About 1 in 100 breast cancer cases are men

[daugen]

Bird,
boy are you and I are on the same page. We went to one surgeon, who was the only one in the area who had a laproscopic technique instead of a traditional "debulking" (I really dislike that word...) techniques. We averaged waiting between two and four hours in his waiting room for every appointment. My wife was so sick and in great pain and that arrogant jerk let us sit out there time and time again. We had no choice. And he failed to help my wife to boot.

I try to get first appt in the day, but that of course is often not possible. Welllllll Mr. Patient, our busy doctor is booked solid until next March, but we'll try to squeeze you in. Let's see, no that won't work, thaaat won't work, well I guess we can try here. Boy did I feel special...

It's one of two things, and perhaps both. Greed to grossly overbook your appointments to generate more income, or
that person is a specialist in an area where demand far exceeds supply, and the person is working his/her butt off every day.

My primary gets to me within half an hour, sometimes a little more. Most specialists are better at being on time in my experience. Imaging places are on time usually. Clearly it is good management and good patient care to be on time.
And we all know some doctors can't be. But I think some of us have sat in those waiting rooms and wondered if we would ever get out of there. I learned to zone out and snooze, and usually give myself a stiff neck in the process.
But to let my ailing wife wait too long while I was holding her hand? Really strains your ability to remain pleasant...

my last dermatologist was never on time. I got a new one. And they are. So this is not impossible. But how about routinely on time with a few exceptions? For my one thousand dollars a month for my health insurance for just me, shouldn't someone be on time some time? :confused3:

 

[jinman]

The last appointment I had with my surgeon was a bad experience. It was not getting in to see him, but trying to get a follow-up appointment. He told me he wanted me to come back mid-Feb. His nurse normally brings me an appointment card for the next appointment right away after he finishes his exam. On this occasion, I waited and waited, but she didn't appear. I sat there in that examination room for 45 minutes and she was still a no-show. I walked out and down the hall to her office where I found her reading email. I asked about my next appointment and she said I would have to go to the the business office (not the receptionist, but the business office). I was to go in and find the woman sitting at the 2nd desk on the right. The nurse said all of the 2014 appointments had to be made through her since their scheduling only went to the end of 2013. :confused2: So, I walked up to the front business office and noticed nobody was at the first desk or the 2nd desk. I found a seat and waited. After about 20 minutes, a woman finished her phone call and stepped out of her office. She asked if she could help and I said I was looking for the lady to make appointments for 2014. "Oh, she went home about an hour ago," she said. You'll have to come back or call her tomorrow. My face must have been pretty red. I don't hide my anger very well when something sets me off, but I was nice to the lady and thanked her for the info. As I left the office, I just decided that I'd wait until 2014, sometime in January and make my Feb appointment by calling the normal clinic number as I usually do. I just could not figure out why I had to sit there for1-1/2 hours and then find out that nobody could help me. I've decided that the next time I see this doctor, I'll just get up and leave after seeing him. I'm not gonna wait around for the run-around again.

 

[brin]

I have to chime in and Vent here...My wife and I both have the same Doctor , we both like her a lot but....she keeps us and all her patients waiting at least 1 hour in the reception area and then another hour in an examination room before she ever sees either of us...We don't go at the same time but when either of us goes this is the standard wait time for not just us but all her patients...the last time I was there I told the nurse as I was leaving that if the 2 hr. wait continued my wife and I would have to find another Doctor....she said they are trying to do better....I think they are greedy and trying to see too many patients....so why don't they just say Noon instead of 10AM and it's all the time not just once in awhile....Venting over...hate the prospect of switching docs...

 

[Bird]

Looks like my wife's oncologist isn't as much different as I thought, since others have the same problem. Our primary doctors, Family Medical Associates, are very different. In the last 11 years, I'll bet neither of those doctors have been 10 minutes late more than once or twice, so I guess they're the ones who are odd.:laughing: And then there's another odd thing about them. When they bill Medicare, they obviously know how much Medicare approves for different procedures because their bills get approved and paid for just what they bill. Every other doctor I know of bills for 3 or 4 times as much as Medicare will approve.

Just for one example, the oncologist I've been talking about has the nurse give my wife a Prolia injection every 6 months. (You may have seen Blythe Danner advertising Prolia on the TV). They bill Medicare for $2,196 ($2,100 for the Prolia and $96 for injecting it). Medicare approves $873.60 ($849.54 for the Prolia and $24.06 for injecting it.)

 

[two_bit_score]

Bird,
boy are you and I are on the same page. We went to one surgeon, who was the only one in the area who had a laproscopic technique instead of a traditional "debulking" (I really dislike that word...) techniques. We averaged waiting between two and four hours in his waiting room for every appointment. My wife was so sick and in great pain and that arrogant jerk let us sit out there time and time again. We had no choice. And he failed to help my wife to boot.

I try to get first appt in the day, but that of course is often not possible. Welllllll Mr. Patient, our busy doctor is booked solid until next March, but we'll try to squeeze you in. Let's see, no that won't work, thaaat won't work, well I guess we can try here. Boy did I feel special...

It's one of two things, and perhaps both. Greed to grossly overbook your appointments to generate more income, or
that person is a specialist in an area where demand far exceeds supply, and the person is working his/her butt off every day.

My primary gets to me within half an hour, sometimes a little more. Most specialists are better at being on time in my experience. Imaging places are on time usually. Clearly it is good management and good patient care to be on time.
And we all know some doctors can't be. But I think some of us have sat in those waiting rooms and wondered if we would ever get out of there. I learned to zone out and snooze, and usually give myself a stiff neck in the process.
But to let my ailing wife wait too long while I was holding her hand? Really strains your ability to remain pleasant...

my last dermatologist was never on time. I got a new one. And they are. So this is not impossible. But how about routinely on time with a few exceptions? For my one thousand dollars a month for my health insurance for just me, shouldn't someone be on time some time? :confused3:

Probably will be much worse with the increased involvement of the government in health care. More bureaucracy, expense and problems for docs can only transfer into fewer and fewer of them and increased cost to see the good ones.

Of course, there is a chance to avoid that in 2014 if people will take it.

 

[bindian]

My primary doctors sees me within 15 minutes. My endocrinologist makes me wait past my appointment time up to an hour and a half. After seeing him for years, I finally asked him about waiting and he told me it only happens on Friday afternoons. Since then, I have changed my appointment time and day and all is fine.
hugs, Brandi

 

[pacerron]

Looks like my wife's oncologist isn't as much different as I thought, since others have the same problem. Our primary doctors, Family Medical Associates, are very different. In the last 11 years, I'll bet neither of those doctors have been 10 minutes late more than once or twice, so I guess they're the ones who are odd.:laughing: And then there's another odd thing about them. When they bill Medicare, they obviously know how much Medicare approves for different procedures because their bills get approved and paid for just what they bill. Every other doctor I know of bills for 3 or 4 times as much as Medicare will approve.

Just for one example, the oncologist I've been talking about has the nurse give my wife a Prolia injection every 6 months. (You may have seen Blythe Danner advertising Prolia on the TV). They bill Medicare for $2,196 ($2,100 for the Prolia and $96 for injecting it). Medicare approves $873.60 ($849.54 for the Prolia and $24.06 for injecting it.)

I asked one of my doctors about that a few years ago.
He said Medicare pays different amounts for the same procedure/code numbers in different geographical areas based on an area average established
in part by the front end charges the doctors, hospitals, labs, etc. submit. So they normally charge on paper more than the going rate to try to
get the average up in their area.
You know that some doctors and hospitals are just as competent in tim-buck-two as they are in New York but the operational costs of the facilities
as well as the cost of living for those in the health industry vary with the location so I guess the Medicare wizards think they can control costs
by this reasoning.

 

[Bird]

Ron, my doctor also told me that each insurance company, in negotiating with doctors, want to insist that the doctor not charge anyone less than what that insurance company is charged. So the doctors submit bills for more than the insurance company pays, knowing that they won't get what the bill says.

 

[pacerron]

Ron, my doctor also told me that each insurance company, in negotiating with doctors, want to insist that the doctor not charge anyone less than what that insurance company is charged. So the doctors submit bills for more than the insurance company pays, knowing that they won't get what the bill says.

Bird,
Not sure I follow that?
Medicare bases the payment on area averages but they only pay 80% of that average.
Those of us who pay extra for supplemental coverage with an insurance company are doing it
so the insurance company pays the other 20%. There is never a total payment greater than what Medicare establishes for the procedures in the area.
Doctors who accept Medicare patients have to sign a contract that they will not be re-imbursed for more than the Medicare payment of 80% plus the 20 percent from an insurer or the patient if he has no supplemental insurance.

It used to be that many doctors would not accept patients under the state controlled Medicaid plans.
Now with the new Obama fiasco many doctors are not accepting any new Medicare patients either.
Some doctors are retiring or plan to soon. They figure they will lose money rather than make money under the new system.

 

[Bird]

Ron, the insurance company negotiations I was talking about are not for Medicare or Medicaid, but for other insurance.

And yes, I've been reading about doctors not taking any new Medicare or Medicaid patients, but so far, it's not been a problem in our area. But the owner of the place we use as our primary doctors is 62 or 63 and told me he's waiting to see what happens, and may either retire, or do as some other doctors are now doing; continue to practice medicine, but only for cash paying patients, no dealing with insurance of any kind.

Some of us are old enough to remember when it was that way everywhere. Doctors, hospitals, labs, pharmacies gave you a bill or receipt, and you paid it. It was up to you to file with your insurance company if you had insurance.