Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas — Attraction in Encinitas

I was just discharged from Scripps Encinitas ER and I went in for a 14 day intractable migraine. My neurologist told me to go so the ER could stop it completely since all my preventative and recuse medications have not helped! I was under the care of Dr Bower who has no empathy for patients with migraines! He’s been my physician in the past and every time he is I do not get any relief! He 100% without a doubt believes migraine will be worse and the patient ALWAYS get a rebound headache if opioid medication is given when the migraine protocol doesn’t stop the migraine or even make the pain tolerable! I went in with 10/10 and left with an 8/10 pain and still severely sensitive to light sounds and noises! My head is still pounding so hard like a hammer beating it with an icepick sticking in my eyes. I also made him aware that I lost vision in my right eye and my right side of my face is numb but he couldn’t care less. After being given his version of migraine protocol meds into an IV that was infiltrated I got no relief from any meds given until a new iv was placed. At that point my arm were the old iv was was swollen and huge and I was told to just wait at home until the meds finally absorb into my tissue. In meantime I’m still in severe 8/10 pain! My mother stayed with me this visit and advocated when the nurse came in to discharge me without any warning! Dr. Bower haven’t even returned to check on me! He gave a small amount of phenergan for nausea that didn’t help gave Benadryl too that didn’t help as well as steroid that didn’t help bc they went into my tissues not into my vein. Once my mother demanded Dr. Bower at least come back to re-evaluate me before discharging me he was firm that I would have to go home in pain. After a few words exchanged he agreed to 1 dose of dilaudid and that finally brought my pain to an 8/10 from 10/10! My vitals were still sky high from pain and I made my nurse aware I was still in 8/10 pain and she felt to bad. I just asked if he could make my pain tolerable like 5–6/10. She went to advocate for me with Dr. Bower the best she could but he insisted dilaudid was a one time dose and I just have to deal with the pain. He didn’t even try to think outside the box that didn’t have to included opioids! I was begging and pleading with him to help me. He communicated this through the nurse and never came back. I was discharged still holding my head with severe 8/10 pain! Nausea still coming up and down as I dry heaved into my emesis bag all while being rolled out in a wheelchair! Now here I am back home with 8/10 pain that’s getting worse and may have to go back to the ER and hope and pray I get an empathic Doctor who will do the proper migraine protocol and really help me! I have been failed once again by Dr. Bower and honestly he shouldn’t be treating patients with migraines if he isn’t educated enough to understand not every patient is a textbook patient! Not everything is black and white and he needs to learn to look at the grey areas that arise when treating patients with migraines! I once again put my life in his hands and trusted him to help me stop this horrible 14 day long migraine so I can get back to a simi normal life but he’s failed me again. After a long 1hr ride home my pain is increasing but I just can’t help but to wonder if I were a anything besides an African American woman would he allow me to leave in the same condition over and over again. I understand the opioid crisis in our country and I understand docs everywhere are under a lot of pressure to better screen patients for potential addictive behaviors. I assure you I’m NOT one of the patients. I’m RN Case Manager who’s career was taken from me due to migraines. I need help when my migraines last this long and it shouldn’t be too much to ask Dr Bower to help me stop this indescribable pain or at least bring it down enough I can think to care for me 8 year old little girl alone. After writing this I’m upset and pain back at 10/10! Now what do I do? Shame on you Dr. Bower!...

ONE STAR FOR THE ER! Let me first say that I received knee surgery at this hospital 5 years ago and have nothing but praise for the treatment and medical staff there that helped me during that time. I was very well taken care of and told everyone I know about how good it was. HOWEVER I had to take my friend twice in the last week to the emergency room there and, let's just say, it DEFINITELY needs some improvement. The 21 minute estimate wait time you see on their website must mean 21 minutes until your processed through the front desk. We went Friday 24th and waited for approximately 45 minutes before he was taken in in extreme pain which turned out with the mri to be a herniated disc...another 45 minutes before the doctor came and an additonal 30 minutes before I begged them to please get someone to give him some pain meds. They sent him home with some meds but After a week the pain was so bad I took him again . We were there again 2 hours before he was even seen by a doctor. It appeared the 2 ER nurses apparently had to maintain 1/2 of a wing each and of course, it being ER, there was much to be done. We finally had the doctor visit and poke around a bit and prescibe a morphine shot. He seemed to have no access to records of what had gone on the week before. I find that strange as my clinic always can pull it right up. We then waited for a nurse to come in with the shot. My husband is a former Navy Seal and Vietnam POW so he's not a pansy about pain, but he was practically in tears and could not sit, stand or lie down for any relief. It had been 2 1/2 hours then. We still waited. After 45 minutes, I saw the doctor in the hall again and begged for someone to help him or we would have to leave.He asked me where the nurse was and I told him she was apparently still busy. He sent another nurse in who we thanked and Steve finally got relief after ALMOST 3 1/2 HOURS. We thanked her, Her response was to question us about the previous meds and ask me about what good it would've done had we left. I told her we had some painkillers left at home, and although they weren't working well, it was better than him sitting there for such a long time getting no relief or help and in excruciating pain.. Steve had been in pain all night and had taking the meds as prescribed. She said he should have taken more [ although that morning he had already taken the other pain killers]. Hopefully nurses don't always prescribe more without checking with a doctor. He does have a heart condition. She also repeated to us twice that " We go as fast as we can here, but it's never fast enough, is it?"... like we were imposing on asking for help after almost 3 hours. When we got to the car, I noticed that despite my telling the doctor he had been treated the week before in ER at the same hospital and was diagnosed as having a Herniated disc 4-05 and there were records, he just put down ":sciatica" for diagnosis. Obviously they may not always bother to check records. I can't prescribe either but if I could I would say they need more nurses in the ER section . Rachelle was going as fast a she could. The blond nurse who finally came in to "help" needs a vacation as she sounds pretty burnt out. I am thinking of changing insurance as I don't want to be left in such a vulnerable state if we have...

On May 1, 2019, I fell while playing ball with my son outside on the pavement. I landed on my left side on my ribs. The area was tender to the touch, but it was mild. More baffling was that my abdomen became very distended. When it remained after several days, a doctor friend suggested I get it checked out. I visited a dr. at an urgent care clinic the morning of Sunday, May 5th. He examined my ribs and abdomen thoroughly, found nothing obvious, but was concerned enough by the feel of my abdomen that he recommended I go the ER. I had to work the rest of the day (I am a realtor and had to show property to a client for several hours), but promised to go afterwards. I arrived at the ER at Scripps Encinitas at around 4. The doctor heard the description of what happened, and said he'd order some blood work and a CT scan of my abdomen. He did not examine me. He also ordered everything at once (classic defensive medicine) instead of one step at a time, ordering each test based on the results of the previous test.

The results of the tests were all negative. He had no explanation for my swollen abdomen, but suggested it was just "coincidence", as if it were trivial and I was just suffering from random gassy bloat. As he was about to discharge me, he realized he hadn’t examined me, so he reached over and pushed on my abdomen literally twice. Yes, “just coincidence”, he shrugged. Hugely patronizing. I was relieved the tests were negative, ruling out anything serious and hoped the symptom would pass over time.

Then I received the bill. I was charged over $10,000. I met with Patient Relations Coordinator Chuck Gunter who agreed the bill seemed excessive and promised an audit. He got back to me several days later that the hospital had completed its internal review and stood by their charges (surprise, surprise!). They eventually offered a tiny courtesy discount (written as a line item from “risk management”!), but didn’t address either of the most egregious points: the doctor never examined me. I complained about this fact that day and in the coming days to several friends who would be happy to testify in this regard. I was charged for a level V visit (CPT E/M code 99285), the highest level! I met none of the requirements for this level. I walked in on my own after working all day, had no pain or other presentation of distress, my vital signs were healthy and normal, and I needed no interventions.

In talking to others, including my insurance company, this particular hospital is notorious for padding the bill and over charging. I am fighting this bill and will avoid another visit here...