When my mother was released from the hospital, which happaned at least 6 times before she died, they would always send her to a nursing home for rehab, where she would stay for a few weeks and then go back to the hospital. The rehab stays were always paid by Medicare. The doctor who followed her around, showed up every day and she had multiple patients in each nursing home. The Medicare statement said that the doctor was paid $80 for every visit. This doctor did not work for the hospital or for any nursing home. She had a private practice. One problem with Medicare is that my mother never hired this doctor to do anything, and Medicare never verified that the doctor had ever been hired. Another problem is that when you are in the hospital, you never know who works for the hospital and who doesn't and who is going to bill you when you leave. Because my mother had Medicare Part B and a supplement, she never received a bill. The Medicare statement didn't arrive until after she had died. I checked the statement and determined that the doctor had billed for a visit every day for 4 consecutive months. I am not making this up.

Plus, this was her very first visit to this doctor, so I don’t think a telehealth visit would apply here.

You know this will turn out well bc it's Oregon....

Yeah, and wait another 8 months to see another. :shrug:

At our age things can start happening that we are not aware of and a telehealth visit will not catch.

At each appt want doctor to listen to my heart and lungs and discuss things that I might not be aware of. If we would have to pay a copay to do this, so be it.

I left them years ago..... after a few visits and VERY glad I did..

Send them a video of your check for payment....

Are you impying that you get inferior. care from a PA so it is worth less?

Yes, I am. Why would you expect to get the same level of care from a physician's assistant than from a medical doctor who has more education, a lifetime commitment to the practice of medicine, and backed up by medical malpractice insurance? The physician's assistant is hired to assist the physican, not to be a physican. To me, it is a no brainer.

No miscommunication. She went there to SEE the doctor in person. No one in the office told her when she arrived that the doctor was sick so her apt would be on screen. This was a complete disregard of her.

Yup the same doctor. Did they tell you why? Did they bill for an in person apt? Did you report they to Medicare and you insurance company?

The apt was held over the screen not for check in. She was taken to a room after waiting for over a hour. She NEVER saw the doctor in person.

Well this doctor was not “outstanding “ in any fashion. This is ridiculous and you can’t blame the staff. This is on the doctor. And if you read the you’ll see that she is not the only one this has happened to.

I hope you reported her,

Unlike some others, I don't particularly have a problem being seen by a P.A. or APRN for routine doctor visits. This is the trend in many (most?) other areas of the country. In my experience they're quite capable of handling the routine stuff such as annual physicals, annoying rashes, the occasional bug, etc. They're supervised by MDs so it is a safe assumption that they'll be consulting with their supervisor if anything well out of the ordinary pops up.

Kudos to the APRN who sees me. She picked up on some symptoms as part of my annual physical, ordered some follow-up tests that confirmed a mass in my bladder, then pulled some strings to get me in to an excellent urologist w/minimal wait time for the appointment. Cancer was confirmed and subsequently removed. Due to her efforts it was caught and removed very early and right now the outlook is excellent. I doubt that things would have gone as well had I been seen by the MD who supervises her.

If the doctor is sick, then either they should be part of a team of doctors who can help out. Or it should be made clear to the patient so she can cancel her appointment. This attempt did not go over well.

Excellent care

I don't have a problem with PAs and nurses, but the insurance payment should be less than for a physician.

I've gone thru a 6 month hassle trying to get an appointment with an endocrinologist at Premier Medical at the Santa Barbara location. Their entire support staff is seemingly in India, and you get a different person every time you call. That would be ok except they never seem able to receive referral faxes and you get your phone calls with them cut off about 30% of the time. When I got exasperated last week and decided to just go into the office to try to make the referral happen, I was pointed to a computer screen, where I had a conversation with a woman who appeared to be in her kitchen in Islamabad or Chennai. I asked her if they had received a referral for me, and it took her 5 minutes to figure out that they had not. The whole experience was surreal.

When they finally got the referral the following week (on the 6th try), it was time to make the appointment, the first available is October 31st!!!!!! And now I learn here that may be over Skype too!

I’d switch medical facilities. Sounds horrible. I had a referral to a specialist a year ago up in the Spanish Springs area - i too was placed in front of a TV Screen. The doctor was on screen in his sweatpants from his living room in a high rise apartment in Detroit. The doctor was previously retired and in his late 70s. I guess he thought he could do this easy gig and make some extra cash while retired. I was deceived, and never told ahead of time my appointment would be a teleconference- was my first and last visit with that practice. Now I ask.

I go to Premier Medical and have not had this happen!

I go to Premier Medical and have never had this happen!

It does seem to happen to others

No wonder the doctors try it on if the only punishment for fraud is to be banned from taking money from Medicare for only 2 years. :ohdear:

That "punishment" is HUGE. Especially in Florida with an elderly population

Plus you have to pay back any disallowed charges and pay a fine

Wow

My only teleconference experience was in Yellowstone Park in 2010. My husband and I were traveling across the United States on a luxury touring motorcycle for 62 days in a row. Nothing to live out of except saddle bags. Many days we were riding 10 hours straight (stopping only to eat). Somewhere along the trip I caught a cold which was quickly turning into bronchitis. At the park near the entrance was a pharmacy. They asked me if I wanted to teleconference with a doctor. I said yes. He came on the monitor and talked to me for about 10 minutes. He then wrote a prescription which the pharmacy filled. Total cost of conference $50, prescription $22. I took it that night, within 18 hours I was well enough to continue our trip. On the back of the bike, in full sun, in August, on the highway etc. Now that guy, was worth every penny!

I don’t mind virtual medical appointment if it’s all that is necessary for a particular appointment, it’s disclosed up front, and I can do it from our home. But it’s totally unacceptable to go to a doctor’s office, wait an hour, and then have it jammed down your throat without any upfront disclosure. As far as PA’s go, based on our experience, I have absolutely no problem seeing one. The PA’s that work for our orthopedic practice are all great. We have never seen our listed primary care physician, only the PA that works directly with her. She is both incredibly knowledgeable and thorough and seems to spend more time with us than a physician typically would. I’m sorry the OP’s friend had to go through that experience, I would run away from that practice.

That needs to be reported to Medicare as Medicare fraud.

It's only fraud if they bill for a face to face visit, rather than a tele-visit...

That has yet to be determined...