Northwestern Memorial Imaging Center, X-Ray/Ultrasound

My experience was so bad I considered switching Medical groups. Seriously, I would gladly break out of network to never have to come here again. The standard of care and professionalism is sorely lacking and quite different from what I’ve come to expect (and have received) from Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
I arrived at the stately office space at 2:05 for my 2:15 check-​in/​appointment. I was taken back to the waiting/​changing area at 2:20, after going through my consult with the department rep. Again, my check-​in/​appointment was at 2:15. At 3:00, I was seen by the tech/​nurse. From all the research I’d done and prior phone consult, my appointment was scheduled to take a half hour. Given the serious implications, I was advised that I wanted the full half hour to rule out all possibilities. My appointment took less than 15 minutes and by 3:22 I was dressed and back out in the lobby.
What just happened? I arrived 10 minutes early for a check-​in/​appointment that was to take place before my procedure… which was to take a half hour to be done thoroughly and completely. I was seen forty-​five minutes after my scheduled time (and an hour after arriving) and my procedure took less than 15 minutes which made me question the nature of the care I’d received and if I needed to come back to repeat this process all over again. After all, if my physician told me to expect a certain appointment duration and that coincided with my own independent research, rushing through a procedure when the tech/​nurse was behind schedule did not make me leave feeling as though I was thoroughly examined and that I could expect a conclusive diagnosis.
So, I requested to speak with a manager to voice my concerns and figure out a time to possibly come back. One’s health is not a bacon cheeseburger missing the cheese. This is potentially life and death. And if the standard of care I received was less than adequate to make such determinations, I need to go to a facility that takes my health, my well-​being, my life seriously. So, I waited. And I waited. And, after 25 more minutes, was told that the manager was in a ‘budget meeting.’ I spoke to someone else who admitted that she ‘could not’ reassure me that the procedure I had done was thorough but I was welcome to come back. Additionally, the manager (Symka? I apologize for the potential misspelling. Seeing as I never met you, I have no idea if this is the correct way to spell your name) was going to call me. Weeks later (and follow up calls from me), I am still waiting for that call. That much be one hell of a budget you’re managing.
Thanks for caring. Thanks for giving a damn. Thanks for being such shining examples of ‘do no harm.’ I left thinking I may or may not be okay. I hoped I was. After speaking with my PC who shared my frustrations, she sent me in a direction which eased my conscious and gave her the answers she was looking for (why she sent me to NMHIC in the first place). None of this current peace of mind is due to the indifferent (I am being extremely accommodating by calling it ‘indifferent’) care I received at NMHIC. One of my best friends is a Radiology nurse and I found myself wishing again and again that I’d gone to her hospital/​department. If ever I am in need of a similar procedure, you can bet I will.