More Ranting?
Jan. 25th, 2013 04:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jianantonicI've been very ranty lately. I've been thinking for a while that I could benefit from an increase in my Prozac dosage, so I'll be talking to a doc about that tomorrow morning.
For more on that, here's today's rant.
Since my depression diagnosis, I haven't been able to get health insurance, and I can't get it through work unless/until I'm full-time, which may happen one day, but not for a while anyway. So when I need a doctor, I go to the local Zoomcare, which is super convenient, and the people are nice...but...I'm kind of really disatisfied with them lately. (Only slightly relevant back-story: last time I went there, my crappy HMO insurance from my temp job was still in effect through COBRA but I knew that wouldn't cover a mental health visit anyway, so I just tried to pay then and there. They insisted on running the insurance just to see, and surprised me when they said my insurance was covering it and I was good to go. Then three months later, I got a collections notice. Apparently the insurance company denied it after all, and then the Zoomcare just turned it straight into collections rather than, you know, call me or send a bill. So that was annoying but whatever, I took care of it, and they waived the late fees 'cause it was totally their fault. So, shitty mistake but made in good faith, I guess? Anyway.) I have to get a new prescription written every six months. I've been on the same dosage of Prozac for 18 months now, and that dosage is still at the very low end (40mg). Still, I totally understand the requirement for an in-person visit for prescription renewals. Which is why I called to make such an appointment a week ago.
When I called, I told them what I needed and they pulled up my charts and said "Oh you don't have to come in! Just have the pharmacy send us a refill request and we'll approve it." I double checked, because I knew they had said I needed to come in every six months, but they assured me that it would be fine. I called the pharmacy, they sent a request and told me to check back in a couple of days. I figured they weren't making me come in since I've been a regular patient there and I've been on the same medication for over two years, same dosage for a year and a half, etc...and I wasn't going to argue since I was getting out of a $99 fee for a visit.
So this morning, McKenzie went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription, and they said it was denied. Then they called me at work and said the doctor had denied it and said that she'd notified me. Well, she hadn't notified me. So I called Zoomcare and got their help desk. I explained the situation and they said "Yeah we can't rewrite that until we see you." Well, yeah, that's what I thought, but in the meantime, my pills ran out today and I have no free time until Monday. I asked if they could write a very short-term Rx, for like 3 days, even, and they said no. I asked if I could speak to the doctor, and they said they'd have her call me (she hasn't yet, that was 10am...I doubt I will hear from her), but told me that their policy was absolute and once they've denied a refill request, there's nothing they can do. As for their "notification," they'd sent an email to a defunct address of McKenzie's -- I don't even know why they have that, but they should've gotten a bounceback.
Look, I get policies. But this is NOT an instance of me failing to read the fine print, or being careless or trying to weasel out of an obligation. I will see the doctor. I wanted to last week. But this is my health. These are pills that I need to be a functioning human being, and when the doctor's office fucks up and gives me the wrong information, that's something that they need to fucking make right. And don't tell me that the doctor can't write a prescription for three pills, which even if I took them all together wouldn't be enough to OD. How can you have a unilateral policy in place when a person's health depends on your actions?
I didn't think I would have time to see the doctor this weekend, because McKenzie has the car and I'm lined up to play bridge, but luckily the clinic is open at 9am tomorrow, which gives me just enough time to get in and out before we need to head to NE Portland for the morning session. So I'm missing a day or two of medication, which shouldn't really be much of a blip, but it still strikes me as just plain fucking wrong that they wouldn't make any effort to right their wrong. "Sorry, our bad, but this is our policy, you're out of luck." Obviously if it were really life-threatening, I'd find a way to get in and see the doctor today (the nice thing about the clinic is that it's all drop-in and you're guaranteed a same-day appointment for the flat $99 fee) and I'd get it taken care of, but I didn't think I would have a chance to go until Monday, and they were just like "Too bad." Handing out medication is not like retail where if the customer is dissatisfied you can just give them a discount or a free hat or something and everything's better again, but the fact that they wouldn't even consider asking the doctor to write a three motherfucking pill prescription while I have an appointment on the books for Monday is just fucking not cool. But it's this or...nothing, I guess, because no one will insure me and it's all I can afford.
The health care industry needs to change.
For more on that, here's today's rant.
Since my depression diagnosis, I haven't been able to get health insurance, and I can't get it through work unless/until I'm full-time, which may happen one day, but not for a while anyway. So when I need a doctor, I go to the local Zoomcare, which is super convenient, and the people are nice...but...I'm kind of really disatisfied with them lately. (Only slightly relevant back-story: last time I went there, my crappy HMO insurance from my temp job was still in effect through COBRA but I knew that wouldn't cover a mental health visit anyway, so I just tried to pay then and there. They insisted on running the insurance just to see, and surprised me when they said my insurance was covering it and I was good to go. Then three months later, I got a collections notice. Apparently the insurance company denied it after all, and then the Zoomcare just turned it straight into collections rather than, you know, call me or send a bill. So that was annoying but whatever, I took care of it, and they waived the late fees 'cause it was totally their fault. So, shitty mistake but made in good faith, I guess? Anyway.) I have to get a new prescription written every six months. I've been on the same dosage of Prozac for 18 months now, and that dosage is still at the very low end (40mg). Still, I totally understand the requirement for an in-person visit for prescription renewals. Which is why I called to make such an appointment a week ago.
When I called, I told them what I needed and they pulled up my charts and said "Oh you don't have to come in! Just have the pharmacy send us a refill request and we'll approve it." I double checked, because I knew they had said I needed to come in every six months, but they assured me that it would be fine. I called the pharmacy, they sent a request and told me to check back in a couple of days. I figured they weren't making me come in since I've been a regular patient there and I've been on the same medication for over two years, same dosage for a year and a half, etc...and I wasn't going to argue since I was getting out of a $99 fee for a visit.
So this morning, McKenzie went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription, and they said it was denied. Then they called me at work and said the doctor had denied it and said that she'd notified me. Well, she hadn't notified me. So I called Zoomcare and got their help desk. I explained the situation and they said "Yeah we can't rewrite that until we see you." Well, yeah, that's what I thought, but in the meantime, my pills ran out today and I have no free time until Monday. I asked if they could write a very short-term Rx, for like 3 days, even, and they said no. I asked if I could speak to the doctor, and they said they'd have her call me (she hasn't yet, that was 10am...I doubt I will hear from her), but told me that their policy was absolute and once they've denied a refill request, there's nothing they can do. As for their "notification," they'd sent an email to a defunct address of McKenzie's -- I don't even know why they have that, but they should've gotten a bounceback.
Look, I get policies. But this is NOT an instance of me failing to read the fine print, or being careless or trying to weasel out of an obligation. I will see the doctor. I wanted to last week. But this is my health. These are pills that I need to be a functioning human being, and when the doctor's office fucks up and gives me the wrong information, that's something that they need to fucking make right. And don't tell me that the doctor can't write a prescription for three pills, which even if I took them all together wouldn't be enough to OD. How can you have a unilateral policy in place when a person's health depends on your actions?
I didn't think I would have time to see the doctor this weekend, because McKenzie has the car and I'm lined up to play bridge, but luckily the clinic is open at 9am tomorrow, which gives me just enough time to get in and out before we need to head to NE Portland for the morning session. So I'm missing a day or two of medication, which shouldn't really be much of a blip, but it still strikes me as just plain fucking wrong that they wouldn't make any effort to right their wrong. "Sorry, our bad, but this is our policy, you're out of luck." Obviously if it were really life-threatening, I'd find a way to get in and see the doctor today (the nice thing about the clinic is that it's all drop-in and you're guaranteed a same-day appointment for the flat $99 fee) and I'd get it taken care of, but I didn't think I would have a chance to go until Monday, and they were just like "Too bad." Handing out medication is not like retail where if the customer is dissatisfied you can just give them a discount or a free hat or something and everything's better again, but the fact that they wouldn't even consider asking the doctor to write a three motherfucking pill prescription while I have an appointment on the books for Monday is just fucking not cool. But it's this or...nothing, I guess, because no one will insure me and it's all I can afford.
The health care industry needs to change.
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no subject
Date: 2013-01-27 08:52 pm (UTC)I'm with you.
no subject
Date: 2013-01-28 01:56 am (UTC)