penzam1535
Member
Reged: 12/24/02
Posts: 165
Loc: between Syracuse and Buffalo
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Ok, i've been labeled a drug seeker about 6 months ago by my PCP of 6 years. So i've been going thru OP's. I'm sick of the prices.....so here's my plan.
I am usin the same insurance, although thru a different employer. I'm fairly certain the new doc I have chosen will ask for med records. I'm told the secratary I have been in business for myself and have just now gotten some benefits, and my last doctor was thru a clinic in another state when I was a teenager, which is true, except for my 6 year relationship with the witch doctor.
So my question is this, am I stupid for using the same insurance company? Is this doctor shopping? What are the chances of the new doc calling the insurance company. I realize this isn't totally honest. I refuse to have this label follow me throughout my medical care. Thanks!!!
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Skylark
Member
Reged: 09/01/03
Posts: 114
Loc: California
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I am not sure of the Doc calling the insurance company, I doubt it - they usually only contact to authorize billing and payments (I used to be a med secretary).
As far as being labeled a drug seeker, I cannot help you much there - to my knowledge people were named "drugseekers" by the doctors (or hospitals) themselves, not insurance companies.
Good luck!!
Skylark
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"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"....-E. Roosevelt
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penzam1535
Member
Reged: 12/24/02
Posts: 165
Loc: between Syracuse and Buffalo
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Thanks Skylark......hopefully all will go well. Next wednesday at 2pm. I'll probably get naproxen or mobic for the first visit. My friend goes to him and gets #60 Vicoprofen 7.5/200 every 10 days..........
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quincy
Board Addict
Reged: 11/07/02
Posts: 333
Loc: pacific northwest
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Whenever I switch doctors, I never had to bring in old medical records. Only specialists specifically request records, in my experience. Most PCP's don't have time to call the insurance company unless it is to verify coverage. If a doctor does want medical records, I just say that I haven't had insurance for years and have used the ER when necessary.
My old PCP basically ignored my chronic back pain for years. I know he thought I was a drug seeker, I couldn't even get anything when I was passing a kidney stone. So when I got a new job at a doctors office, I asked to be seen as an emergency patient, it was an actual emergency that time. Well, the doctor was so nice I made her my new PCP and when I told her about my pain and other symptoms she actually took me seriously and ran tests and finally dx'd me with fibro. She prescribed Narcotics and has never asked about previous docs. I guess it all depends on who you see. And I don't think that going around trying to find a doctor who will listen to you and treat you with respect is doctor shopping. Remember, they work for you!!
Sarah
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PAIDFO
Member
Reged: 02/01/03
Posts: 148
Loc: southeast
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I agree with Quincy,Remember they work for you! You pay their salary not the other way around.In life we shop for a good mechanic,daycare for our kids,plumbers to fix our pipes,So why in creation shouldn't we "shop" for a Dr that we feel comfortable with.Good Luck,,,,,, 
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"The difference between Ordinary and Extraordinary is the Little Extra"
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night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
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Sorry, but I am compelled to add my 2 cents...
I worked in medical billing in both a psychiatry practice and a medical practice. I was the only person who EVER talked directly to the insurers. Not a single time did one of the docs ever get on the horn and talk to them. When a prior authorization was required, it was me who did the paperwork and legwork, the docs just signed the forms.
In the years I worked in billing, there was never a single case of an insurer letting us know a patient was seeing multiple doctors or receiving medications elsewhere. So I agree 100% with the previous poster that the label is given by the physician and generally doesn't get much farther than that practice unless records travel to a different doctor.
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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
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IMSUSCOT1
Threadhead
Reged: 10/23/02
Posts: 869
Loc: usa
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I agree with last post....I also handle coding, billing, claims....and the docs couldn't be bothered to hold for the requisite 15 minutes it takes to get a live body at the insurance company! Also, the insurance company would only have a record of the actual diagnosis codes used in billing of claims....rarely do they get records unless there's a surgical or other high end procedure they have coverage issues with....good luck w/your new doc
You can also request a copy of your medical record from doctor #1...be prepared to pay for copying charges....usually it's 10-12 cents/page & $10 /hr staff time...but then you can read what your doc wrote & edit any references that lable you....or just say you're insurance was interrupted & used primarily urgent care when nec.
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