I am annoyed at Roseville Pediatrics and i need to vent. The whole family is sick. I am recovering from a terrible sore throat (probably strep), erica has the sore throat, kylie got diagnosed with strep yesterday, and parker is now sick. that is annoying in and of itself. but here’s what has me ticked.
Yesterday Erica brings Kylie in to the pediatrician with a high fever and sore throat. Doctor takes one look into her throat and declares it as strep. doesnt take a test or anything. that’s fine with me. Puts her on amoxicillin. wonderful. Erica gets home and Parker says that his throat hurts. He is not the type to make up sicknesses. This kid has had over twenty ear infections and usually he never says a word about feeling sick. I call up the doctor to see if they will write him a prescription since strep is in the house. They say they won’t do it without seeing him. I’m annoyed, but i understand why that policy exists.
So this morning Parker has a fever and is acting very sick. Erica makes the appointment and takes him in. The doctor apparently is curt and rude from the getgo, which really ticks me off. She looks in his throat and notes that it is red and gives the rapid strep test. The test comes back negative for Strep, and that is that. Erica insists that he never acts like this unless something is really wrong and the doctor rudely suggests its probably just a cold, as if she knows how our son acts better than my wife. Here’s the thing though: (from webmd) “Up to one-third of negative rapid strep test results are false. This means that in up to one-third of the cases when a rapid strep test is negative, the person actually has a strep throat infection. Negative rapid strep tests should be followed by a throat culture.”
Did the doctor follow up the negative rapid strep test with a throat culture? No. If everyone else in the family was healthy, i would still question the lack of thoroughness in not giving the throat culture. But considering that his sister got diagnosed with Strep the day before, how could you NOT administer a throat culture? It’s ridiculous.
Not to mention that you have two doctors in the same office, one of whom writes up antibiotic presciptions based on a fever and red throat, and another who won’t write up an antibiotic prescription with the same symptoms and a sibling with Strep.
I told Erica to call them up this afternoon and throw some hay. In my opinion they need to let us bring Parker back in and give him a throat culture without us having to pay another co-pay. If she doesn’t do it then i am going to. Meanwhile poor Parker is running a fever and is miserable. Maybe he doesn’t have strep and it is just a cold. But maybe he does have strep.
For his sake, I wish i knew. Hopefully I’ll find out. In the meantime, i need to go take my amoxicillin.