely the reason, but that does happen

    You can obviously return to your referrer (or your GP if they were not the one to refer you) and ask if they got more details as to why the specialist could not see you, or take the referral to another specialist in the same field (they can be taken to any specialist in that field for MBS reasons, not just the named person).

  • +5

    I hate to point this out, but neurosurgeons won't take cases they think are inoperable. It's not even that they're worried about risk to themselves, it's about the risk to yourself. Not operating is often the best option - not great - but there you have it. You should urgently seek another opinion.

  • Did you need to fill out a questionnaire at the time of triage? Would some of those questions have the potential to filter you out?

  • +3

    It could be that she isn't taking any referrals at this point in time. I know an orthopaedic surgeon who's waiting list is 12 - 18 months before you can see him for the initial consultation, then a further 12 - 18 months waiting list for surgery. Covid has caused lots of issues with waiting lists because at the start of last year, elective surgery was reduced in public hospitals, and now there is a lot of strain on the system to catch up again.

    • Waiting like this for an ortho don't even make sense. The reason why they work such long hours is because many of the operations they perform are time critical.

      • It doesn't make sense if you just want to see any ortho surgeon, but if you want to see this particular surgeon, that's just the way it is. Not sure why i got negged, i was just sharing my knowledge as an orthopaedic scrub nurse/ theatre in charge of a public hospital.

        • Well when I severed my radial head, I was at Victoria House getting a reconstruction from a top Ortho within 24hrs.

          • @[Deactivated]: Emergencies are very different to elective cases. We've had someone arrive in emergency with a fractured neck of femur, and within 2 hrs they were in recovery with a hip replacement. However, if they were on the normal waiting list for a hip replacement because of osteoarthritis, it might take 12 months to get their operation.

    • Was weird this year, i had surgery booked and by the time i got there the issue had sorted itself out (foreign body)

  • did one of your ex-es partner pursue medical career?

    • no
      but are you thinking there is like an old boys network of doctors that discuss patients?

      • +1

        Oh boy!!!!

  • +9

    Had issues getting attention from a neurosurgeon for my young son over the last two or three years - finally found someone willing to see us and actually do something about his ailment - and it was well the effort. It's quite normal, depending on time of year, to get this issue. Can be a multitude of reasons:

    • Their books are full. Neurosurgeons don't want to have too many patients on their books as recovery from surgery can take months or even years. These patients are still active patients due to the need for follow-ups and so on. I've had to take my own son back for 2 or 3 adjustments to his brain shunt since his surgery in September and have another one later on this week. If a surgeon takes on too many patients, it leaves little space for follow-ups and after-surgery care.

    • Inoperability

    • Holidays and the need to reduce "long tail" business

    • Maybe s/he doesn't operate on your specific issue or isn't skilled in it

    • Poor info on referral/lack of clarity

  • Have your doctors refer you to someone else

  • What answer are you looking for OP?
    I see you have only replied to the comments that you feel are reasonable.

    You want people to say she’s racist or what?

    Just drop it and move on.
    She doesn’t need to see you if she doesn’t want to.

    • +1

      Ive only replied to the short ones and the ones at the top.

      So far

      I find it hard and it takes me a while.

      sometimes when there are too many I eventually give up which I feel guilty about

      But thanks for making ASSumptions. Perhaps just as this doctor did?

  • I was just 'triaged' by a specialist i was refered to and she has refused to see me.

    May be the correct term to used is "being assessed" by the specialist.
    Triage usually is done by several professionals.

    Don't know the reasons for you contacting said specialist but I know of the case of a renown surgeon assessing and then deciding surgery will not help the patient so nothing he could nor would do. Nothing sinister.

  • That referral can be used for another neurosurgeon.

    As allenurbanite said, sometimes that specialist no longer takes tht.particilar issue or perhaps they have leave planned or any number of reasons. Just move to someone else.

    • -1

      Pretty sure it can't mate.

      • +1

        Referrals to a particular speciality can be used for another doctor in the same speciality. This is because you have freedom of choice in doctors regardless of who your GP sends you to. The referral is mainly for Medicare purposes to ensure you actually need to see a specialist before they pay out your rebate. (however some specialists want you to get one in their name despite this not being a requirement)

      • +1
  • Perhaps ask the receptionist?

  • +8

    OP clearly leaving out some pretty important information on this.

    As always

    • how much information do you want me to post to strangers on the internet?

      • +7

        well you clearly want an opinion.

        maybe if you were more open and honest you would get a better response?

        • Yes I suppose
          But it's all so complicated

          This is pointless isn't it

          • +3

            @bargain huntress: Well not pointless. You wanted to know if there are totally valid reasons why they wouldn't see you. The answer to that is yes.

            • +1

              @[Deactivated]: yes that's true

              i wouldn't say i feel much better because there are some invalid reasons i hadn't though of now spinning around my head

              but at least there are some fair enough ones too i didn't have before i can try to calm myself with

              thank you

  • +5

    A psychiatrist refused to take me on as a patient once because I was "too beyond help".

    I think you always want someone who is confident in their ability to help you :)

    • +2

      Did they refer you to someone that can?

    • +2

      A psychiatrist refused to take me on as a patient once because I was "too beyond help".

      that must have been devestating

      what is wrong with these people?

      • +1

        At the end of the day they're still running a business. The psychiatrist that I eventually ended up seeing is one of the very few who puts patients before business, which is basically not a good business model lol

  • Maybe she is busy.

    If it's a neuro you're seeing, sometimes you may just not fit their preferred case profile. Even specialists prefer to treat certain types of cases and refuse some for whatever reason.

    Also, please understand, that is like a major backlog with many elective and even non elective surgeries atm.

  • +6

    Never had a problem seeing my Doc.
    Well, except maybe that time he was in 1885.

  • I think everyone is reading too much into OP.

    OP if you didn't get a reason, call their reception and ask. Then book another go appointment and talk about this to your GP.

    I don't know why they aren't seeing you it's probably nothing to do with you might just be that they are going on holidays or they can't help your problem and want you to find someone else rather than paying them and getting that answer in person.

  • Maybe you don't have private health insurance

    Or for a proceduralist they believe you won't need a procedure or operation

    More likely they read the referral and don't believe they need to see you.

  • +1

    As people have said above, there are lots of reasons. Similar to why a tradie might decline a job that you on offer.
    Another possibility is that if there is a possibility your presenting issue will form part of a medico-legal case ( or the specialists suspects if might be), then often specialists won't take these on. An example would be a workplace injury. In this case, there would be specialists who do take these cases on.

    I would say that the rejected referral is nothing personal against you. Go to someone else and if it keeps happening, you and your GP can call up and ask specifically why.

  • +1

    Lots of good advice above. The bottom line is most often there is a technical/medical reason but there may be other factors.

    I wouldn't take it personally which is not always easy when it comes to healthcare. I would also avoid sharing details on a public forum.

    You should see your GP; they may have correspondence as to the specific reason and can refer to a different specialist if that's what you want.

  • +1

    I'm guessing they whatever issue you've been referred to them is not something they do. Neurosurgeons for example may not do spinal surgery at all. Similar to if you got referred to a Cardiologist electrophysiologist but you need a stent put in, they probably wouldn't bother seeing you as it's not something they do.

    I would hope they've at least written something back to the referring doctor to explain or suggest an alternate person.

    • Neurosurgeons for example may not do spinal surgery at all.

      They do surgery on neurons though…

  • how often does this happen?
    what are the reasons for it?

    Our family doctor doesn't take on new patients…

  • Definitely more to this story

    Grabs popcorn

    • Definitely more to this story

      We might finally have answers to all the doctors that have gone missing this century…

  • +6

    A neurologist once refused to see me. My doctor referred me to him after she diagnosed me with hemiplegic migraine. He looked at the reports and symptoms that my doctor added to the referral, and determined that it was a wrong diagnoses and refused to see me. From what I understood he had a huge backlog of patients and prioritise the patients who needed his services more than me.

    • This.

    • One of the biggest mistakes made is inadequate history and examination findings provided, inappropriate workup (no imaging/special bloods/adequate trials of medication), or inappropriate specialist sent the referral. Some specialists are extremely sub-specialised and will not take referrals for conditions that fall out of the niche area.

      Hope you are doing okay with your condition, I have met several patients who experience it and it is a fascinating yet terrifying condition.

    • -3

      He looked at the reports and symptoms that my doctor added to the referral, and determined that it was a wrong diagnoses and refused to see me.

      but could he really have worked that out from a referal letter and a report from a scan?!

      i once had one misdiagnose me (confirmed through testing) based on the form he had me fill out before i came (which he repeatedly made mistakes in reading and never did read properly) before i even entered the room. it was farcical. and that's just the beginning of that nightmare episode.

      i suspect occasionally doctors secretly have delusions that they are House (from the tv show)

  • +1

    There are many reasons they could not be able to see you.

    Call the receptionist back and ask why.

    Then go back to your GP and let them know and get a new referral to someone else.

  • +1

    Seriously OP… Just call the receptionist and ask. If they give you a simple answer you can then go back to your GP and get another referral. Why post here before calling and figuring it out?

  • +1

    Sounds like they are busy with patients and probably only taking urgent referrals, or thought your referral wasn't serious enough to require a specialists time. If your doctor referred you to a specialist who isn't taking referrals, I would be concerned they are not familiar with the specialists they send people to, and probably consider a new doctor who is a bit more across the capacity of the specialists they refer to.

    • one of the most confusing things is, my gp was telling me about all the other patients he has refered to her and how she had helped them
      none of the ones he mentioned had my exact issue, but similar

      • Your GP refers a lot of people to a neurosurgeon?

        WTF

        • Well he has been practicing for a long time

          Is it that weird?

  • Have you phoned and asked? Maybe you're emailing an unmonitored email.

  • +1

    OP, the use of the term "triage" tells you why that specialist chose not to see you. Triaging in medicine is where they try to do the most good by letting those they can't save die, treating those they can help, and sending those with trivial complaints back to their GP or home to get better by themselves. Triaging you means you are either so sick that specialist doesn't think they can save you, or you aren't sick enough to waste time on when there are plenty of other patients who are.

  • +2

    What a toxic community this is sometimes. Not all, just a few like to dig in.

    Here we have a person reach our for help, they have identified they have an issue and need help.

    Of courses this is not the best place to seek help or leaving out details or being vague, but come on people, have some compassion.

    Edit: some great tips, suggestions and advice given by so many.

  • Do you have private health insurance?
    Most private Neurosurgeons will not see you if do have private health insurance

    • Yes.

      • Are you with NIB or Bupa by any chance?

    • What this makes no sense, private health insurance by law cannot cover MBS items.

  • 'I was just 'triaged' by a specialist i was refered to and she has refused to see me.
    how often does this happen?
    what are the reasons for it?'

    hmm - let me see … never happened to me so I wouldn't know - but as to your query …

    no information at all about any actual medical problem - just an unhappy customer service complaint ?

    sure - let me drop everything and work on YOUR problem … !

    [update] having now browsed the OP's comments, my favourite was

    'i have always been afraid of reprecussions like other doctors refusing to see me'

    which reminds me of the saying 'the thing I feared came upon me' - i.e. in psychology, whatever you dwell on gets bigger in your mind, and you can end up creating the problems you dwelled on.

    perhaps analogous to girls who grew up in abusive households, seeing their father bash their mother or such, and felt threatened and fearful of violence, and hated it so much that as adults they go out of their way to choose a partner who seems the opposite - super-romantic and 'I'll give my life to protect you' type

    who gives them flowers and promises of undying love - they feel safe and protected - the guy becomes controlling and insists she cuts off contact with their friends, then comes home drunk one day - and bashes her up - then apologises and gives her flowers promising he'll never do it again - until next time

    so in spending time fearing something, one can end up attracting exactly what you spent your time focussing on …

  • +3

    Not sure why your question has been answered with so much aggro. If the specialist doesn't want to see you, whatever the reason, why would you want to continue to see them, I can't think of any reason that would make me persist.
    I suggest you go back to your GP (or whoever it was that referred you) and chat to them about it, they'll probably refer you to someone else. Good luck OP, don't give up.

  • +1

    There’s nothing you can do.

    Request your medical records from your doctor to see the actual referral letter. You have the right to get this and not let them tell you otherwise. It could be that your doctor that you trust wrote something stupid.

    As for the specialist, forget it. After you get the referral letter you’ll know whether your doctor is a (profanity), if not, then get them to write a few more referrals. Get them to write you 3-5 and get on the waiting list.

    The Australian medical system is actually quite terrible when something goes wrong. You can’t compel a doctor to see you, and you can’t get reasons why he won’t see you. And even if he said, I won’t see OP because he’s a filthy <ethnic slur> He wouldn’t get punished. People here are taught by the ABC to poo all over the American medical system, but in that system the insurance companies run the show and doctors are beholden to $$$. Here doctors answer to no one.

    Think I’m being silly?

    In America and Europe you can find out a surgeons performance statistics. How many times they’ve done an operation, what the outcomes were for their patients, how many people died on their operating table.

    In Australia that’s hidden. They don’t have to tell you. So for fun, anyone who wants t talk crap, why don’t you call up any surgeon in Australia and say you’re thinking of doing an operation, could they send you their performance rates and see what happens.

    There’s a reason the rich fly to Singapore for medical care.

    • How do you find this out?

      • Find it out?

        https://www.smh.com.au/healthcare/veiled-in-secrecy-call-for…

        It's not a secret…? It's just the system. Call any surgeon and ask for their complications rate- they will tell you to find another surgeon.

        Lol, it's no mystery. Test it.

        Put your postcode and "surgeon" into google, and dial the first number that comes up and ask for their complications rate and see what happens.

    • There is some rationale for not releasing performance statistics - they may encourage doctors to turn down challenging cases or higher risk patients and instead focus on the ones that are most likely to go well. This can of course lead to worse outcomes for some patients

      • There is some rationale for not releasing performance statistics - they may encourage doctors to turn down challenging cases or higher risk patients and instead focus on the ones that are most likely to go well. This can of course lead to worse outcomes for some patients

        That sure is one possibility. You know what's another possibility? Dr Death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jayant_Patel

        See because if patients could see his complication rate, they never would have used him right?

        That's how normal countries function. People choose doctors based on their PERFORMANCE. And doctors that are BAD are not allowed to perform because they are UNINSURABLE because THEY KILL PEOPLE.

        But I suppose you could be right, it's best to keep ALL doctor's outcomes secret so that doctors dont turn down challenging cases. Its way better for them to have a crack with no accountability since if patients die, no one knows. That's a much more logical way to go.

        • This is not a black and white issue. You are significantly exaggerating my position. I didn’t say that performance statistics should be suppressed, just that there is some rationale behind not publishing them publicly. I agree that there need to be systems to identify doctors who are underperforming and I agree patients should be adequately informed about the doctors who look after them. Perhaps publishing outcomes is the best way of doing this or perhaps there are other ways.

          • @bobkin: It really is a black and white issue. It’s black and white in other counties. It’s not…some great medical quandary. It’s basically the standard everywhere else on planet earth. So unless we have the most shy doctors on the planet or soemthing, it’s pretty bizarre.

  • Simply not enough information for anyone to be giving definitive answers. There are a few things that pop into mind though:

    • Patient could be a threat to the doctor
    • Doctor thinks the patient doesn't need to be attended to (e.g patient is obviously faking illness for an appointment)
    • Patient is a nuisance and doctor doesn't want to deal with them
  • the usual blame the poster responses based on nothing but the need to bully and ridicule.

    perfect for Australia day week and so in keeping….

    • I see a lot of useful posts however just because you’re triggered by a few straight-to-the-point posts doesn’t make it toxic. Some of us actually helped but you’ve blanketed all of us.

      And drawing a parallel to Australia Day. Wow, how pathetic.

        1. They are not "straight to the point" posts, they are toxic and unnecessarily aggressive towards someone who is clearly upset/confused, possibly has a medical disorder, is just trying to get some help and is taking every criticism on board - not arguing back against it.

        2. They are far more than "a few" and they have lots of upvotes on them. I'm personally disgusted as well.

        3. They didn't claim that every single response given was toxic - do you have some kind of chip on your shoulder? You're calling them "triggered", you're coming across exactly the same!

        4. The comparison is odd and out of place, but it's seems valid. There's an enormous amount of toxicity and bulling surrounding Australia Day - do you live under a rock?

        • Go and re read the thread and you’ll find a lot of constructive help. Turning it into a political argument by equating it to Australia Day and then making a crappy insult about living under a rock is childish, petty and pathetic.

          • @Bob Svargis: You do like name calling people who point out the truth….there is not a lot of constructive help in this thread unless you call this

            1st response

            'Usually when they fear for their safety as the patient may have issues of anger etc ?" and

            this aggressive, unwarranted bullying theme was still running through the posts and repeated yet again just above mine deep into a second page of online uncaring posts.
            ie

            ' Patient could be a threat to the doctor
            Doctor thinks the patient doesn't need to be attended to (e.g patient is obviously faking illness for an appointment)
            Patient is a nuisance and doctor doesn't want to deal with them'

            Clearly you are from the scott morrisson elite school of 'alternative facts'.

          • @Bob Svargis: I saw a reasonable amount of constructive help, but what on Earth does that have to do with the point?

            There are a huge number of toxic posts and those are the ones with the most upvotes on them. Get that ridiculous chip off your shoulder - I have absolutely no idea why you're acting like you're personally offended by this when it's got absolutely nothing to do with you or your post.

            You're the one who is way beyond pathetic, flipping out again for absolutely no reason. You're surely not completely unaware that controversy exists around Australia Day? Is this absurd aggression because you hold intolerant views on the topic and are scared of being called a racist?

            And asking whether you live under a rock isn't an "insult" - crappy or not - it's a genuine question. You're acting as if you do - if you don't, just say so… It's not hard.

    • Happy 'straya day mate

  • +1

    OP, sorry to hear about your worries, hang in there.

    My 2c worth, from my many experiences with specialists, the dr themselves are quite reasonable and nice, and believe it or not are in it for the right reasons…
    but some have "gatekeepers" or practice managers who are too zealous with picking and choosing patients without even consulting with the dr. cos at times their income depends on the profitability of the practice

    Sad but true

    • thanks for your comment, i am trying. interesting. would these gatekeepers be upfront about it being them that made the decision, or would they say it was the doctor?

  • -1

    A doctor can only refuse to treat you if it meets certain guidelines. Have a read of the following, provided by Australia’s largest medical indemnity as advice to Doctors. https://www.avant.org.au/news/20150503-refusal-to-treat-when…

    • mate you mistake the existence of organisations with what they do in reality. Try looking up stats on doctors being suspended or losing their licences and run those handful against the total population.

      doctors kill people all the time - they have to kill a lot before anyone even shows any interest. Just watch the telly and don't worry about the real world.

    • hmm. Do you think that only counts after they have accepted you as a patient? Otherwise how do they get away with this prescreening of referals many of the specialists do?

  • sorry to everyone i haven't replied to yet

    have new referal to neurologist the neurosurgeon suggested

    gp doesnt think anything sinister happened

    i don't know i guess

  • ffs this second one wont see me either

    she was recommended by the first one

    • +1

      Did you find out from the practice why?

      • she doesn't do my problem

        but she was recommended by another doctor in her area in her field

        how come none of these doctors know what each other does?

        • +1

          Surely there is a specialist in Australia that would be able to treat your condition and/or knows someone they could refer you from a specialist database of some sort.

          What a waste of your time to be looked at.

          • +1

            @pogichinoy:

            What a waste of your time to be looked at.

            i've sometimes found doctors consider their own time to be very important and valuable, and yet everyone elses time seems to be worth very little to them

            at least they didn't accept the referal and make me travel and pay to tell me they don't do my thing i guess

            maybe these databases need to be much more specific and updatable about what a doctor cares to do?

            thanks for the sympathy

            on to number 3 i guess

  • 3rd neurologist has 6 month waiting list

    how is this any better that the public system?

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