Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Records Rodeo: Here's the Sequel. Let's Hope It's Not a Saga.

I called up the hopefully new rheumatology office to see if primary care office had sent them my old primary care and current rheumatology records. They had not received them. So I called up primary care office. The person I spoke with on the phone sounded confused.

Screw the dollar a page Gigantic Roman Catholic Health System (GRCHS) charges patients who are trying to get records for their doctors, I'll get my own damn records and maybe refuse to pay for them because the charge will be around a hundred bucks and I had to buy new orthopedic shoes two days ago which means I am low on cash.

I drive down to GRCHS hospital to speak with someone in the records department. I told her what I needed, she wrote it down, she took my number, she said it should be good to go tomorrow.

Not a word from the GRCHS records office this morning, so I give them a ring to see if my request was done. The person in the records department said there was nothing in the computer about me requesting records the day before. She said she would ask around the office. She found the note that was written, said no one had known about it so the records hadn't been printed, took my phone number, said it would be good to go tomorrow.

Primary care doctor did the referal five weeks ago.

Seriously.

Seriously!

First primary care office couldn't get the address correct for new rheumatologist office and I was "referred" to current rheumatology office that I am trying to leave. There are about 250,000-ish people living in my county. There are about seven rheumatologists in my county who treat adults. All of them have current addresses on the Blue Cross (my insurance) provider look-up, the American College of Rheumatology website, and Google. I had to to say, "Use this address, 'blah number blah road" because the address in their database changed a year ago and someone just wasn't getting it.

Then GRCHS didn't send any records over when I moved primary care offices much less the rheumatology records after each rheumatology visit. I thought I had to sign releases for primary care so primary care could help me sift through this crap?   

And for the love of all that is holy, is it that hard to understand and remember to obtain records to be given to some sort of entity? I mean, GRCHS has all of my stuff electronically - it's literally clicking some buttons and hitting print. I've seen them do it. Click. Print. Why, oh why.

Not that new rheumatology office is going to get off easy - I can't sign a release so you can request records from a place that is a twenty minute drive away? A place where you have hospital privileges? A place with obscene charges for records I'm sure you know about? 

If someone doesn't have my records ready tomorrow, I'm going to start asking for supervisors. Records confusion is an asinine reason for being unable to make an appointment at a rheumatologist's office. 






No comments:

Post a Comment