...and in which case I should probably come up with an alternate post title, in case this doesn't turn out to be a series. How about, The Doctor Fax Follies, Part 2. Wait. Part 2 would make it a series. Christ, this blog stuff can be harder than you think sometimes.
Anyway, you ever send a fax to a doctors office to clarify something, I dunno, some handwriting issue let's say, and you clearly state why you're sending said fax, like you circle the name of the med that looks like it could be one of three things because Dr. Dumbass' handwriting looks a little like Arabic written in the dark after a 2 week crystal meth binge, and you write "PLEASE CLARIFY NAME OF MED" right next to the part you circled in what is unmistakably English, and what you get back is something like, a new set of directions?
When the directions weren't the part you couldn't read? You could read the directions just fine, and now they have changed. And you still don't know what the hell med was prescribed. Making the whole exercise worse than pointless.
Does this ever happen to anyone else? Because this kind of thing happens enough to me that I would be a little frightened if I were a member of the prescription taking public.
I'll try to come up with something else so I can make this a series. No promises though. I may not be able to take the pressure and might just end up spending tomorrow hiding under my bed.
16 comments:
my favorite is when i fax out for a prior auth, and end up getting back a prescription refill auth instead... and the insurance still won't pay for it!
score.
Computer orders- they are god's gift to nurse. Complete with little prompts such as "THIS IS A LETHAL DOSE PLEASE RECONSIDER THIS ORDER" and then our pharmacy won't fill it anyway. I especially love it that these little reminders come in all caps. Now, if I could only convince surgeons that when they arrive on the unit, in plain scrubs, with no badge, shout an order, and expect me to care that it is fruitless to do so.
The doctor's offices here seem to think that everything we fax over is a refill request.
Fax out: Please clarify drug name.
Fax back: +5 refills
Fax out: Prior Authorization Required
Fax back: +5 refills
Fax out: Drug has is on backorder. Would you like to prescribe something else?
Fax back" +5 refills
we have refill request fax forms, on which all the office has to do it check a box indicating: no more refills, 1 refills only, or allow X fills (in which case they would have to *gasp* write in a number as well). then they sign it and fax it back to us. except half the time they don't check off any boxes, they just sign it. cause THAT helps.
There are almost no Drs. left that will allow us to fax for refills, therefore eliminating the fax back for prior auth that instead just gives "5 refills", now it's a whole new set of problems for our elderly customers who don't understand the Drs. phone system and can never reach them for their own refills, of course this also opens up the chance for the Drs. to charge the patient for a new prescription!
When I send out a request for a prior authorization, I usually take the time to hunt down the PA phone number for the doc and include any info I have on what alternatives are covered.
Response: "Refill OK"
Yes, thank you, because the problem was that the patient needed a refill on the med you prescribed yesterday. Moron.
I've been getting the ?e-prescribing computer my doc uses. Drug-OK, no sig, no qty, no nothing. Is it really so hard to use these computers? They're DOCTORS!! They are supposed to be the smartest people on the planet!!
I love it when you send a fax that says "Medicaid won't cover this please change it to X, Y or Z, or call for prior auth" and then get a response that says "Patient will have to pay cash" Once I saw this for an Aldara script - well over $100.
OK, Doc, how 'bout if I send the foul-mouthed bitch to YOU so you can explain why you won't change to something she can get for FREE - cuz everything is supposed to be FREE!
This happens to me all the time. The best part is when you then call the office to get the answer to your question and, after explaining the whole situation, the wonderfully bright receptionist (or janitor for all I know) says "can you fax that over?" Didn't I just explain to you that I did that and my question wasn't answered? Hello!!
You're really making me even more eager for CPOE to hit my hospital. I'll let y'all know when the circus comes to town.
sounds like we have the same dr!!
we tried 4 times to clarify a sig on a fax. 1st they removed a refill. 2nd try they changed quantity. 3rd try they changed strength, 4th try-no response. after that I threw out the rx. patient decided they really didn't need it that bad. Unfortunately this is not an uncommon response here. we have only 1 clinic in this 1 horse town, and it sucks
This happens to me all the time! I ask for a diagnosis code, I get refill authorizations. I ask them to call for prior auths, I get refill authorizations. I ask for a clarification, I get... well, you get the idea. Sometimes I think my local doctors must only let illiterates work for them.
Oddly enough for one clinic we send them refill requests we get a message back "This med IS covered by the insurance no PA required". If we ask for a PA they tell us to call the insurance ourselves. *angry twitch*
We have a Doctor in town who has a pre-printed fax for any prior auth request. I says in bold letters that basically prior auths take to much time in so this office will not obtain them, but they won't take the time to change to another med instead. So, I have to explain that your doctor really wants you to have the tube of $120 foot cream.
Oh I love that new e-scribing. One office is so nice to send over the same quantity on every single Rx that comes over. Warfarin-1. Elocon cream-1. Hydrocodone-1. I wonder why they even bother to send that when I have to call them evertime to clarify it? Maybe their keypad is broken...
this is soooo true...we had a dr office yell at us in a fax for a refill request then did not even bother to return the phone call to explain that we need to go ahead and fill the fax request. they told the patient to fill it....like that is going to get anything done
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