Home Forums Template for hospital ER taking away patients from

Hope I'm the only one facing a predatory hospital ursurping primary care. I use this template to document each time this occurs to me (several times a month!).

%Mr %LNAME was directed by the Hospital's Emergency Room to Hospital's Occupational Health Clinic rather than to me, %his primary care physician. The Hospital did not let %Mr %LNAME know that state law allows %him to choose where %he wants to get his Labor and Industries care. I made %him aware that %he has a right to choose where he gets his medical care for Industrial injuries. He prefers to come to my office. %He wants to transfer %his care here.

Roy:
I am glad you brought this up. You are very observant. I have patients too- now thinking about that-
pt who works for a hospital owned insurance had fall on hospital premises, hospital made her go to hospital's owned occupational therapy, who did xray, no fracture was found, sent her to hospital owned physical therapy. She kept on getting worse. (This could have happened to any physician, that is different story, I am not faulting the physician working at Occupational therapy, it the hospital at issue here)

I saw her for routine matter. Due to worsening of pain, I asked for xray, she had a fracture. Probably it was hairline fracture missed on first xray. We called her and she had to stop PT and see ortho.

The issue is the predatory practices of insurances and hospitals, taking patients away from PCP and directing to their own OT/PT/PCPs rather than sending patients back to PCP.

This could be a Workmans comp issue- but is somewhat similar to Roy's issue.

I am whining here, but this is my day to whine (7/7/7)- Just happens once in eons.

So this issue does not pertain only to my community. I'll see if I can present a resolution for our state's medical society to bring this into awareness. There's only a handful of solopractices in our county.

If it's good for the goose, it's good for the gander.

Self-referral practices such as this should fall under Stark anti-self referral laws. Predatory practices are legal for large entities but illegal for solo/small/independent practices.

Federally qualified facilities in our communities recieve huge grants to build palaces (which they call "clinics" and "administrative buildings") and recieve inflated reimbursement rates, whereas my small practice has had to close to Medicare/Medicaid to stave off famine conditions for my family!

The "Have-nots" are getting it all, and the "Haves" are being stripped of their material posessions and dignity. Only in America!?

What about all the Urgent Care Centers owned by hospitals?? I have had a falling out with my local hospital over this many, many times. Rather than having MY patient referred back to me, they refer them back to the hospital for a bunch of unneeded yet expensive tests. Look out Primary Care, the wolves are at our doors.

I posted a reply to this topic yesterday but, apparently, it did not make it through the Moderator's inspection.

Hey,.. be patient already!

This particular discussion is moderated because it allows uploads and downloads, and the last time we did this we got spammed with tons of porn - so the upload/download forum is moderated. This is the ONLY part of the Amazing Charts board that is moderated, and if you'd like to start a thread on this topic in a non-moderated area, feel free to do so.

I DO have a life outside moderating posts, Dr. Strouse. I make it a point to review and approve posts AT LEAST once every 24 hours.

So.. cut me a little freakin' slack already.

Vinny,

(Head hung low and boots shuffling in the dust...) Please accept my deepest apologies. Actually, as soon as I sent that second post I saw the first one appear. When I tried to write an apology yesterday, THE FIREWALL pounced on it. Hope this one gets through. In fact, I am extremely gratefull for all of the effort and time you have put into this board and I promise to behave in the future.