Monday, November 13, 2006

Monday the 13th??

Today is Monday the 13th. It is living up to its name: hectic Monday and unlucky 13. I woke up to a lonely house (Josh took the kids to Indiana to be with his parents). It was nice and not nice at the same time. I got to work and had THIRTEEN messages on the answering machine-all from the same man. He wanted to talk to the Dr and wanted pain medication. I don't know why he didn't page said Dr rather than leaving messages on a machine over the weekend. He hasn't been in to see the Dr for over 6 months. He owes the Dr money, and I've been trying to get ahold of him for months. Now he says he is in pain, so he NEEDS to see the Dr. Hmm..
Then, while I'm listening to the messages, I get a phone call from an irate wife of a patient. She said that she shouldn't have been billed for the extractions because her insurance covered it. In fact, she said we owed her money. It turns out that she was right.
When you (meaning a doctor's office) sign up for a PPO, you agree to accept lesser payment for your fees, based on whatever it is the insurance company decides to pay. In return, you are put on the list so more people are referred to you. So, you see more patients, but you don't get paid as much for each patient. When you are a new doctor, this is to your advantage because you build your patient base; however, you are doing more work for less, so in the long run, it is a bad system. Apparently, we have been on the list for this particular insurance company even though we do not have any paperwork saying we are. So, now we look like we were trying to steal money from the patient when in fact, we don't have any proof that we belong to the PPO list. Oh well, I'll refund the money and grovel. Next task-get us off the list... What a great start to a Monday morning.

3 comments:

Kat Coble said...

I hate to say this, but your job actually sounds kind of interesting. ;-p

As far as Monday the 13th goes, I've always hated them.

Today is no different. ;-p

Anna said...

Monday the 13th, of COURSE, i've been feeling crappy all day, at least now I know why!!

Unknown said...

My job is interesting. I like it. :)
Just a bit overwhelming in the morning!