[TommyT]

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

[bmcgowan13]

Originally Posted by Robojo

I would walk out immediately and not pay a dime.

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

[Notsocrates]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

They do it because the insurance company will pay for it. They also schedule appointments with a physician's assistant or a nurse practitioner because insurance will pay the same amount as a personal appointment with a medical doctor. Insurance companies should not pay the same amount for these types of appointments.

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

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Notsocrates

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.

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by Girlcopper

I find this kind of odd. I’ve had in person visits and video visits many times and always knew in advance what was going on. I’ve never showed up in person for a visit and been put in front of a video screen I have never had to go to a drs office for a video visit just so the insurance would pay for it. They’ve paid after a home video visit every time. Did the dr get sick at the last minute and they couldn’t reach all patients to cancel in time? Was the patient told in advance that it would be a video visit and they didn’t have a computer or access to one or didnt know how to connect? Was there some other unexpected issue? This sounds more like a miscommunication than an intentional action by the dr.

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.

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by msilagy

I went to Premier to see my Endocrinologist - same thing they took me to a room and didn't even tell me I was to see him on a screen. Bad, very bad.

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?

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by kamal

I go there also and the TV screen is just for checking in like a receptionist. They always have doctors or nurse practitioner to see you if you go there with an appointment. Or in the same building around the corner you can walk in to their “Urgent Care” with no appointment. And a doctor will see you. They also do lot of in-house routine blood tests there.

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.

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by nn0wheremann

Premier has some outstanding doctors, but the support staff seems to be hired from special ed and reform schools, and their billing practices are outrageous.

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.

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

I am not making it up. My mother was seen by a private practice doctor, who she never hired, in the hospital. The doctor followed her to every rehab nursing home she was sent to (5 facilities and the hospital). The doctor billed Medicare for every day for 4 months, 7 days per week. Medicare paid the doctor $80 per visit. For some visits, the doctor had to shake my mother to wake her up, and spent less than a minute in the room. It was months later that I received all of the Medicare receipts. I assume that the doctor got my mother's Medicare number from her chart or from my mother and just started billing it. We assumed that the doctor worked for the hospital because my mother never hired her. The doctor never treated my mother for anything or prescribed any medication. All she ever did was to ask how she was feeling.

I hope you reported her,

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

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.

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.

[Velvet]

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.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

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.

Excellent care

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

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.

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

[TomSpasm]

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!

[Michael 61]

Originally Posted by TomSpasm

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.