On the subject of doctors - good GP?

hmm, I see Dr. Layton but always see Dr. Flethcher in the office when I'm there - he is funny. I've been there a lot lately so maybe somebody can clear something up for me - where is Bill and who is he? When I call a guy answers the phone (i always assumed it was Dr. Fletcher because the guy is funny) but I've never seen other guys there besides Drs Layton and Fletcher and Maggie - so where do they hide Bill? And he mugs people? What? I did notice the never ending stream of pharmaceutical people that get seen awfully quickly... So maybe who I thought was Dr. Fletcher is really this Bill guy? But then who is Dr. Fletcher? What does Dr. Fletcher look like because the more I think about it the more that would make sense - because Bill/Fletcher is always up front with Maggie... I'm so confused. :?:

Subject: Re: Dr. Burton Fletcher / Dr. Layton

hous wrote: I tried to make an appointment w/ Dr. Fletcher about a month ago due to recommendations I saw in this thread. Unfortunately, I was told he'd be gone until mid-July and that Dr. Layton was taking care of his patients... I made an appointment for 9:30am and was seen at 10:30 by Dr. Layton. After calling my name, he failed to even introduce himself or shake my hand. He just looked at some papers and said follow me. (Wow!) I was shocked. This didn't give me much confidence in his abilities as a doctor.

Anyway, after I told him my problems he performed a half-assed diagnosis and wrote me a scrip for antibiotics (5 days...?) and took a blood test. When I came back for the results, he didn't know what I was there for, and had to read the test results right in front of me. Not a good feeling. He said the test results were fine, and asked me how I felt. I told him "no different - still bothering me" so his response was to write me another scrip for 2 more days of antibiotics. No referral, nothing.

I can't even describe how disappointed I am with this doctor.

I'm going back for the same problem again tomorrow, and after googling Dr. Burton Fletcher I found this thread had expanded since I last saw it... I just had to comment. I really hope Dr. Fletcher is leaps and bounds more competent than his partner!

Sorry to hear that and I had a very similar if not the same experience. I finally just asked him his name to give the hint, "hey, there's some etiquette required here." Haven't seen Dr. Fletcher yet. No word yet on any tests either. I guess I have to go calling to see if I have anything to be concerned about?

I've had a few appointments in the last couple of months and keep getting the line "Dr Fletcher will be back in two weeks...." but I've now been hearing this for around 4 months.

Like Filmlover, if he's not back soon, I guess I'll also be looking for a new GP.

Ohhh - okay this makes much more sense. Than the guy I assumed was Fletcher really is Bill. I assumed he was one of the Drs because he really didn't seem to be doing anything when he was up front except just what you said so I assumed he was wasting time in between patients or something. And I knew there were suppossed to be two drs and I knew what Layton looked like and he was the only other guy around - one false conclusion led to the next I supposse. I originally called in May to make an appt with Dr. Fletcher based on a referal from someone but was also told be was out of town. I'm thinking he may not be coming back? I dunno - weird.

I wouldn't be surprised if Fletcher got his license taken away, or is in some sort of legal trouble that they are covering up with the "He's out of town" story. He does seem to have been away for a long time.

heights249 wrote: Ohhh - okay this makes much more sense. Than the guy I assumed was Fletcher really is Bill. I assumed he was one of the Drs because he really didn't seem to be doing anything when he was up front except just what you said so I assumed he was wasting time in between patients or something. And I knew there were suppossed to be two drs and I knew what Layton looked like and he was the only other guy around - one false conclusion led to the next I supposse. I originally called in May to make an appt with Dr. Fletcher based on a referal from someone but was also told be was out of town. I'm thinking he may not be coming back? I dunno - weird.

veets wrote: Hey.. Let's suppose a more gentle explanation. Dr. Fletcher (who I have never met!) has gotten another position in Florida. He has moved his family there and is having a great life,.He leaves his practive with this problem.. his partner, who is a competent doc knows that most patients prefer the other guy. Plan? Slow let down.. Fletcher is still out of town, and still out of town, might be back in a week or two or... and patients see the less popular fellow because they need to see a doc and eventually get to like Doc #2 and eventually forget they once saw Doc Fletcher...

I don't know anything about this doctor, but I'd be pissed and feel misled if somebody tried to give me the "slow let down". Very deceptive and unprofessional (and hypothetical, of course, since nobody knows where the doctor is).

However, what really pissed me off was there just a line of pharmaceutcal reps that got "seen" one right after the other. What's the deal with that?

The deal with that is that the office is poorly run. Any office that for some reason shows preference to drug reps over waiting patients is not a place I would go for my own healthcare or that of my child. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I AM a pharmaceutical representative (well, for vaccines anyway which are quite different) and if a physician sees me immediately when there are patients waiting, it makes me professionally very uncomfortable. My guess is that these doctors like the attention that the reps give them, maybe take advantage of freebies and samples, and the reps get to build a relationship with the doctor which in the end helps them get nearer to their objective at the end of the year. The reps have quotas to meet, signatures for samples to obtain. If this office has made it easier for the reps to meet a quota, don't blame the reps- hold the office/doctors accountable! If the docs know how uncourteous they are being to their own patients, perhaps you'll see a shift in the behavior.

PS- I don't know Dr. Fletcher and don't call on internists but know that the representatives that do call on internists are plentiful. Please don't attack me for being part of the industry- there are good apples and bad apples in every field. I'm a good apple.

Looks like the rumor mill is in full force.

Do you have a reading comprehension problem? Would you care to point out a post where someone said that Dr. Fletcher was amusing?

veets wrote: Hey.. Let's suppose a more gentle explanation. Dr. Fletcher (who I have never met!) has gotten another position in Florida. He has moved his family there and is having a great life,.He leaves his practive with this problem.. his partner, who is a competent doc knows that most patients prefer the other guy. Plan? Slow let down.. Fletcher is still out of town, and still out of town, might be back in a week or two or... and patients see the less popular fellow because they need to see a doc and eventually get to like Doc #2 and eventually forget they once saw Doc Fletcher...

Well, we can guess all we like. It seems kind of pointless. Whatever the reason, he appears to have essentially abandoned his practice. While I genuinely like Dr. Layton (and he is amusing in a very nice way), I really don't want him as my doctor.

i called dr. fletcher this morning and the machine said he was on vacation.

LOL. Ok.

Subject: MDInfoCentral

Here are my 2 cents that I think might be useful here
1.you can choose a new doctor based on lots of facts and reviews from patients
2.you can, and frankly I think you should, let other patients know about your experience with your current doc.

There is local site that I recently discovered, (HealthWise magazine had an article about it) that would let you do both.

www.MDInfoCentral.com, tons of info on local doctors including how many surgeries or other procedures they have done as well as malpractice and license problems info. Check the research page there, very helpful.
I have used it a couple of times with good results.
Good luck!

I had been a patient of dr. Layton for about 4 years and I liked him. Eventually I moved and than moved back but my insurance changed so I had to find a different doctor, but I like Layton a lot. I am curious too why would people not consider him for their PCP.

heights249 wrote: Ok - so I'm a little curious - I am a patient of Dr Layton's (I've only seen him a couple of times though) and am wondering why so many people may find him nice and/or amusing but wouldn't use him as their personal doctor but would use Dr Fletcher. Is there something I should know? I 'm feeling a little doubtful about my decision to stick with him ( even though the office environment is nuts - as previously noted)

I put up with some of what I percieve as the negatives of Dr. Fletcher's practice; the main one being no late hours or early hours and no weekends which forced me to take time off of work to go see him first thing in the morning (which may explain why I never saw the parade of reps). Various members of my family have been treated by Fletcher on and off for 17 years.

I don't think that Latyon is a bad doctor, just not the right doctor for me given the inconvenience. I genuinely like him. He is a very nice man. I would love to hang out with him. He is my daughters doctor and she has no intention or interest in switching.

It looks as though I'm switching to someone closer to where I work in Chelsea as my primary (also want to see an ob/gyn in the same office) and then switching off of my HMO next year so that I can go see who I want when it's convenient. This primary physician thing isn't working for me. I like the idea of the other recommended doctor, Dr. R. cause I hear he's handsome and into alternative, but his practice is over-extended.

Ok, that explains it then. I don't think turtlenecks are his thing, I think I prefer that he doesn't wear them