I NEED TO VENT! Every single day, I receive 20 or more calls and emails from patients saying the same things about other medical offices we refer them to: • "No one returned my calls." • "The phone just rings." • "The staff was rude." • "I've been waiting weeks for my test results." • "The first appointment is four months away." To my fellow physicians: Your office staff is your practice. They are often the first and last impression your patients have of you. A brilliant doctor with a dysfunctional front office is still delivering poor patient care. If you don't regularly train, supervise, and hold your team accountable, patients don't blame the receptionist. They blame you. Medicine doesn't end when you leave the exam room. Communication is part of treatment. Returning calls matters. Reviewing results promptly matters. Treating frightened patients with kindness matters. We all have staffing challenges. We all have busy days. But those cannot become excuses for systems that repeatedly fail the very people who trusted us with their health. Please... check in on your office. Call your own phone line. Read your own reviews. Ask your patients about their experience. You may discover a very different practice than the one you think you're running. We owe our patients better.