Re: OB: Billing...now phone Rx.
From: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)
Mon May 22 08:36:33 2000
Ashley -
we are the only group of professionals who DON'T bill for our phone
services. what's wrong with this picture?
Art
At Sun, 21 May 2000, D. Ashley Hill, MD wrote:
>
>At Sun, 21 May 2000, Paul Prior MD wrote:
>
>>Part of what we bill for is that responsibility. I'll damn well bill for it if I'm held responsible for it.
>
>What about the common practice of calling in prescription refills for
>patients without an office visit? If the patient has a reaction to the
>medication or you are treating the wrong condition over the phone, her
>lawyer and the state medical board will not remember that you were a
>nice person for calling it in without an office visit.
>
>In our area a number of practices have changed their management of phone
>prescription refills. Patients either come in for an office
>visit/prescription refill (which requires a copay), or they either mail
>or bring in $10 to receive their prescription. The practices that do
>this tell me it's because telephone refills have become such a problem
>that they have hired new staff just to manage this issue. Our 5-person
>practice receives well over 100 calls a day just for prescription
>refills. It's always the same story: can't make it in for a few months,
>forgot my pill prescription ran out, I'm moving out of the area, etc.
>All valid, but we are looking at hiring another office staff member just
>to overcome this headache. To compound problems, many patients are
>verbally abusive to my staff when they are informed that there will be a
>48-hour turnaround for this *free* service! Does anyone charge for
>prescription refills?
>
>Ashley
>
>--
>David Ashley Hill, MD
>Associate Director
>Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
>Florida Hospital Family Practice Residency
>http://home.mpinet.net/dahmd
>
--
art fougner, md
A series of 1000 cases begins with but a single anecdote.
