Today was the worst doctor’s appointment of my life. I showed up for an appointment with Dr. Pineda. Once the nurse had taken my vitals, she said the nurse practitioner (Michelle Munson) would be in to see me. I asked what she meant because my appointment was with Dr. Pineda. She said Dr. Pineda is out today and you are seeing the nurse practitioner. I said that wasn’t who my appointment was with and asked whom I could speak to. She ushered me to the front desk where the lady there said we called everyone yesterday to inform them that Dr. Pineda would be out today. I informed her that I received a call from their office which I answered but it was only to confirm my appointment and that I would be coming. Your office expects me to sign a paper agreeing to pay a fine if I cancel with less than 24 hours notice, and then you do not even have the courtesy to extend the same to me. I wasn’t informed about the doctor’s cancellation until I was already in the back waiting room. That is terrible. I took a day off work to see Dr. Pineda specifically! No one seemed to understand my concern and no one even apologized for my inconvenience. They acted like my concerns were not valid. Very rude, unprofessional staff.
When the nurse practitioner came in and we discussed an allergy test, I requested to do a blood allergy test and she said “we do not typically do that” which she later clarified as they “won’t do it”. I ended up getting a hurried 58 allergy prick test on my back and the nurse who did it simply said nothing was reactive (maybe 1). I found that hard to believe since my back was on fire and itched, and several of the foods on the list normally cause major throat irritation and itching for me. It seemed like the staff just wanted me out of the office and did not take the time to do the test correctly. When the nurse practitioner returned, she said I was allergic to “nada” which was rather cold and dismissive of my concerns. I asked for follow up blood testing and she said maybe for a test or two but nothing else because it wasn’t warranted based on these results. I do not trust her results or how the testing was carried out. This is why I didn’t want to meet with the nurse practitioner to begin with. She was unsympathetic, unknowledgeable, and very rigid in her protocols (and not open to discussing other options). Horrible experience! It’s hard to be respectful of doctor’s protocols, time, and rules when she doesn’t have the same respect for your time as a patient.