Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 19, 2024, 01:26:17 am

Login with username, password and session length


Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 772784
  • Total Topics: 66296
  • Online Today: 267
  • Online Ever: 5484
  • (June 18, 2021, 11:15:29 pm)
Users Online
Users: 1
Guests: 206
Total: 207

Welcome


Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and others concerned about HIV/AIDS.  Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning:  Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

  • The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own physician.

  • All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

  • Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators of these forums. Click here for “Do I Have HIV?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

  • We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are true and correct to their knowledge.

  • Product advertisement—including links; banners; editorial content; and clinical trial, study or survey participation—is strictly prohibited by forums members unless permission has been secured from POZ.

To change forums navigation language settings, click here (members only), Register now

Para cambiar sus preferencias de los foros en español, haz clic aquí (sólo miembros), Regístrate ahora

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the symbol in each box.

Author Topic: Damn HMO's  (Read 6942 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline ubotts

  • Member
  • Posts: 347
Damn HMO's
« on: October 01, 2007, 12:51:29 pm »
Hi all.
Remember I was starting a new clinic and they lost my bloodwork...well
I had to redo it all over again..
I went where they told me to go for my bloodwork, and the women said they dint
take this coverage..
So i had gotten the address from her, and went to blood lab techs..
Had my blood drawn again , but this time it will get to my doctor.
But before I had my blood taken, they said I need a code number..I said i dint have
one,,
They responded, your doctor should of gave you one.. ???
So i called my Dr's office and she gave me the code number.

Then I had to take xrays of my lungs due to having the world trade cough..
Anyway, I handed them the prescribtion and they said you need a referral as well.
 >:( Now I angry because the Dr's didn't give me shit.. So i had to call again
and have them fax over the referral papers....

In between, I went to McDonald's to eat something, because they took my blood, so
i ate..While eating, the Dr's office calls and says, "OK we faxed the referral over and now
you can have your xrays done..

Thank god my friend drove me back and fourth, because the car service they give us
would of never waited and re drove me to the right place for blood work..
They only have one order and they go by that alone///

October 18, is when ill have my xrays and my bloodwork when i see the doctor.
Thank god..Feels like I've been waiting for every...
Hmo's made things a bit complicated for me..
Has anyone else experienced this???? :-[
Live Love Laugh and dance like no ones watching.
Laughter is the best medicine, so try to have a laugh everyday..Even if your not feeling your best, think about something that was funny at one time in your life and work with it..   :o)

Offline Miss Philicia

  • Member
  • Posts: 24,793
  • celebrity poster, faker & poser
Re: Damn HMO's
« Reply #1 on: October 01, 2007, 01:32:03 pm »
Well, I think all of us here have suffered through incompetence at some time or another but what you described sounds excessive.  My only recommendation with this is to give very clear instructions to your HIV doctor as well as the person in the "office"-y section that handles the administrative tasks.  There's some miscommunication somewhere, and as you are a new patient at your HIV clinic perhaps they simply don't have your file set up correctly.

You need to ask questions of the right person and insist that they correct whatever mistakes are causing these recurring problems.  If you don't do the leg work yourself you will just continue to encounter this type of stuff.  You have to be firm and insistent with someone if you want to locate where the problem is.

Overall I'd say they did in fact make an error not giving you the proper code in advance of the blood work, but with referrals you need to know yourself what your HMO requires, and if not constantly ask your doctor's office "Do I need a referral for this?" -- this is just common sense with HMO stuff.

Good luck.
"I’ve slept with enough men to know that I’m not gay"

Offline ubotts

  • Member
  • Posts: 347
Re: Damn HMO's
« Reply #2 on: October 01, 2007, 05:25:03 pm »
hi there,

In this state they just started hmo's for hiv patients..

In NYC where I lived before, if you were hiv, you didn't need an hmo..

Anyway, these doctors are new to me and new to the HMO new policies..

Now I know what to ask for from them before I get sent somewhere for any type of
work being done on me..

Weather it be xrays or blood, I will always ask, "are you sure this is all I need"...
so with that being said, hopefully there will be no more leg work on my part..

Thanks for your response .. ;)
 
Live Love Laugh and dance like no ones watching.
Laughter is the best medicine, so try to have a laugh everyday..Even if your not feeling your best, think about something that was funny at one time in your life and work with it..   :o)

Offline pozniceguy

  • Member
  • Posts: 1,232
  • Niceguy Dallas
Re: Damn HMO's
« Reply #3 on: October 01, 2007, 06:20:20 pm »
I would be very specific with questions....1. Do I need a referral ?  do I need an order for Blood work? xray?  other tests?   most HMOs/ hospital require a specific order for each item.....

after a while you will get the hang of it and don't be afraid to ask for more convenient locations....sending you all over town is not a good way to do this.....find somewhere convenient for you and ask to be referred to that place...Hmos usually have many choices..

Nick
remember the good times...honor the past but don't live there
Le stelle la notte sono grandie luminose, nel cuore profondo del Texas

Offline aztecan

  • Member
  • Posts: 5,530
  • 36 years positive, 64 years a pain in the butt
Re: Damn HMO's
« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2007, 10:11:50 pm »
Hey Ubotts,

Yes, HMOs are a pain in the butt, but they are a fact of life. I agree with Nick, ask specific questions like, "Do I need a referral?"

Once you get the hang of it, it will be just a complicated, but not quite as frustrating - usually.

As for incompetence, I have more than once had a phlebotomist try to administer an HIV test rather than a viral load, so I understand.

HUGS,

Mark
"May your life preach more loudly than your lips."
~ William Ellery Channing (Unitarian Minister)

 


Terms of Membership for these forums
 

© 2024 Smart + Strong. All Rights Reserved.   terms of use and your privacy
Smart + Strong® is a registered trademark of CDM Publishing, LLC.