Arizona
My girlfriend and I had been going to the local community health clinic, as we were both unemployed and didn’t have insurance. She takes anti-anxiety meds and it wasn’t strong enough so her dr prescribed an antipsychotic (low dose, nothing major). She called in the scripts, and they had them ready for her at the dr office when she arrived. But she didn’t have the full copay for the scripts (they charge $10 each, then they are filled for free at one specific pharmacy). She only had $8, but the clinic knew that she was “level 1” (no current income whatsoever).
The wench behind the desk informed her that if all she had was $8, they would take that… but she could only get one script. With other patients sitting in the waiting room, the receptionist (lets call her Rebecca) told her that she had to pick either (1) her antianxiety med or (2) her antipsychotic med. When my girlfriend protested (and was already beginning to cry due to an anxiety attack), Rebecca told her that they are not a free clinic and that’s what the prescribing doctor told her to do (make the patient choose between the two meds). This, of course, is BS.
When my girlfriend came out of the clinic, she was in tears and so upset she couldn’t drive. I took her home and gave her the antianxiety med she was prescribed (in her state of mind, she picked the script for meds she already had at home instead of getting the new ones she needed).
After a few hours, I wrote an email to the Dr. I explained that I felt that it was extremely unlikely to me that she would have dictated a choice like that (write two scripts for two different kinds of meds, then have the patient – who is already crying in the office – pick which one to leave with). I said that these medications are far from interchangeable, and if she only wanted to patient to have one of them, she only would have written one script. I also said that Rebecca had told her the dr wanted her to do that (choose between the two), and that I felt that it was unethical.
The dr replied within the hour, stating that she prescribes meds that she feels are necessary for the patients she sees, and that she did not intend for my girlfriend to have to choose at all. She said that she had forwarded my message to the financial director. Shortly after that, she replied again and said that the script had been approved and faxed to the pharmacy and there would be no charge.
Now to the real issue: 6 days later, I went to the same place (where I see a therapist to teach me “coping skills”?). Before we could start our session, she explained to me that she had been informed that I had caused a scene in the office since our last visit (the previous week), and had apparently frightened several people and slammed something down on the floor very loudly before barging out the door. My therapist was quite concerned, and explained to me that my continuing therapy was contingent upon a mutual respect between patient and staff; if I couldn’t contain myself, I would have to stop coming to therapy. I explained what happened, and that I wasn’t even there, and I don’t think she believed me.
But I wasn’t in the building on the day that the supposed events occurred (I waited in the car since she was just picking up scripts). And I hadn’t been back there until my therapy visit where I was being reprimanded.
Here’s what I think happened: After the dr received my msg stating that Rebecca was withholding medications (at a sliding scale clinic!), lying about the dr telling the patient to choose between two completely different psych meds prescribed by the physician, and acting in an unethical manner, her boss approached her and asked what the hell happened.
She wasn’t prepared for it, and, caught flat-footed, threw ME under the bus. After all, I was a “behavioral” patient who was seeing a therapist, and who would they believe… the staff, or the psych patient?
And she would have gotten away with it… except I emailed the dr that day, who forwarded it to the financial director. The director got the issue corrected immediately, and that made Rebecca look real bad. And I can prove (through a second email that I sent to an employee of the same clinic that day) that I wasn’t even there because my girlfriend was dropping off financial statements to their accounting dept for us… but they wouldn’t take my documents from her because they were confidential and I wasn’t there! So I had to email the docs to her an hour or two later.
I don’t think this is a HIPAA issue. But when a medical professional lies to a patient, then lies to her boss about another patient to cover it up, it is definitely unethical. She slandered me (stating that I “blew up in the office,”) and now, my permanent medical file says that I am unpredictable and possibly dangerous because I supposedly caused some big scene in the waiting room!
The clinic is owned by a big hospital. Do I complain to the hospital, the US Dept of Health and Human Services, the local media, or what? Do I need a lawyer? My goal is that this Rebecca chick never works in healthcare again, and I think it would be fairly easy to accomplish. Interestingly, she didn’t report the incident with me “acting up” until after I had sent an email to her boss stating that she was unprofessional and unethical. That sounds like retaliation to me. And she broke the hospitals code of conduct.
Thanks in advance, I don’t know what to do. I have a medical appointment there tomorrow, and I am stressed out thinking that everyone is talking behind my back. The next day I have a therapy appointment there, and I don’t know that my therapist believes me yet (I will show her the email proof then).
Please help, and thank you for doing so!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
My girlfriend and I had been going to the local community health clinic, as we were both unemployed and didn’t have insurance. She takes anti-anxiety meds and it wasn’t strong enough so her dr prescribed an antipsychotic (low dose, nothing major). She called in the scripts, and they had them ready for her at the dr office when she arrived. But she didn’t have the full copay for the scripts (they charge $10 each, then they are filled for free at one specific pharmacy). She only had $8, but the clinic knew that she was “level 1” (no current income whatsoever).
The wench behind the desk informed her that if all she had was $8, they would take that… but she could only get one script. With other patients sitting in the waiting room, the receptionist (lets call her Rebecca) told her that she had to pick either (1) her antianxiety med or (2) her antipsychotic med. When my girlfriend protested (and was already beginning to cry due to an anxiety attack), Rebecca told her that they are not a free clinic and that’s what the prescribing doctor told her to do (make the patient choose between the two meds). This, of course, is BS.
When my girlfriend came out of the clinic, she was in tears and so upset she couldn’t drive. I took her home and gave her the antianxiety med she was prescribed (in her state of mind, she picked the script for meds she already had at home instead of getting the new ones she needed).
After a few hours, I wrote an email to the Dr. I explained that I felt that it was extremely unlikely to me that she would have dictated a choice like that (write two scripts for two different kinds of meds, then have the patient – who is already crying in the office – pick which one to leave with). I said that these medications are far from interchangeable, and if she only wanted to patient to have one of them, she only would have written one script. I also said that Rebecca had told her the dr wanted her to do that (choose between the two), and that I felt that it was unethical.
The dr replied within the hour, stating that she prescribes meds that she feels are necessary for the patients she sees, and that she did not intend for my girlfriend to have to choose at all. She said that she had forwarded my message to the financial director. Shortly after that, she replied again and said that the script had been approved and faxed to the pharmacy and there would be no charge.
Now to the real issue: 6 days later, I went to the same place (where I see a therapist to teach me “coping skills”?). Before we could start our session, she explained to me that she had been informed that I had caused a scene in the office since our last visit (the previous week), and had apparently frightened several people and slammed something down on the floor very loudly before barging out the door. My therapist was quite concerned, and explained to me that my continuing therapy was contingent upon a mutual respect between patient and staff; if I couldn’t contain myself, I would have to stop coming to therapy. I explained what happened, and that I wasn’t even there, and I don’t think she believed me.
But I wasn’t in the building on the day that the supposed events occurred (I waited in the car since she was just picking up scripts). And I hadn’t been back there until my therapy visit where I was being reprimanded.
Here’s what I think happened: After the dr received my msg stating that Rebecca was withholding medications (at a sliding scale clinic!), lying about the dr telling the patient to choose between two completely different psych meds prescribed by the physician, and acting in an unethical manner, her boss approached her and asked what the hell happened.
She wasn’t prepared for it, and, caught flat-footed, threw ME under the bus. After all, I was a “behavioral” patient who was seeing a therapist, and who would they believe… the staff, or the psych patient?
And she would have gotten away with it… except I emailed the dr that day, who forwarded it to the financial director. The director got the issue corrected immediately, and that made Rebecca look real bad. And I can prove (through a second email that I sent to an employee of the same clinic that day) that I wasn’t even there because my girlfriend was dropping off financial statements to their accounting dept for us… but they wouldn’t take my documents from her because they were confidential and I wasn’t there! So I had to email the docs to her an hour or two later.
I don’t think this is a HIPAA issue. But when a medical professional lies to a patient, then lies to her boss about another patient to cover it up, it is definitely unethical. She slandered me (stating that I “blew up in the office,”) and now, my permanent medical file says that I am unpredictable and possibly dangerous because I supposedly caused some big scene in the waiting room!
The clinic is owned by a big hospital. Do I complain to the hospital, the US Dept of Health and Human Services, the local media, or what? Do I need a lawyer? My goal is that this Rebecca chick never works in healthcare again, and I think it would be fairly easy to accomplish. Interestingly, she didn’t report the incident with me “acting up” until after I had sent an email to her boss stating that she was unprofessional and unethical. That sounds like retaliation to me. And she broke the hospitals code of conduct.
Thanks in advance, I don’t know what to do. I have a medical appointment there tomorrow, and I am stressed out thinking that everyone is talking behind my back. The next day I have a therapy appointment there, and I don’t know that my therapist believes me yet (I will show her the email proof then).
Please help, and thank you for doing so!What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?