RUDE AND QUESTIONABLE MEDICAL CARE

On 04/02/19, my mother had her annual follow-up visit with Peggy Linet Fogg, CRNP (nurse practitioner of Dr. Christian Dey) of Eastern OB/GYN, Birmingham, Alabama. This annual visit was to get my mother’s yearly mammogram and obtain a new prescription for Prempro. My mother and I have been fully aware of the precautions and possible complications of Prempro for more than 10-years, i.e., heart disease, breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots. However, my mother has taking Prempro for 32-years for postmenopausal symptoms and recently for functional dyspepsia symptoms. I informed Ms. Fogg that she had been receiving Prempro prescriptions through Dr. Davidson and Dr. Christian Dey of Eastern OB/GYN for decades without any problems or complications. During the first few moments of the office visit, Ms. Fogg said to my mother, “I don’t even know why you are here today. There is no reason for you to be here.” These statements along with Ms. Fogg’s subsequent behavior during the visit made my mother feel extremely belittled and offended.

I attempted to explain all of the reasons that my mother had been receiving Prempro to her. It appeared that Ms. Fogg was not interested in listening to anything that my mother or I said. I informed Ms. Fogg that the “recommended alternative drugs” for the treatment of postmenopausal symptoms and functional dyspepsia symptoms were either ineffective or relatively/absolutely contraindicated with my mother’s medications for Parkinson’s disease and dysautonomia. Ms. Fogg stated that “there were many medications to treat functional dyspepsia,” but she could not provide the names of any medications. She never inquired about the previous medications that had been used to treat her postmenopausal symptoms or functional dyspepsia. Ms. Fogg never reviewed any of my mother’s past or current medications. She never reviewed any of my mother’s past or current medical history. She never performed any type of examination.

Ms. Fogg stated that she did not prescribe Prempro on a long-term basis because of the complications seen in a “study.” As she did not wish to prescribe Prempro based on “a study,” I questioned her about this study, i.e., name of the study, type of study, methodology of the study, and specific statistical outcomes of the study. She only provided the name of the study, i.e., Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). She became increasingly agitated and angry with my repeated questions regarding this study and stated that I was becoming “hostile” with my repeated questions. Ms. Fogg did not prescribe Prempro to my mother based on the potential complications noted in the WHI study, i.e., heart disease, breast cancer, stroke, or blood clot. However, Ms. Fogg did not perform any examination, order necessary radiographic studies, or make any appropriate physician referrals to determine if my mother had experienced or may be developing heart disease, breast cancer, a stroke, or a blood clot after being on Prempro for 32-years.

Ms. Fogg abruptly ended the follow-up visit by closing her tablet/laptop, immediately leaving the room, and stating that I was being “hostile.” One might interpret unwarranted anger and unmistakable unprofessional behavior, i.e., making inappropriate statements and abruptly leaving the examination room by any clinician, as negligent in performing minimal clinical duties, i.e., proper review of medical history, performing any type of examination, and obtaining necessary radiographs. Within one-month of my mother not taking Prempro, her quality of life has become exceedingly miserable due to the severe postmenopausal symptoms and symptoms of functional dyspepsia. To add insult to injury, the office manager sent a letter to my mother stating that she could no longer be a pat