Quote Originally Posted by CFO
My complaint is that patients are going to their regular doctor or their pain specialist and being charged these outrageous fees. The patient isn't going solely to have a form completed by the doctor. They should be having an examination of some sort to include vitals. This would constitute an exam. The CPT and/or diagnosis code (purpose of visit) would be whatever the underlying condition is (MS, PTSD, Pain, ALS, etc.) and then the charge would be for an office visit. Instead....the doctors refuse to even see the patient without advance payment in cash. Am I really the only one that sees this as wrong?
I totally understand, when I went in for my PTSD eval I had paid a month in advance! The $250.00 I spent, from what I'm told, was divided between the 3rd party that put me in touch with the doctor and the doctor itself. That is fair to me, in my eyes because I know everybody has to get paid to survive no matter how compassionate and helpful they are. However, my psychiatrist was very kind and welcoming and seemed to me to really be in it to help patients. I've had exams in CA where the doctor looked like he was about to die and all he did was take your blood pressure ask you about respiratory problems then sign your paperwork and off you go! Dispensary upstairs. Like i mentioned before, I think everyone's just trying to cover their ass. Which is why you dont see the actual doctors themselves advertising marijuana recommendations in the paper, it's all these middle men companies.