DEALING WITH DOCTORS CAN BE HEALTH THREATENING

Each time I call my primary physician I get a knot in my stomach. Sadly enough it has been my experience to expect some sort of issue.

Today I called my doctor to make a payment towards my account. I called the office and I have to listen to this long  automated "introduction" and then finally someone answers. "Hello, can you please hold?" are the first words I hear. (Now mind you this happens each time I call this office.) My response is "Yes". Seriously, what choice do I have? They are going to put me on hold anyway. 

After waiting over 8 minutes someone finally answers. "Can I speak to someone in your Billing Department?" The receptionist response, "She does not come in until later this afternoon." (Mind you each time I call she is rarely available.) "I would like to make a payment" I respond."  The receptionist took down the information for the payment and gave me the approval number.

"Can you tell me what my balance is?" I ask. She gives me a figure. My frustration starts to surface. The balance is quite different. "When was the last payment made?" She responds "The last payment we received was in November."  In response, "I have made a payment each month since November. It sounds like my last two payments were not posted to my account." Holding back my frustration I simply say, "That is okay. I have the receipt that was sent to me. I will clear this up on my next visit."

The knot in my stomach tightens. I have been seeing this doctor for over 10 years. Over the 10 years I have encountered so many problems with their billing department. The only reason why I stay with this doctor is because SHE IS A WONDERFUL DOCTOR! Doctors like her a rare to find. As I hung up the phone one of past encounters came flooding back to me.

I had noticed that my prescriptions were running low so I called into my pharmacy to request a refill. Several days had passed and I had forgotten about the prescriptions until I took the last one. I checked the time and noticed that it was to late to pick up the prescription. The pharmacy was closed.

The next day I tried to pick up the prescription and I was told that I had to contact the doctor. I asked why? The pharmacist stated that she was not sure. I looked at the time and it was to late to call the doctor because they were closed.

The next day I tried calling the office first thing in the morning. To my dismay the office was closed for the day. I then preceded to leave a  message with the answering service. This now is Day 2 without my medication.

Day 3 - I call the doctors office again and I am told that they can not refill my prescriptions until I pay the balance on my account. "What balance on my account? I am on medicaid. There can't be a balance on my account." I stated. "The balance is from 6 years ago." she responded. "Six years ago? How is that possible? What were the charges for?" I responded. (Sometime later, I found out that my employer cancelled my insurance a month before I was let go from my job. As a result some of my doctors bills were not paid.)

She preceded to tell me I was charged for a doctors visit when I was in the hospital. I recalled the time she had spoken about. The doctor never came to see me. A hospital representative had told me that she came in his place because he was otherwise engaged. I informed the person that I was speaking to on the phone of this. "Irregardless, he is your doctor and they receive the "orders" from him."she replied.

The conversation went back and forth. I informed her that I had not worked in sometime and I did not have the money.  She repeated rudely, "We cannot refill your prescription until you pay the balance you owe." I was completely shocked! I responded, "You are seriously telling me that you will not refill my prescription for my blood pressure because of a balance from 6 years ago? Seriously?"

I guess she began to get frustrated with me. She raised her voice and repeated, "We cannot refill your prescriptions until you pay the balance of $220.00 on your account. "Where am I going to come up with $220.00?" I replied.

The conversation became heated after that. I asked to speak to her supervisor. She would not let me speak with her supervisor. I then preceded to ask to leave a message with the doctor to call me. She took the message. I never did receive a call back.

Day 4 - By this time I was not feeling very well at all. I had just woken up and tried to get out of bed. I felt so light headed and dizzy. The room started to spin. I fell back onto my bed. My head was pounding intensely. My nose started to bleed.  My head was pounding so intensely that I had to lay back down.

I called my doctors office immediately and spoke to the receptionist. I told her of the events that occurred and that I had left a message for the doctor. I stated that I had not received a return phone call. I informed her of my symptoms and how badly I was feeling. She stated that she could take another message. I waited all day. No response. I called the doctors office again. I was informed that the doctor had left for the day. I thought to myself sometimes doctors will call a patient after hours so I would wait.

Day 5 - When I woke up I felt terrible! I felt so weak. My head was pounding. I felt as if my head was going to explode. My chest felt tight. I started to become anxious. I thought to myself that maybe I should go to the hospital. However, I knew once I took my medicine I would be fine.

I decided that I would call a friend and ask him to borrow me the money. My friend readily agreed. He gave me his credit card number.

I then preceded to call the doctors office. I asked to speak to the doctor. I received the same run around. I was so upset. I told the nurse on the phone about my symptoms. I was told that I should go to the hospital. I told them I would be fine IF I HAD MY BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE REFILLED. 

I was asked, "Can you hold on for a moment?" The head nurse came on the phone. I informed her about the events of the past days. I asked, "Do I have to have a damn heart attack before I can get my pills?" She told me that I should go to the emergency room. I repeated what I said to the receptionist. I informed the head nurse that I had to borrow the money to pay a six year old bill. She transferred me to the billing department. I paid the bill but I stated, "It is truly a sad world when money means more than a persons health."

The pharmacy filled the medication immediately. Within less than an hour my blood pressure lowered. Later that day I felt so much better although I was still weak. 

Some may ask why I did not go to the hospital. My response is that I have a phobia that has limited me to house confinement. This phobia is called Agoraphobia. Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by anxiety in situations where the sufferer perceives certain environments as dangerous or uncomfortable.

Agoraphobia is defined within a subset of panic disorder, involving the fear of incurring a panic attack in certain environments. Agoraphobia is classified as being separate to panic disorder. The sufferer may go to great lengths to avoid those situations, in severe cases becoming unable to leave their home or safe haven.

I do not expect anyone to understand how a person would put themselves at risk. All I can say is I had no choice at the time. I have slowly gotten better through intense therapy and medication. I continue to work on my health and personal growth so that I can become medication free.

So as you can see from my experiences why I feel that "DEALING WITH DOCTORS CAN BE HEALTH THREATENING".

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