Re: hospital charges/medical records

[Guest guest]

Kaye,

Thanks for your incredible resources. We'll definitely put your posts, which

sound more like article you are writing on the database. Remember that you

can always

update or add to them as needed.

When you said, " I have been charged for such things as home use of Versed, to

having 6 pregnancy tests... " I was shaking my head affirmatively. I wasn't

surprised to hear that because, it is feasible to have a coding or data entry

error.

What I found unbelievable once was in a prime time news investigation show (I

forgot which one). They were doing a show on billing errors just like this.

The patient in question, was a man who received pregnancy testing from the

lab to a tune of 6 to 7 a day. It turns out that after months of trying to

get to the bottom of the situation, the billing department stated that they

did not have a place to add the cardiac blood test. (I forgot what it was,

too) The point is that they had made an executive decision to locate a lab

test that costs the same amount and just input that code instead. They didn't

see what the problem was.

I think we all agree that there is a huge problem with that. The itemized

bill does not only reflect the accuracy of how much a hospitalization costs,

it reflects the accuracy of the care provided. The insurance company didn't

question the bill because they paid a flat per diem (daily) rate. It could

have resulted in an insurance company denying the charges.

I appreciate your commentary on the importance of maintaining cordial

relations with the medical records or billing department. Actually, any

department, to the best we can, but not to the inclusion of serious problems.

It is just not a good idea to have any burnt bridges in the event we need an

amenable relationship in the future. For whatever reason, in your case it

could cause trouble for your husband.

Karyn

Karyn E. , RN

Founder / Executive Director

Pancreatitis Association International

Corp. Office: Indps, IN, USA 1-

[Guest guest]

oh this makes me " laugh " ...I think you can tell by my name that I am

a " girl " ...but once upon a time I noticed on my computerized list of

problems and procedures that I had had a prostate biopsy done ! Try

as all of us could, because the appointment had not been checked out

properly we could not, this so many years later, go in and amend the

error...it turns out that a prostate biopsy and a pap smear are ONE

number different from each other so it was a matter of a simple

typo....that could never be corrected.....dang computers sometimes !

We have in the meantime updated our computer several times and that

particular piece of information thankfully never shows up

anymore...sheesh ! But this discussion has brought up a lot of

memories...not necessarily the happy ones !

Jeannine

PS......my husband started calling me " fella " after this for a little

while !