Help With Finding A New Doctor

[gary'sgirl]

I'm just wondering if anyone has any insight about looking for a new doctor.

I have been seeing a neurologist for some ongoing symptoms that have not resolved since going gluten free (seen him twice) and he did quite a bit of testing for other diseases including MS and Lupus, but those all came back normal (although, the lupus did say borderline - he said that it fell within the normal ranges, meaning that about 20% of people have - whatever it is they tested for - but don't have lupus. I guess those people fall within a "normal" rang). Now he just wants to focus on the migraine that I have had for five months now. He wants to try a preventative drug and said that if that doesn't work he'll send me to an ophthalmologist, but I already saw an ophthalmologist and he said it wasn't my eyes.

I kind of feel like he is just trying to band aid a the problem - not only that, but I guess because all my other tests came back "normal" he is done pursuing the other problems. What? I don't get it and for some reason he isn't explaining what he is thinking to me when i ask him about it. He just says he want's to get the migraine pain to go away and it seems that is all he is interested in doing, but i have so many other things going on.

At the last visit I asked him to test some of my vitamin levels. He tested B12, folate, vitamin A, vitamin D, and all were within normal ranges other than D was low. He didn't test calcium or magnesium, which since having the tests i have read that it could be helpful to test those too.

I'm just not sure that he is doing all that we can do to try to figure out what is wrong and help me to do better. On top of this the office takes at least 5 days to get back to me and on a few things they just completely never called back. I called the office yesterday to get copies of my file and test results and they told me that they charge a $1 a page. Tell me if I'm wrong, but that just seems outrageous to me. How can they charge so much for my own personal information?

Anyway, the charging me form my own info was kind of the last straw (maybe I'm over reacting). So I feel like I would like to find a different doctor. Does anyone have any insight? - I would really appreciate it.

[kareng]

Legally they have the right to charge you for copies. $1 per page with a service charge of $15 was standard 15 years ago when I last worked at a hospital. The info is yours but the paper record belongs to the doctor or hospital. Hard to wrap your mind around, but that's the way it is. If you want your info sent directly to another doctor for continuing health care, they should not charge. What I have found with my own doctors, is that when I'm there, if I want a copy of the lab results for my info, they will make me a free copy or write them down for me.

As you can imagine, there are ways to get around the charges and still get the copies. Perhaps your PCP or another doctor would request them with you and give you a copy. Your doctor may, also, let you read the records and take notes but they may charge a fee for that, too as they will want someone to watch you. This is nothing personal against you , but a dr must protect himself from legal action and tampering.

Good luck.

[gary'sgirl]

Legally they have the right to charge you for copies. $1 per page with a service charge of $15 was standard 15 years ago when I last worked at a hospital. The info is yours but the paper record belongs to the doctor or hospital. Hard to wrap your mind around, but that's the way it is. If you want your info sent directly to another doctor for continuing health care, they should not charge. What I have found with my own doctors, is that when I'm there, if I want a copy of the lab results for my info, they will make me a free copy or write them down for me.

As you can imagine, there are ways to get around the charges and still get the copies. Perhaps your PCP or another doctor would request them with you and give you a copy. Your doctor may, also, let you read the records and take notes but they may charge a fee for that, too as they will want someone to watch you. This is nothing personal against you , but a dr must protect himself from legal action and tampering.

Good luck.

Thanks for the info, kareng. I appreciate it. They did tell me that what they charged was legal - and I do understand, but none of my other doc ever charged me and I guess after feeling like this doc just wasn't that interested in really helping me telling me that they would charge an arm and a leg for the info made me feel like they are just in it for the money. - I don't think I would mind so much if I felt they were really helping me in the first place.

Anyway, just for the record, I use to work for a copy place and we only charged 5 cents a copy. I guess the law is giving doctors offices permission to make a little extra for no real reason. (actually I believe the "law" is just setting a boundary so that people can't charge too outrageous of amounts, but still, they don't have to charge so much)

Oh well! What can you do?

[kareng]

Thanks for the info, kareng. I appreciate it. They did tell me that what they charged was legal - and I do understand, but none of my other doc ever charged me and I guess after feeling like this doc just wasn't that interested in really helping me telling me that they would charge an arm and a leg for the info made me feel like they are just in it for the money. - I don't think I would mind so much if I felt they were really helping me in the first place.

Anyway, just for the record, I use to work for a copy place and we only charged 5 cents a copy. I guess the is giving doctors offices permision to make a little extra for no real reason.

Oh well! What can you do?

Legally, the person who makes the copies must keep the info confidential, know what is important to copy & what is not, etc. So your paying for the person's time, too. Anyway, if you are a little clever, you'll figure a way around this.

[gary'sgirl]

Legally, the person who makes the copies must keep the info confidential, know what is important to copy & what is not, etc. So your paying for the person's time, too. Anyway, if you are a little clever, you'll figure a way around this.

Yes, I am sure that I can find ways around it. It's not so much the money as it is the principle of the matter.

I just think that really, the money for your own information was another rock in the barrel. It just is making every other thing seem a little more sour.

And anyway, (I add this just for laughs ) it can't really take more than a minuet to make a copy of one page can it? Even when you include knowing which pages to copy and what ones not to. So that's like a 1$ a minuet at least! Man! I need that job. I wouldn't have to be worried about paying for the copies if I was making that kind of money! JK It's all in good fun.