I was concerned with this new angiogram – to be fair; I was scared after being left black and blue on both sides during the last angiogram in 2004. In spite of my apprehension though, I did meet with Dr. Cowgill. When we met I requested that he be present during the procedure. He didn't seem too pleased with the request, and, frowning, said, “That isn't really protocol – You wouldn't want me doing your angiogram!” His reluctance to be there and his standoffish comments left me disheartened. I hadn't asked him to perform the angiogram; I simply wanted him present in case anything went as terribly wrong as it had during the last angiogram. By this point I had grown desperate. I wanted my doctors to take some accountability for the decisions they made. I had simply tried to communicate my anxiety to my doctor. I wanted so badly to talk to someone about this, and to have somebody listen and answer my concerns. That had not happened. I would later learn that Dr. Cowgill had written in his notes from this meeting that I “seemed ambivalent about the procedure.” Up to this point, my records do not really show any ambivalence on my part. I had begun to question more actively what my doctors were recommending for me and what that meant for my life. It had all become so crazy, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how many times my life had been put at risk by these vascular doctors. I wanted to talk to someone that I felt might listen to me, and I decided I needed to get out of the Dean system in order to trust that my doctors had my best interests in mind. After conferring with Dr. Timmerman, he referred me to patient advocate Jacquelyn Wineke. I went to see her, and she reassured me that she would look into my history and complaints and help me to get a referral outside of the Dean system.
I then went to my primary doctor, Dr. Haas, asking for a referral outside the Dean system. I specifically asked Dr. Haas to make the referral to a Dr. Acher at UW hospital. I knew of Dr. Acher because he had operated on my sister after she had been referred to the Mayo Clinic and they in turn referred her to Dr. Acher, saying that he was one of the best surgeons to provide the type of surgery that she needed. She had also had blocked blood flow, and the same vascular surgeon, Dr. Kantamneni, who I had also seen many times, treated her. Dr. Acher had performed surgery on her; he had been forthright, sincere, dedicated, and stood by her side for hours throughout her surgery. After the surgery, he stated that it was too late and that she should have had the surgery years ago. While it was too late to save my sister completely, he did give her another year and a half of life.
I then went to my primary doctor, Dr. Haas, asking for a referral outside the Dean system. I specifically asked Dr. Haas to make the referral to a Dr. Acher at UW hospital. I knew of Dr. Acher because he had operated on my sister after she had been referred to the Mayo Clinic and they in turn referred her to Dr. Acher, saying that he was one of the best surgeons to provide the type of surgery that she needed. She had also had blocked blood flow, and the same vascular surgeon, Dr. Kantamneni, who I had also seen many times, treated her. Dr. Acher had performed surgery on her; he had been forthright, sincere, dedicated, and stood by her side for hours throughout her surgery. After the surgery, he stated that it was too late and that she should have had the surgery years ago. While it was too late to save my sister completely, he did give her another year and a half of life.
Unfortunately, the Dean Health plan denied my referral. My primary doctor suggested I get a second opinion and pay for it myself. This was not possible with my financial circumstances. I had been working as a job supervisor for supported employment for disadvantaged individuals; however, my employer was in the midst of closing down because they had lost their funding, which meant that after 16 years of service I would be living on social security and using Medicare as my insurer. Although I felt fortunate to have Medicare, it was not enough on its own, so I had to buy a supplement to cover the services that Medicare did not cover. Social security was hardly enough to cover the costs of living, so the cost of huge medical bills would be out of the question.
As I left my primary doctor that day I asked for a copy of Dr. Cowgill’s last report. On the way home I happened to see that Dr. Cowgill’s report indicated that he conducted an exam on 5/31/06 (just a week before). An exam was never done. I had sat at his desk facing him the whole time and neither he or a nurse had laid a hand on me. I was so upset when I saw this report. No wonder that patients slip through the cracks of the medical system! If another doctor saw this report he would assume that an exam was done and would perhaps overlook something that he believed had already been checked. I stopped to let advocate Jacquelyn Wineke know about this. When I got home, I called my primary doctor to let him know what happened. He suggested I see the Patient Advocate - where I had just been.
As I left my primary doctor that day I asked for a copy of Dr. Cowgill’s last report. On the way home I happened to see that Dr. Cowgill’s report indicated that he conducted an exam on 5/31/06 (just a week before). An exam was never done. I had sat at his desk facing him the whole time and neither he or a nurse had laid a hand on me. I was so upset when I saw this report. No wonder that patients slip through the cracks of the medical system! If another doctor saw this report he would assume that an exam was done and would perhaps overlook something that he believed had already been checked. I stopped to let advocate Jacquelyn Wineke know about this. When I got home, I called my primary doctor to let him know what happened. He suggested I see the Patient Advocate - where I had just been.
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