Some Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation patients are about to be hit with new administrative fees as the group attempts to ease its physicians' workload.While other fees will also be levied, some come with a convenient catch:
Patients of the foundation's general internal medicine division were told recently that starting Friday, they will be charged $25 for placing non-emergency phone calls to their doctors outside of office hours. The division is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
The foundation said in a letter to patients that it's implementing several new fees because the time physicians spend addressing patient needs outside of office visits has compromised the hospital's ability to provide "efficient service."
New fees are also being levied for filling out patient-requested paperwork outside of an office visit ($25 to $50), for patients who miss an appointment without a day's notice ($50) and for providing online medical consultations ($25).It will be interesting to see what patients think about these new fees and the higher insurance co-pays they'll be seeing soon. As far as I know, our institution is still holding out on such fees.
Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation won't charge a fee for after-hours calls or online consultations if they lead to an office visit within seven days or if they are used to clarify a physicians' instructions following a visit within the past week.
-Wes
My family physician has had a sign in his waiting room for a couple years that there will be a $20 fee for having the doctor complete a form. That seems reasonable.
ReplyDeleteUnreasonable is when a separate "facilities fee" is tacked on.
The overhead involved in collecting and posting most of these small fees will just about wipe out any additional income.
ReplyDeleteAgree that the facility fee is a huge scam.
My surgeon wants to charge $20 for filling out their portion of state disability forms. I completed mine on line in about a minute. They don't partipate in the online process. This fee or manual process is not posted in the office or reviewed with you when they give you the forms. Seems like it should be in writing somewhere in the office or their website. And the woman who advised me of both seemed to take great pleasure in explaining why I am being screwed over.
DeleteFrnakly, this pisses me off!
ReplyDeleteI'm a pharmacist & when I worked inpatient, it took 2-3 phone calls to the office to get an answer. By that time, we said screw it & got the hospitalist or residents to overrride the attendings ridiculous order.
When I work outpatient, it takes easily 3 requests to get refill approvals. When we get them, it will be for 2 months of lisinpril or digoxin??? WHAT?
Your patients complain they just had labwork & have seen the Dr & aren't due to see him/her for a year. Yet, I only get 2 months of refills at a time. Pisses both patient & me off & wastes our time & energies as well as that of you & your staff. Just approve 12 months & get done with it.
NOW whose time are you wasting??????
As a patient, I've spent hours waiting for various Drs, often without notice or being informed when I signed in. I've even been left undressed in a paper gown while the staff was closing up. Yep - Dr had long gone!!!!
The wasted time occurs on both sides & its often better to go along to get along. Patients go along because we have no other choice. But, hmmmm..... not so much for fees unless you provide a better service.