Alain Nicolas

Review of Lewis-Gale Medical Center

I was having bad cramping in my intestines and als...

I was having bad cramping in my intestines and also had a pain in my back that seemed to be coming from an area located exactly where my kidney was. We picked Lewis Gale because my doctor could not see me and it felt more like an emergency. In emergencies I use Lewis Gale. For my PCP I use Carilion. If I need a specialist I do research and find out who is the best regardless of which group they belong to.
Upon arriving at your ER we were instantly admitted and, taken the best care of in an extremely clean environment, by extremely knowledgeable staff. Your staff and facilities are in my book second to none .
I was given an IV, CT scan, urine analysis and consulted with a doctor. When all was done he stated that he felt I probably passed a kidney stone and should start feeling better. He further told us he reviewed the scan and saw nothing except diverticulitis. Other than that, he said I was free to go home .
The rest of that day and next I still felt bad, the next day I made an appointment with my Carilion PCP. She felt around and I asked her if it could be diverticulitis. Once she heard that the doctor had seen it she asked why I wasn t given prescriptions for it. We instantly came to the conclusion that if there was a chance of it being diverticulitis, prescriptions were in order. After a day and half on the prescriptions I stared feeling better. Since the completion of the medications, my symptoms have gone away.

So that leaves me with these questions:
1) What does TB have to do with anything? I did not report any breathing problems except that the pain caused breathing to be difficult.

2) They state diagnosis was resolved but it wasn t. In fact, it was it was only cured after seeing my PA and given a hint of what the problem was from a diagnosis from an MD that did nothing about it.

3) If an MD sees something and doesn t do anything about it, shouldn t I complain?

4) We paid over $150 for a nice visit but that is all it was a nice visit. For another $25 I got diagnosed correctly and given a cure.

5) If I bring in my car and pay for repairs and it isn t done correctly I am reimbursed. Are you folks going to reimburse me for my time and pain and a misdiagnosis. Are you willing to split the cost?

6) Your survey asks if we were contacted within 24 hours. I m not sure why you ask that if you have no intention of flowing up.

7) As stated for emergencies I use Lewis Gale. So far this has been a very effective policy. But when an MD misdiagnoses a problem and a PA immediately finds a cure well it leaves me with questions about the ability of the doctor and of the institution they work for.

The fact that this has happened makes me rethink my decision to use Lewis Gale for anything.

Alain Nicolas