Dr. Brian Keith Jeffords, MD

This is regarding my sister, who went to the ER for severe pain in her right upper abdomen. She was in extreme discomfort and could not eat or drink. Initially, she managed to take a few sips of water, but soon after, she was unable to drink anything. She was first seen by a doctor who performed most of the important tests. However, when the shift changed, she was attended by another doctor—arguably the rudest, meanest, and most unprofessional doctor I have ever encountered at Cedars-Sinai. It seemed he had not reviewed her chart and relied solely on the previous doctor’s notes. He approached my sister and bluntly told her to go home, saying, “You don’t need to stay. Everything came back normal.” When she asked about her liver and kidney, he casually replied, “Oh, I have to check on that,” despite these being critical organs directly related to her severe pain. When she asked for clarification on certain terms in her report and whether they indicated any problems, he said, “I’m not a… kidney specialist.” My sister requested that he investigate the cause of her symptoms, especially since this was her third ER visit for this pain. She explained that she could not eat or drink, and he responded, “Sorry, I can’t do anything.” He even said that the ER only handles life-or-death situations, implying that her inability to eat or drink was not serious enough for treatment. As a result, we left the hospital under the impression that she was fine, based on what he said. However, upon reviewing her report at home, we discovered that she has **hepatic steatosis** and **stage 3 kidney disease**. Since returning home, she has not been able to eat or drink, as doing so causes her more pain. We are now at a loss. She does not want to return to the ER because her initial visit, which was for severe pain and inability to eat or drink, ended with the doctor refusing to help. If they were unwilling to treat her then, she sees no point in going back. This doctor’s behavior is not only unprofessional but also damaging to the reputation of Cedars-Sinai Hospital. How can someone who cannot eat or drink be sent home without guidance, and when asked what to do, the doctor says, “Sorry, I don’t know”? --- If you want, I can also rewrite this into a **formal complaint letter** that you could submit to the hospital administration, making it stronger and more likely to get a response. That might be useful given how serious this is. Do you want me to do that?

I came in with physical injuries and this doctor did not examine me for them.