Posted by Bill LL on August 31, 2004, at 8:54:22
In reply to My Pdoc won't fill my RX bc I gaven't seen him in, posted by owenus32 on August 30, 2004, at 16:29:51
It sounds like your doctor does not know that your appointment isn't until Sept 20. Call him or his assistant back and let them know that you need a refill to last at least until then.
Health insurance companies in the US often adopt Medicare payment rules. Medicare does not allow billings for phone consultations with docs. Payment is only allowed if the doctor sees the patient in person (although there are certain limited "telemedicine" allowances in rural areas).
Since many pdocs basically make all of their income from visit fees, a lot of them don't like to have too many phone calls since they are non-billable.
General docs can't bill for phone calls either, but at least they still have a lot of traffic coming in during the day since there are many conditions for which a general doc really has to examine the patient. Plus, they can bill for EKG's and other stuff besides visits.
I personally like general docs for psychiatric drugs unless psychotherapy is needed, or if there is an especially complex problem.
poster:Bill LL
thread:384257
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040830/msgs/384628.html