An exam,
a blue smock
and an old person
gets riled up
This is a tale to forewarn you and others of possible new
procedures coming to the medical world and possibly to your
next visit to a doctors office.
So the other day I
headed to the dermatologists office here in the small town of St
Cloud Florida. I’ve been going here for about 3 or more years when
staying on the east coast. I signed in around 11:00 and filled out a
more paperwork on my medical history, there always seems to be more
info they need. Though I do wonder if anyone every actually reads
it.
Finally I get to the
examining room and am directed to take my clothes off and put on the
light blue paper smock for the exam. The male nurse comes in and
takes the usual preliminary checks and questions, then the very nice
Dr Sergio Seche, MD comes in and checks me out. Spots are examined
and with the help of a blue pen he begins to circle all of the areas
on my body that will need further examining and biopsy. Little notes
are written on my skin parts that have been circled, measurements are
taken to there exact location and the doctor steps out of the exam
room for a short time.
Numerous photos were
taken of all the “marked” and “noted” spots on my body, both
close ups and distance shots. Good God, I hope they don’t end up
on Facebook somewhere.Right in the Middle of my exam
The assistant then
asks me if I’ve met my deductible for the year? I tell him I really
have no idea as I don’t keep a running record of what I’ve paid
towards any deductible. On that note he says he will have to go up
front and check on it with the front staff/cashier. A little while
later he comes back with a bill and says I had been overcharged the
last time I was in and that I had a credit, so the deducible would
only be $52 today. I asked if it needed to be payed right now and he
said yes, it must be paid now.
Payment must be made,,,, Now
Well I never….
Thinking quickly, I got up from the exam table/seat, pulled out my
wallet from my pants hanging on the back side of the door, took out
my credit card and with the bill in hand walked out to the inner
reception/scheduling area, my light baby blue smock flapping in the
breeze. Actually I did, wrap it as best I could around my body,
looking down, I noticed my legs actually still look pretty good for
my age, right down to my white tube socks. Actually the blue paper
smock was a tad short, but those legs, what can I say, they really
did look good.
Senior found "inappropriately dressed"
The staff nurse behind the large counter/desk area quickly told me I couldn’t be
out in her area naked and I must go back into the room. Now this area is back where all the other exam rooms are located and not up front where one waits to get into see a doctor. Get dressed,
you can’t be out here half dressed. I tried to hand her my credit
card explaining that I had just been told that my exam had been
stopped because I needed to pay an additional $52 before it could be
continued. I was after all in the middle of my exam! I had already paid my $35 co-pay upon arriving at the Dr
office.
Needless to say,
everyone was freaking out that I was attempting to pay my bill while
still dressed in my light blue paper smock, along with a suitable
pair of form fitting boxer underwear and white socks. Finally I
handed the credit card and bill over to the attendant who took them
up front for payment and I went back into the exam room, closing the
door behind me.
Eventually I signed
and paid the bill and the good doctor came back in to the exam room.
Mentioning the “situation” that had just occurred including a
mention of my being naked or half naked in the process. I assured
him I had on the light blue smock, he apologized profusely for the
situation at hand and agreed that I had been appropriately covered
up. He assured me that he would personally see that I would not be
accosted with bill payments every again during an exam. I of course
thanked him kindly for his concern and hoped the solution to this
most horrid situation was at an end.
The exam and
procedures of freezing various per-cancerous spots were accomplished,
the biopsies were all performed and band-aids were liberally applied
where needed. I got dressed and left the exam room.
The situation so
graphically described above is what happens when you approach a
senior citizen with a new billing procedure in the midst of a medical
exam. It could happen to you, how you handle it might be different,
but apparently the times are changing.
After talking to the
doctor and the front receptionist, this small office in a rural town
has apparently experienced too many customers not paying their bills.
I assumed it was because they must handle a lot of poor people, and
though that is a part of it, along with the outrageous medical
insurance costs many with high deductibles and co-pays, I was also
told that many of their wealthier clients tried to skip out on paying
their portion of the medical bills as well.
A Side note: being a full time Rv-er I go to many doctors across country, having specialists that I go to regularly when in Tucson and the Orlando area as well as any other towns along the way if the need arises. In many instances the doctors office does not even charge me the co-pay the day I arrive and tell me if it is needed they will send me a bill. Others, will ask for the Co-pay, which I am always happy to provide. I've even had to go to an emergency room on one occasion and even they did not take a dime from me, saying they would send a bill if need be.
Don’t mess with a
senior citizen, the end…… for now.
