Patient
Avoid Stuart. We had a terrible experience from the start (no phone call, just a text with an appointment date, new patient paperwork sent in the mail, even though my UTK PCP referred me?!?). I'm suffering from debilitating POTS and related symptoms. Upon arriving, we got the new patient paperwork filled out. We were escorted back by a nurse that seemed completely unbothered. A standard EKG was administered, and then the aid came in to administer a poor man's tilt table test for POTS (a diagnosis I have already had confirmed by two other docs and years of exclusionary testing). During the testing, where I was visibly faint and clammy, the nurse kept telling me to "calm down", and dismissed my symptoms as I shared them with her. Stuart entered and was abrasive from the start. The aid didn't have my notes entered yet, and he spent the first 10-15 minutes asking me detailed questions while taking no notes due to being locked out of the patient portal. He would continue to talk in circles, repeat questions, etc. throughout the session, often without any patient portal documentation. He constantly cut me off as I would try to explain and answer his questions, and it was evident he already had it in his mind that this was an annoyance. I keep a small binder with various docs to help my brain fog during sessions (separate from my medical history docs). Stuart took my disability aid (the binder), from my hands, and laid it on his desk where I couldn't utilize it further. He then kept asking questions. This is absolutely unacceptable. He did look at my data, but mocked it. He instructed me to keep a "hand written" log of my blood pressure readings (even though I told him my app could export exactly what he wanted). He showed me an example on his phone in his notes that was identical to what I could have provided him. With patient data and record keeping a mess already, the last thing a doctor needs to do is make it more difficult on a patient. There's a reason we keep all my records digitized. I can't imagine getting any additional documentation to him for review. My wife also had to close the door multiple times during our session, as it was left open by both Stuart and his aide. Stuart also seemed oblivious to the fact that his aid had conducted a "poor man's tilt table test" at the start of the session, and even after being informed, was still oblivious. He also complained how it would "tie up his aide". By the end, I felt so unheard and turned around we couldn't wait to get out of the office. Stuart didn't even have the decency to look us in the eyes as he told us next steps. He was fully out the door, in the hallway, talking into the room. I expect a lovely conflicting diagnosis in my chart, which means even more wasted time that could be spent on care.