Addiction LXXVII
01-19-20, 08:35 PM
#2301
So it is
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01-19-20, 08:38 PM
#2302
Silver Comet Fred
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01-19-20, 08:39 PM
#2303
So it is
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01-19-20, 08:48 PM
#2304
VFL For Life
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01-19-20, 08:53 PM
#2305
VFL For Life
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I've wondered this about lab work, too.
I'm supposed to have routine bloodwork, every 1-3 months. At the last place they wanted me to make appointments and come in for it.
I talked them into just giving me an order sheet and I could go to the nearby lab at a time of my choosing.
But I suspect the "profit" on that kind of thing is small. Whereas I imagine these infusion sessions are $2,000+.
I'm supposed to have routine bloodwork, every 1-3 months. At the last place they wanted me to make appointments and come in for it.
I talked them into just giving me an order sheet and I could go to the nearby lab at a time of my choosing.But I suspect the "profit" on that kind of thing is small. Whereas I imagine these infusion sessions are $2,000+.
01-19-20, 09:00 PM
#2306
Administrator
Thread Starter
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Location: Hudson Valley, NY
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One of my cycling friends moved to Tn. He was going to join me on a group Zwift ride, but then realized with the time difference it would be too early. Should I introduce him to Velo Vol?
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See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson
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01-19-20, 09:01 PM
#2307
• —
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I've wondered this about lab work, too.
I'm supposed to have routine bloodwork, every 1-3 months. At the last place they wanted me to make appointments and come in for it. I talked them into just giving me an order sheet and I could go to the nearby lab at a time of my choosing.
But I suspect the "profit" on that kind of thing is small. Whereas I imagine these infusion sessions are $2,000+.
I'm supposed to have routine bloodwork, every 1-3 months. At the last place they wanted me to make appointments and come in for it.
I talked them into just giving me an order sheet and I could go to the nearby lab at a time of my choosing.But I suspect the "profit" on that kind of thing is small. Whereas I imagine these infusion sessions are $2,000+.
01-19-20, 09:08 PM
#2308
Administrator
Thread Starter
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I see.
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See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson
Where else but the internet can a bunch of cyclists go and be the tough guy? - - jdon
01-19-20, 09:17 PM
#2309
Mostly Harmless
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None of my clients use that name for a generation.
01-19-20, 09:18 PM
#2310
Mostly Harmless
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01-19-20, 09:18 PM
#2311
VFL For Life
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I am blissfully ignorant of those issues, but I’m sure brother datlas knows the answers. I am, however, profoundly suspicious of interlocking ownership and financial backscratching between providers.
01-19-20, 09:21 PM
#2312
Mostly Harmless
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I have.
01-19-20, 09:26 PM
#2313
• —
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01-19-20, 09:35 PM
#2314
VFL For Life
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Nothing seamy about datlas .
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01-19-20, 09:49 PM
#2315
Senior Member
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Location: Silver Spring, MD
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Without fanfare, my healthcare quandary.
My witch doctor has prescribed me Remicade (infliximab). This seems reasonable enough. None of the several drugs I've tried over the last three years have worked well enough. My last witch doctor talked several times about trying it. OK.
Unfortunately Remicade is an IV-drug. I can't take it on my own. I have to go somewhere for a nurse to administer it. Here's where the problem arises.
The witch doctor clinic has its own "infusion center" where it naturally sends me for treatment. Stop right there. I don't know the ins and outs of insurance payments, but they're not doing this for free. They're making money when they give this drug. Correct me if I'm being overly-suspicious, but I've got an issue with a doctor possibly deriving pecuniary gain by choosing one treatment over another. Only the patients' finances should be an issue when considering one drug versus another.
That said, there's a second issue: convenience. This place is limited in when you can come in. Basically only weekday mornings and early afternoons (but not Friday). I've had three appointments made. Two of them got changed because issues with the nurse being there. The last one was supposed to be Wednesday afternoon. They called an hour beforehand and cancelled it because the nurse "had an emergency." Mind you these are three+ hour blocks of time I have to set aside.
I don't know how practical it is, but I'm tempted to look to an independent infusion center. Is that unreasonable? Should I just suck it up and stick with the machine treatment?
My witch doctor has prescribed me Remicade (infliximab). This seems reasonable enough. None of the several drugs I've tried over the last three years have worked well enough. My last witch doctor talked several times about trying it. OK.
Unfortunately Remicade is an IV-drug. I can't take it on my own. I have to go somewhere for a nurse to administer it. Here's where the problem arises.
The witch doctor clinic has its own "infusion center" where it naturally sends me for treatment. Stop right there. I don't know the ins and outs of insurance payments, but they're not doing this for free. They're making money when they give this drug. Correct me if I'm being overly-suspicious, but I've got an issue with a doctor possibly deriving pecuniary gain by choosing one treatment over another. Only the patients' finances should be an issue when considering one drug versus another.
That said, there's a second issue: convenience. This place is limited in when you can come in. Basically only weekday mornings and early afternoons (but not Friday). I've had three appointments made. Two of them got changed because issues with the nurse being there. The last one was supposed to be Wednesday afternoon. They called an hour beforehand and cancelled it because the nurse "had an emergency."
Mind you these are three+ hour blocks of time I have to set aside.I don't know how practical it is, but I'm tempted to look to an independent infusion center. Is that unreasonable? Should I just suck it up and stick with the machine treatment?
01-20-20, 05:45 AM
#2316
serious cyclist
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01-20-20, 06:23 AM
#2318
Should Be More Popular
Join Date: Dec 2007
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I am blissfully ignorant of those issues, but I’m sure brother datlas knows the answers. I am, however, profoundly suspicious of interlocking ownership and financial backscratching between providers.
Many physicians DO own, or have a stake in, their infusion centers, and DO profit from expensive meds like Remicade and chemo for cancer patients, etc....the drugs are supposed to be priced to cover the cost plus administration fees etc, but I am confident there is profit in there too. In some healthcare systems, the physicians do NOT have a stake in the profit from drugs given, and it goes to the "system."
Just as one would hope a surgeon would only recommend a surgery because it's the BEST option for you, I would hope an ordering physician would order a medicine or treatment independent of profit. I don't know if that's always true, so one must choose one's surgeons and physicians carefully.
In my practice, I don't have any profit motive in ordering labs or treatments or tests (with one exception below), so if I order something I know it's because it's likely best for the patient.
Exception I thought of is shots. We actually don't really make much, but I do believe we make about $5 on each flu shot. After you factor in the nursing time and such, I don't think it even pays for itself. Sad!
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01-20-20, 06:36 AM
#2319
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When I crashed back in 2012 I was taken to a hospital far from home. Learned later that the attending physician did not have a contract with my insurance company. Under my plan at the time, I was paid directly what the doctor would have gotten had he had a contract and he billed me directly for the full amount. IIRC, I was over $1,000 out of pocket for that portion.
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01-20-20, 07:02 AM
#2320
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Work swag. Bluetooth enabled. Fan-driven smoke. The black unit is a dummy. Who wants to start the bidding?
01-20-20, 07:11 AM
#2321
Super Modest
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Central Illinois
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Nothing seamy about datlas . He has my sincere admiration and he lives in the belly of the beast.
I was unhappy with my family doctor but she has definitely gotten better since I first met her. Experience is a great teacher and family docs get a lot of experience. Kudos.
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Keep the chain tight!
01-20-20, 07:26 AM
#2322
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: 757
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good morning..... offspring successfully slept again.
26 degrees here this morning, feels like 19 with the wind. I don’t know how you do it in those northern states.
01-20-20, 07:33 AM
#2323
Senior Member
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01-20-20, 07:35 AM
#2324
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01-20-20, 07:40 AM
#2325
Senior Member
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