lab results

[ripper225]

what is the law when requesting copies of your blood labs?

there's a doc the wife uses who has a policy of having you make an office visit so they can read you the lab results -- another copay + whatever they charge insurance.

i didn't realize this was going on and the last time she was going in i asked her "wtf you just went in like a week ago..." she siad "yeah i gotta get my test results..." blah blah blah. long story short, the wife called to cancle and the nurse told her she COULDN'T cancel. that she needed to come in to go over her test results and that next time she wouldn't send them to us if we weren't planning to come in.

SO i called and cancelled her appt. prior to the appt we HAD a copy of the test results in hand that were sent to us and the numbers were all good AND the doc even wrote on the results that things looked good to maintain current medications.

the bitch nurse felt it in her power to uncancel the appointment and charge us for a no show appt. needless to say, they won't see one penny of that fee...

my question is: IF we ask for a copy of lab results to be sent to us, what is the legal requirement on their end??? Can they withhold that info? I dont' give a shit about their policy. if they refuse to treat her b/c of this then that is their loss.

[ripper225]

someone help me out, i'm dying to call them up and rip them a new one when they try to bully me.

[~R~F~G~]

Be careful, I am not sure of the law but you may not want to yell. If you do they can refuse to treat your Wife and if she has been a long time patient and comfortable with there care you may be in trouble at home. On your next appointment talk to the Doctor and explain what happened with the cancellation.

As far as teh labs, they are yours. YOUR ins payed for them and they cannot withhold them. Just like if you got a new Doc, all your records HAVE to be sent to the new Doc.. They are YOURS....

this is just my take and Karch may know better...

[GrandpaMuscle]

labs are yours but theyll charge for copys

[ripper225]

Originally Posted by GrandpaMuscle

labs are yours but theyll charge for copys

if the labs are mine how can they charge me for a copy? wouldn't the original be "mine" and if i want it they gotta hand it over? seems like if anyone was gonna end up with a copy it would be them...


as for pissing of the office, i don't give two shits and neither does the wife. she's got her prescription meds and she's not in love with this doc by any means. we're on the same page as far as how we wanna handle it, but she's gonna let me be the "bad" guy!!! i love chewing people like this out.

[~R~F~G~]

You pay for the Nurse or secretary who is on the payroll to take the time (time is money) to go to the printer/copier (most likely a 5,000.00 version) Print however many copies using their paper and toner/ink put into a folder that they paid for and then hand it to you..

Gotta give a little here ripper.

The cost of the time, paper, toner, use of copier is factored in. Not just another way to make you pay...

The Original was most likely Faxed to you doc so there is more equipment he is paying for for you to get your copy..

What is he charging you for your copy?

[upondeez]

O.K. so I just talked to my sister who is a doctor. She explained the following to me;

The patient does have the right to their own copy, the office can charge a small fee for the copy. The office can try and make the patient come in for a second visit, the reason being is the patient is not qualified to read the tests and the results could be taken out of context.

Now if the patient cancells the follow up, they can not change it to a missed apointment. It is important that you fight this with them as they could put a notice in your file that you are an uncooperative patient and that could effect your future ability to get insurance and coverage.

I would just be carefull how you handle it as it could come back and bite you in the arse down the road. But you are right on many aspects of your arguement.

[ripper225]

Originally Posted by upondeez

O.K. so I just talked to my sister who is a doctor. She explained the following to me;

The patient does have the right to their own copy, the office can charge a small fee for the copy. The office can try and make the patient come in for a second visit, the reason being is the patient is not qualified to read the tests and the results could be taken out of context.

Now if the patient cancells the follow up, they can not change it to a missed apointment. It is important that you fight this with them as they could put a notice in your file that you are an uncooperative patient and that could effect your future ability to get insurance and coverage.

I would just be carefull how you handle it as it could come back and bite you in the arse down the road. But you are right on many aspects of your arguement.

thank you for this info! this sounds exactly like what has happened... the nurse expects us to come in b/c she thinks we can't read english as written by the doc . even without the doc's handwritten notes, i can see that the results are in the correct range.

imo, it's just the cunt nurse on a power trip. i'm gonna show some tact when approaching this situation but if they give me any guff i'm gonna let 'em have it. i know that 9/10x the person i'm probably gonna be dealing with isn't the person trying to blackball us...

[ripper225]

Originally Posted by ~R~F~G~

You pay for the Nurse or secretary who is on the payroll to take the time (time is money) to go to the printer/copier (most likely a 5,000.00 version) Print however many copies using their paper and toner/ink put into a folder that they paid for and then hand it to you..

Gotta give a little here ripper.

The cost of the time, paper, toner, use of copier is factored in. Not just another way to make you pay...

The Original was most likely Faxed to you doc so there is more equipment he is paying for for you to get your copy..

What is he charging you for your copy?

i've NEVER had a problem getting a copy of any of my test results. i just say "hey, i'd like to get a copy of my last results for my records" and they hand it over no questions, no cost. its just a 1 pg copy of the lab results folded in half at most 2pgs.

this bitch nurse says she's gonna withhold my wifes test results next time if we didn't come in this time for their little follow up appt where we pay $50 copay and whatever bs charges they send to insurance for the 5 min visit that we'd probably spend 45 min in their waiting area... not only is it completely inconvenient, it's a waste of good money.

IMO, when the wife went in and paid $50 copay for them to take a vial of blood for a lab test, that the cost of getting the results is included.

[~R~F~G~]

Originally Posted by ripper225

i've NEVER had a problem getting a copy of any of my test results. i just say "hey, i'd like to get a copy of my last results for my records" and they hand it over no questions, no cost. its just a 1 pg copy of the lab results folded in half at most 2pgs.

this bitch nurse says she's gonna withhold my wifes test results next time if we didn't come in this time for their little follow up appt where we pay $50 copay and whatever bs charges they send to insurance for the 5 min visit that we'd probably spend 45 min in their waiting area... not only is it completely inconvenient, it's a waste of good money.

IMO, when the wife went in and paid $50 copay for them to take a vial of blood for a lab test, that the cost of getting the results is included.

Ya I agree with that... My wifes Doc was an asshole but she was there forever, We needed a referral for her to go for her CANCER follow up and the CUNT nurse didn't have the time.. "Didn't have the Time" Cancer, not the flu.... This cunt was a friend of ours so I emailed her AT HOME, not the office and went off. The next day the Doctor called and said we were released for his care and if I came withing 50 feet of his office he would have me arrested.. That is why I said use caution when talking to them. Doctors are fucking pussies and will resort to the most extreme first...

Good Luck either way...

[Opus]

If it is from a Hospital go to medical release and request your records they will give you what they got and you pic what you need and get it copied, they charge per page.

Some private docs are reluctant cuz they think you may be getting a second opinion which contradicts theirs but they are required to give you your records, you must fill out a medical release form with them as well