My Most Extreme Patient Encounters

Please make this a mini-series. Bring on other physicians to tell their stories. Could be dentists, surgeons, family medicine, nurses. Any person that went to medical school in anyway. I would like to see you talk to a psychiatrist.

It's absolutely disgusting that some random person sitting behind a desk in a medical insurance company has the power to determine whether you live or die.

I'm on blood thinners. I bump my head, and it's straight to the ER for a scan or X-ray. I can't believe Dr. Mike had to push so hard to save that lady. Respect, man.

I wish more doctors would advocate for their patents like you did.

People might focus on Dr Mike's looks, but he genuinely is a very good clinician with a real passion for medicine.

Good doctor is not only a doctor who treats a patient, but also fights and genuinely cares for the patients. HUGE RESPECT TO DR. MIKE

I live in Canada where healthcare isn’t privatized and although there’s definitely issues with our system, I can’t imagine having to fight with an insurance company to get the coverage for an investigative scan approved. Wishing for a positive outcome for your patient!

It’s so refreshing to hear that not every doctor is nonchalant or dismissive of their patients, I’ve heard too many stories of patients complaining about their doctors gaslighting the seriousness of their symptoms, but there are some like Doctor Mike who actually care and fight for their patients ☹️🫶🏾

As someone that has lost too many family members to cancer, thank you for standing up for patient #4

You are such a good doctor!! I love how you genuinely fight for your patients

Ok.... can we clone you? Please don't let the system wear you down because we need so many more doctors like you in the world. As a patient whose life has been ruined due to medical negligence that could have been avoided I can attest how high the stakes are. Thank you SO much for being so diligent, knowledgeable, caring and persistent. By setting the expectations you do you force others in your profession to raise their game. Unfortunately people who treat patient outcomes as seriously as you do are viewed as being "excessive" when, in fact, the bar you set should be the minimum required seeing as you are dealing with people's lives.

So, the mysterious patient story... Did you ever find out how the patient came to know who you are, how they happened to "receive" the message from your Mom? That story just won't leave my brain alone 🤯

This is so crazy. There are medical providers that take weeks, months even to get a prior authorization done. It hurts to know this could be the life or death decision for some patient’s prognosis! Thank you for being an advocate.

It's beyond frustrating how much doctors have to wrestle with insurance to get life-saving care to their patients. The fact that you held your ground until you got the tests is amazing, and it's something that needs greater attention.

I'm currently in med school and it's been very hard but seeing videos like this one gets me so excited to be a physician. Helping real people and advocating for them, i'm so happy i picked this.

I love that you investigated further why the patient had lost weight. It's so important to remember, losing weight isn't always a healthy thing!

Registered pharmacy technician here, and I work in a call center. I love going to bat for patients and doing a 3-way conference call with insurance and calling insurance out on denying coverage for prescriptions while patients listen in. Very much a moment for my patients of "I can't defeat you. But he can (me)." Don't mess with my patients and deny them coverage for medical care, I'll eat you for lunch. Promise.

As a patient, one of these stories is kind of close to my story. My dr always asks at the end of a visit, “Is there anything else I can help you with today?” About a year and a half ago I flippantly told her “It’s probably nothing but I’m having this weird symptom.” She said that she’ll order an ultrasound and have my gyno look at it. Long story short, I have a D&C and they find cancer cells in the uterus. They caught the uterine cancer SO early that the cells hadn’t even gotten into the lining yet. Still had to have a radical hysterectomy but hey, no cancer! It still amazes me that from just one off-handed comment I found out that I had cancer. I thanked my dr later on for taking me seriously and ordering the ultrasound.

I work in a pharmacy, and it makes me feel better knowing that even Dr. Mike is annoyed by all the BS you have to go through with insurance companies just to get proper care for patients, it's just maddening sometimes

I work in dental billing and have to fight with insurances daily. I can't imagine the frustration when you have to fight for possible life saving tests and scans. Glad you had a peer to peer and won!