Tennessee.
So, long story short, my heart was racing and I was blacking out, and while I am familiar with severe panic attacks, this seemed different, so I went to the ER.
The doctor told me that I had high blood pressure and that I should take 25mg of Vistaril (a low dose of an antihistamine) to lower my heart rate
and blood pressure. He didn't tell me that it was just anxiety and that the pills were just to shut me up, so here I am thinking that this might
actually be serious.
So the next day I take the pills and I am somewhat more relaxed. My blood pressure is 150/86, and I realize Vistaril isn't indicated for high blood
pressure. So I go to a walk-in clinic, and they redirect me to the ER because they can't handle emergencies. I call the hospital and ask them to change
the prescription because I thought they had made a mistake. They tell me they can't do that over the phone and that I have to go back to talk to the doctor.
However, when I go back and tell them the story, they put me in one of those rooms and end up repeating all the tests they had done less than 12
hours prior. Finally, a doctor arrived, different from the previous one, and briefly lectured me about how I shouldn't go to the ER for continued
medical treatment. I told her that I was just there to dispute the prescription. She told me that "Vistaril is a good drug," and her tone of voice and
attempts to talk over me made it very clear she would not hear anything to the contrary. She then gave me a bunch of false information about the
drug, saying that it was supposed to build up in my system and that it had an "accumulative effect," and that I would notice improvement in a couple of days.
None of these claims are true, and more importantly, they were irrelevant since I had been told my problem was high blood pressure.
Apparently, they knew there was nothing wrong with me the entire time, and they just didn't tell me. So not only am I slapped with a second ER
labwork bill that I did not consent to by the second doctor, but the first doctor basically lied to me.
What can I do? The total balance is over $1,400, after discounts. I haven't talked to the hospital about this yet. I know I can't exactly sue them for
malpractice, and there weren't any real damages, but can I at least dispute some of the charges since I was basically tricked into going a second time?
Also, shouldn't they have told me I was fine and it was just anxiety? None of this would've happened if they had been upfront with me from the start.
If I can't get out of the bill, how should I go about filing a formal complaint? The incompetence of this hospital scares me and a lot of my friends, and I
would like to think they'd be more responsible (or at least professional) if there actually HAD been a real emergency.
So, long story short, my heart was racing and I was blacking out, and while I am familiar with severe panic attacks, this seemed different, so I went to the ER.
The doctor told me that I had high blood pressure and that I should take 25mg of Vistaril (a low dose of an antihistamine) to lower my heart rate
and blood pressure. He didn't tell me that it was just anxiety and that the pills were just to shut me up, so here I am thinking that this might
actually be serious.
So the next day I take the pills and I am somewhat more relaxed. My blood pressure is 150/86, and I realize Vistaril isn't indicated for high blood
pressure. So I go to a walk-in clinic, and they redirect me to the ER because they can't handle emergencies. I call the hospital and ask them to change
the prescription because I thought they had made a mistake. They tell me they can't do that over the phone and that I have to go back to talk to the doctor.
However, when I go back and tell them the story, they put me in one of those rooms and end up repeating all the tests they had done less than 12
hours prior. Finally, a doctor arrived, different from the previous one, and briefly lectured me about how I shouldn't go to the ER for continued
medical treatment. I told her that I was just there to dispute the prescription. She told me that "Vistaril is a good drug," and her tone of voice and
attempts to talk over me made it very clear she would not hear anything to the contrary. She then gave me a bunch of false information about the
drug, saying that it was supposed to build up in my system and that it had an "accumulative effect," and that I would notice improvement in a couple of days.
None of these claims are true, and more importantly, they were irrelevant since I had been told my problem was high blood pressure.
Apparently, they knew there was nothing wrong with me the entire time, and they just didn't tell me. So not only am I slapped with a second ER
labwork bill that I did not consent to by the second doctor, but the first doctor basically lied to me.
What can I do? The total balance is over $1,400, after discounts. I haven't talked to the hospital about this yet. I know I can't exactly sue them for
malpractice, and there weren't any real damages, but can I at least dispute some of the charges since I was basically tricked into going a second time?
Also, shouldn't they have told me I was fine and it was just anxiety? None of this would've happened if they had been upfront with me from the start.
If I can't get out of the bill, how should I go about filing a formal complaint? The incompetence of this hospital scares me and a lot of my friends, and I
would like to think they'd be more responsible (or at least professional) if there actually HAD been a real emergency.
