Dear Sirs, I am so discouraged with the IowaCare at Ft. Dodge Iowa on this whole process. I started in March 22 and didn't get an appointment until June 21st. I drove to Ft. Dodge Hospital for an MRI and it was not done because of my weight and size was too big (6' 460 lbs.) This was a wasted trip, the nurse in charge made an appointment in Iowa City to do a MRI on Oct 25 which was good. I started calling Ft.
Dodge and my doctor to get results of my MRI. I have been calling Ft. Dodge IowaCare for my results on my knee for 3 1/2 months. Dr. XXX won't ever call me back with results of MRI. Still don't know. Now I am being shipped somewhere else. I am broke now. No money. Thank you.
Have tried several times to get Broadlawns to respond so I could be going there, absolutely no response.
Be nice if doctor would call back when you leave them a message.
But the walk-in clinic is scary and you have to wait for a long time. Also I tried to get in to see a counselor and the wait for an appointment was insane (no pun intended).
Follow-up calls would be appreciated. I'm still waiting to learn about a date to set up colonoscopy, I waited 2.5 hours, 2 weeks ago, to see a doctor (XXX). The nurse was good, but seemed to be anxious to move on to next patient. (5L15pm was the time. She did mention, the nurse, that I was to call if I hadn’t received a call in 2 weeks’ time. It wasn’t clear to me what # to call. I'll call the helpline # I discovered in this survey, thanks for listening.
For one I was to get a prescription and never got it. I didn’t have the time I needed to see all the doctors I was supposed to see. So I made a new appointment but the van never came for me twice. Then I am to go to Dubuque now and no ride and cannot afford $1.00 per mile to get to Dubuque. It makes more sense to give us a doctor in our own town. I am also told IowaCare doesn’t cover dental, which is what I need before I end up with more health issues. Thanks. P.S. I know of two people who need to see a doctor on IowaCare but can’t because we cannot get a ride to Dubuque to see one.
I am grateful to qualify for IowaCare, but when I call to make an appointment, I keep getting transferred or redirected. When I finally get to make an appointment, it is many months away. I can’t afford the gas to drive to Iowa City, and when I came up to UIHC for my son to see a specialist, I was told there was a program to assist with gas to get home. When I went to apply at the business office next to main café, the lady who makes the decision informed me that I should have either found a way to get the money before coming to appointment or I should have canceled my appointment to a time I could afford it. I got a lecture and even the secretary was not happy with how I was treated. I was approved for $5.00 and was told I had to use the gas station out in Coralville, past Wal-Mart, on the hill. I would have used the
$5.00 in gas to drive to get the gas.
It took a while to get appointment for vision. And took over 3 hours waiting. I would like to see more effort to get dental service more available. I work and cannot spend a full day in a line to see a dentist.
They were supposed to call me when I was first accepted and never did.
They should let me go to the closer IowaCare clinic. I go 100 mi could there is a clinic 50 mil away that I used to go to.
Too slow. Wait time in walk-in. Appointment schedule time long (usually three weeks or more). Thank you.
Try to call Crescent Center and 3/4 of the time nobody answer the phone, and when you finally get a hold of someone it takes at 3 weeks to get an appointment.
Trying to get into the ear, nose, throat doctor at Broadlawns since June, can’t get in, no schedule available, they don’t call. Very frustrating!
Trying to get stuff done and going long place when you have appointment out town you have to pay hotel place, and when you have x-ray you don't get told everything and when you have a biopsy you get told they took five limp nodes and you have to wait until after the holidays and when you are in Iowa City inter are not there when you are on time and you have another doctor that get mad when the doctor has to take another doctor person that is to see first and when you have a waiting game when you are on time and you have to wait on them, and when you have a problem you get asked if a doctor got a hold of you another doctor and you say no, they try to help you out and it still does not get done.
But when you have IowaCare insurance hold back on a heart monitor and other stuff, and when you can't get a shot because you are allergies to it, and when you have money problems and can't make it to the appointments you get told from the doctor when you have to make a new appointment, and it is hard for some of us on a budget trying to make the appointment and try to pick and choose no use payment medicine or heat and now to next time around. I like where I go. It is shorter than 4 to 6 hours in a car or van to Iowa City
But the waiting to be seen at the doctor’s office and especially the walk-in clinic is terrible. I waited 2.5 hours for a flu shot and a Hepatitis A shot. I was the tenth person in line before the clinic even opened.
It was the number of people waiting that took so long, it was the nurse and doctor’s staff that was limited.
I like the quality of care I receive, but at times I don't like the waiting between appointments.
But I hate that a lot of times you can't get an appointment for same day. Like an ear infection, for example, ear hurts so bad you need same day care, then have to go somewhere else in Dub. and pay almost $100 to see a doctor or live with pain for a day or 2.
I know Broadlawns is an IowaCare provider but I don't understand why it takes months and many phone calls to get the medical attention in a timely manner!
I have tried to call for an appointment for a routine physical and left messages. No calls back.
I have waited hours to get into the exam room only to have to return because they didn't tell me I needed something. It makes an additional visit cost for me. They are very unorganized in this way - at least has been my experience. I've been waiting for an appointment to do a mammogram for
preventative care. Very serious as it is a critical time for monitoring and they don't offer it. Very poor communication between Dubuque clinic and Iowa City. I had to return - a two hour drive - because of it.
Poor communication - with orders, information, thoroughness. Long waiting times before called into office. Many reasons. I am frustrated and unimpressed with this care compared to what I'm accustomed to.
The only problem with IowaCare is I have been waiting for over a month for referral to skin doctor. I have previous health issues with basal cells. Referral process should be quicker.
The problem I have experienced is the IowaCare here in Dubuque does not call you back to make an appointment, they could return phone calls better.
The problem I see is when I get an appointment to go to Broadlawns it takes weeks to get it. I've been waiting about 2 months to go down to see how much damage I have to my right knee. I found out that my doctor here never sent an appointment to see a doctor down there at Broadlawns. So I have to wait
recently been very ill and having to go to the emergency room several times. Also being on IowaCare seems to limit emergency physicians need to perform in-depth tests to obtain a diagnosis. I have been told
The wait time is extremely long. I have been on hold for 20 to 30 minutes at times just to make an appointment over the phone. When I get my birth control shot every three months, I normally wait close to 30 minutes. I also notice that some of the ladies that take care of records often sit around gossiping.
They are not organized; when needing to find files sometimes and it causes problems when I need care.
The was going to send me to a specialist but nobody ever called me to set up with an appointment. The reason they was sending me to a specialist is I have a continuous cough for almost 2 years. The doctor thinks I have something wrong with my lungs.
I am appalled at the lack of ability to handle paperwork between the clinic and the prescription med.
open care program. I have been without one of my B.P. meds for two weeks because they lost my paperwork. I paid for a year of coverage beginning in February 2012 and have to redo my paperwork and do without my meds until they get it straight. I want to know and so does my son who is in the army, and does not need to be worrying about me, who do we sue if I have a heart attack or stroke while waiting for them to fix their problem? XXX in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
It is very hard to get right into see my doctor I usually have to wait a month. To see a specialist anywhere 6 months to a year. I end up in emergency or clinic to get faster service.
It is very hard to get to Des Moines to see my doctor for my carpel tunnel. They either don’t give me enough notice for my appointment, so I am having to cancel and reschedule all the time. Also they put me on a waiting list for a while because they were switching doctors.
It took a long time to get an appointment at Crescent then I sat in the waiting room for an hour and I had a ruptured disk in my back then they came out and said we were late and couldn't be seen until the following Monday 3 days later. When I finally seen the doctor at Crescent he lifted up my legs finding out I couldn't lift my right leg and said yep you need to go to Iowa City then that took Crescent a month to get me an appointment with Iowa City. This all took from April 18th to June when I finally got to see D found and had many appointments from Dubuque to Iowa City a 2 hour drive and had surgery on July 30th on my ruptured disk in my lower back. So I was out of work from April 16 when it happened until it was healed and have a $3,000.00 bill at Mercy Hospital in Dubuque and IowaCare doesn't cover emergency room visits. It's not easy to get to Iowa City for everyone. But Dr. XXX is a wonderful doctor and I even recommended him to a lady whose daughter had a bad back. Thank you.
It took me six months before I could get an appointment for a general checkup. I am still in the process of seeing someone which is scheduled for November 29.
It took six months to get the appointment, then three more to get into Iowa City, then they didn’t send me to the right specialist anyway. Whole things was a waste of time and gas, I missed work and had to drive to Iowa City basically for nothing. Nothing was figured out about my medical problems, and now I don’t have IowaCare anymore, so it was all a waste. Nothing was accomplished, it was the poorest care from start to end - awful - needs a major overhaul. And the doctor I saw at Iowa City had a major poor attitude! And the nurse practitioner at People’s had no clue what they were doing. I’m glad you sent this survey. My whole experience I rate as poor as it can get !!!!
It took too long to be treated for my injury. I was told I needed surgery in maybe early November 2011 and got in September 2012. It was almost a year of waiting to be seen and treated.
It take 6 months to get an appointment with a cardiologist (Broadlawns hospital) to find out what was wrong with my heart. That’s terrible to wait so long and then fatter seeing the cardiologist it was going to take another 2 months to get answer from cardiologist. That’s 6 total of 8 1/2 months - a person
could die first. Something need to be done about this.
It takes 6 months to get an appointment with IowaCare provider. It is a 2.5 hour drive to the nearest IowaCare provider which makes it extremely difficult when you work a normal job from 6 am to 4 pm. I can only see a doctor if I literally think I am dying. M former employers did not offer affordable
healthcare options. I now have private insurance through my current employer and hope to never have to return to the IowaCare program. It is extremely beneficial in dire emergency trips to the ER where the cost I ridiculous. I will give it credit in that aspect otherwise people are forced to go to the ER if they need medical care before 6 months. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to receive routine medical care luckily I am a generally healthy person.
It takes TOO long to get scheduled date after a referral is sent. I had a referral in Sept. 5 & still have not seen a doctor but have had to go to emergency in Dennis 2x for it. I think IowaCare should be honored at all hospitals in Iowa. I had a heart attack and it should have been covered. It was a REAL emergency as they had to do surgery immediately.
It seems to take a long time for people to contact you to get an appointment and then the appointment is a month or 2 away. Very frustrating.
It seems to take a long time to get into a specialty clinic after referral from my primary doctor.
It is very upsetting that I have gone through so many things in the last year (including heart testing), and finally have been cleared to be told the knee replacement doctor at Broadlawns Medical Center has quit. I now have to wait until after the first of the year (2013) to be in line behind seven other people. And I am told of the two, possibly three, doctors they are hiring they are not sure any of them can do a knee replacement. Asked to be referred to Iowa City and was told they are seven months behind. My IowaCare will run out before then.
It took 5 months to get a colonoscopy. I started on Monday to get a prescription for the prep for the colonoscopy on Friday but didn't get it until Thursday because primary care didn't know the need to prescribe it.
It would be better if we could get quicker service for the doctor's appointment, getting lab report, phone service is really slow and have to wait for more than an hour sometimes. Specially appointment desk to make call for the appointment is very difficult. Thanking you,(signs name)
It would be nice if a person doesn’t have to wait 4 months to see a care provider. I feel like it's a little too long.
Like to know why my sleep study follow-up clinic was postponed six weeks causing me to lose a job opportunity.
Long wait for appointments, very short time with the Doctor. Nurses that tell me that I shouldn't go to Chiropractor's because all I need is to exercise. Not returning calls when I left message.
Long waits for referrals to Iowa City. Transportation for same. CPAP accessories hard to get.
My concern is with the referral system. I am a student who has had to drop out due to the inability to type. My online classes evolve around essay papers-my carpal tunnel has made it nearly impossible for me to type. We started in December of 2011. I am still waiting for my surgery: How ever I must see the specialist first. The communication between the physician’s office and specialist has a break; causing the patient to be caught in the middle without medical treatment. The second set of referral requests
1. When being referred to a specialist it takes way to long - I’ve been waiting to hear from Iowa City for over 3 months. 2. Personal medical records, when being sent from doctor to doctor never seem to get there.
The wait is long, sometimes over an hour.
Referrals take a very long time for specialists.
IowaCare Health plan is nice one to be on when a person can't afford to be on or get other insurance.
But if a person is put on a waiting list to see a specialist and the wait is 5 to 6 months long I think is really ridiculous. I understand there are a lot of people from various clinics to get in- but still.
Definitely need a lot of improvement on prescription refill mail outs, may times I’ve been out of a script because of having to wait for them for 2-4 weeks!
Frustrating to me to require yet another referral for chronic pain control. Primary doctor should be able to handle this. Also liver specialist requires two-hour, one-way trip to Iowa City. Dr. XXX is excellent at handling my chemo for Hepatitis (third trial for me), but anything further with complications will require a long-distance trip for me, a major problem with extremely limited financing at present. More assistance with social services would be helpful. I have been an RN in Tertiary Care 37 years and am now seeing the effect of illness from a different view. I am financially devastated, not a bum off the streets.
However, I have been treated with respect by competent personnel for the most part. Nurses aids doing intake do not always convey my concerns to physicians so I have to repeat myself to him. I believe RNs would be more adept at this and have more ability to ask appropriate questions.
Didn’t like that if you need to see a doctor they are so far behind, it takes two to three months to get in to see.
Need better way to set up appointments to see doctor.
My only complaints would be the months I have to wait till I next see the doctor. Plus most of all the time spent with me is a very short time I'm not able to explain all of my problems. We might discuss a couple of things. Then time is up. I have to endure my pain or problem till the next time I see him which
My only complaints would be the months I have to wait till I next see the doctor. Plus most of all the time spent with me is a very short time I'm not able to explain all of my problems. We might discuss a couple of things. Then time is up. I have to endure my pain or problem till the next time I see him which