Can my dr. Refuse a visit--edit(update)

[Nathans_mom0612]

low and behold either the flu or some other nasty virus has hit my house. I called the dr. this mirning and the receptionust said we dont want them in here because there are babies in here and we dont want them getting sick. Ok, i understand the concern, but they could get sick just from a trip to the grocery store. How am i supposed to know what my son has unless i get him to the dr?*********edit: my kids hardly ever get sick. They go to the dr. Once a year typically for their well child visit. The longest they have ever had a fever is about 12 hours and they NEVER saidthe room was spinning. I called the on call the night this happened and they advised me to treat him that night and call the office in the morning for an appointment.******edit again: i cannot respond to everyone cause this post is on fire! I an going to try to answer all questions: there is an urgent care down the street from me but you have to be a patient there. Its where i go but they dont specialize so i brought my kids to a pedi 35 minutes away. I am going to be moving my kids to them in the next few days. I know there is nithing i can do for the flu,which is not what im complaining about, im complaining that they are guessing what my son has instead of finding out for sure. Pneumonia DOES prevent the same as the flu. I had it and so did my neice and the symptoms were the same as my son has now. Our closest ER is 45 mintues away. I called the on call emts in my area the night this happened. They cheked him out, his vitals were perfect and they suggested to all in the morning for an appointment. Thank you tor those who actually showed concern instead of giving me rude comments, like a lot did. He is doing much better, fever is gone but he does still have a nasty cough. One of my twins and my youngest have the fever today so i am convinced now it is the flu and not pneumonia. If there are any questions i missed pkease ask again and i will try to get to it.
*****update: for those of you who said i was overreacting and that people overexaggerate how sick their kids are...two of my kids now have ear infections, so i do think my dr.was wrong not to see them.

[gcstar42]

Wow I thought thats kind of what doctors are for is to see sick kids lol. At our pedi they always do babies well check ups first thing in the morning so that when sick kids start coming in a little later the babies are usually done. I have no idea if they can legally refuse you or not, although my guess is that they probably can. I would probably take them to an urgent care clinic or the ER if it is bad enough. And find out all policies for your current doctor and decide if they are someone you really want to stay with or not. I personally would not want to see a doctor if they do not want to treat my kids when they are sick. That is when we need them the most in my opinion.

[Roo1234]

A lot of doctors are doing this right now.  However, I would ask if your doctor's office has a well-child waiting room and could they not restrict those who are there for check-ups only to that room.

Call the office back and ask for at least a phone consultation and instructions on how it is to be diagnoised without a doctor so you can treat it accordingly

[Nathans_mom0612]

Quoting gcstar42:

Wow I thought thats kind of what doctors are for is to see sick kids lol. At our pedi they always do babies well check ups first thing in the morning so that when sick kids start coming in a little later the babies are usually done. I have no idea if they can legally refuse you or not, although my guess is that they probably can. I would probably take them to an urgent care clinic or the ER if it is bad enough. And find out all policies for your current doctor and decide if they are someone you really want to stay with or not. I personally would not want to see a doctor if they do not want to treat my kids when they are sick. That is when we need them the most in my opinion.

Yeah im starting to think they are a place i dont want to keep going to. They have never not treated my kids in the 5 years ive been going...this is a first.

[Nathans_mom0612]

Quoting Roo1234:

A lot of doctors are doing this right now.  However, I would ask if your doctor's office has a well-child waiting room and could they not restrict those who are there for check-ups only to that room.

Call the office back and ask for at least a phone consultation and instructions on how it is to be diagnoised without a doctor so you can treat it accordingly

They just called back and said to just keep up with the motrin and stay hydrated. They said it sounds like the flu but if he isnt better by friday to call back.

[matofour]

How long has your child been ill?

[Roo1234]

I wouldn't necessarily move on from their office because of this one incident.  There are emergency rooms turning away all but the absolute worst cases of the flu right now because they just can't treat them all.  

Quote:

Yeah im starting to think they are a place i dont want to keep going to. They have never not treated my kids in the 5 years ive been going...this is a first.

[Nathans_mom0612]

Quoting Roo1234:

I wouldn't necessarily move on from their office because of this one incident.  There are emergency rooms turning away all but the absolute worst cases of the flu right now because they just can't treat them all.  

Yeah im starting to think they are a place i dont want to keep going to. They have never not treated my kids in the 5 years ive been going...this is a first.

And if it isnt the flu...what if its pneumonia and they are refusing to treat. Sorry but that is cause for concern in my eyes.

[Nathans_mom0612]

Quoting matofour:

How long has your child been ill?

Three days. He woke up last night telling me the room was spinning and he was white as a ghost.

[annie2244]

If your kid has a cold or the flu, why are you going in for a doctor visit? Unless you think he has strep throat (sore throat high fever), or it is not getting better after a 4-5 days, why would he need a visit? It's a waste of health care resources and he exposes everyone else he comes in contact with to his cold or flu. I agree with the clinic!

[Anonymous]

Some people like the medication for the flu. Tamiflu is it? I personally choose not to use it. My dd had the flu once 5 years ago.

Quoting annie2244:

If your kid has a cold or the flu, why are you going in for a doctor visit? Unless you think he has strep throat (sore throat high fever), or it is not getting better after a 4-5 days, why would he need a visit? It's a waste of health care resources and he exposes everyone else he comes in contact with to his cold or flu. I agree with the clinic!