Doctors it seems have indestructible policies or at least this is true at Dr. Tom Kirkwood's office.

It seems according to his office staff that if your name is not in the computer system that you are not a patient of his any longer.

According to his office staff the computer system drops your name if you have not visited him within 3 years; so healthy people need to take notice.

Can they add your name back? Of course but it is a problem that requires a lot of hell raising because they are not taking any new patients.

If you are able to convince the office staff that you really are a patient of Dr. Kirkwood for years and they, the office staff, choose to re-instate you as a patient they will only re-instate you as a new patient which means that they will not except your insurance on the first visit even if they are already using the exact same policy when treating your spouse, children or those with whom you are the legal guarding so it is cash up front.

I guess if a person were very understanding and this policy actually assisted those who are most likely setting in his waiting room at 4:00 PM for their 2:30 PM appointment but it does not seem to help keep appointment schedules on time.

I personally chose to change doctors but everybody else needs to check the rules not only at Dr. Kirkwood's office but every general practitioner to be sure that the office is what you believe it is.

Both my mother and my family considered the doctor to be not only our doctor but a friend as well; I guess I woke up suddenly.

The doctor didn't even visit my mother in the hospital which is where he sent her after treating her for many years and charging many thousands of dollars for office visits to the Miners Union and Medicare, at least to my knowledge but I will be checking with the miners insurance and Medicare for additional charges, I was also shocked when I found out that my wife has been too healthy over the last 3 years to still be one of his patients, even though he sent her to a doctor who specializes in the treatment of diabetes which is the only medical problem that she has been treating for that is until she got the flu and I called Dr. Kirkwood's office to get an appointment at which time we found out that she had been forgotten by our family doctor.

John R. Stanczak