Early discharge from hospital

[pablo1888]

What is the name of your state? Florida

On March 15th, I took a friend of mine to the hospital which is type 1 diabetic. Her diabetes also causes gastroenteritis. She was vomiting every five minutes. She was given some medicine to relief the pain and some medicine to stop vomiting among other things that I don't remember. She stayed in the hospital from March 15 until March 18. She was discharged from the hospital on March 18 but she was not filling good enough to go home.

I had to take her again to the hospital on March 21 because she was not feeling right. She was still vomiting and feeling nauseous.

We had to spend 3 more days in the hospital. This time she was given a different treatment from the hospital. She even got an Endoscopy to make sure the gastroenteritis didn't caused any problems. When she is sent home this time she was feeling much more better.

Her health insurance was able to pay for the first visit but only 80% of the second visit. She needs to now pay around $4,000 in medical bills.

1. Why the hospital sent her home the first time she went to the hospital if she was not feeling good.
2. Why they waited for the second visit to give her the treatment that was supposed to be given in the first visit?
3. Is this consider bad practice?

She now owns the hospital $4,000 because the doctors at the hospital decided to let her go when she was not feeling ok. Is there a way to fight this?

The only thing that comes to my mind is that they made her go home so she can come back and get more money from her and her health insurance.

Thanks for the inputs.What is the name of your state?

 

[ecmst12]

You are making a LOT of assumptions and providing very little facts. She was discharged the first time because her condition had stabilized and there was no reason to keep her in the hospital. She was re admitted when her condition worsened again and they tried a different treatment because her condition warrented it after the first treatment failed. Without knowing what either treatment was, hard to say if it was correct, but nothing sounds out of the ordinary. She owes the hospital money because she received treatment there. I can't begin to guess why the first stay was paid differently then the second, there are too many possible reasons, all of them legitimate and legal. She can talk to her insurance company for more information about the claim and how it was processed.

 

[longsally111]

everything ecmst saud was right on and personally, I take offense to someone assuming that a hospital would send someone ill home to try to make money. Shame on you!!!!!

 

[pablo1888]

I take offense to someone assuming that a hospital would send someone ill home to try to make money. Shame on you!!!!!

Believe it or not, hundreds of legal and illegal immigrants are being sent back to their home countries for medical care because they lack insurance. http://www.saynotoillegalimmigration.com/

I completely agree that if you are here illegally here you should not expect anything. A hospital will do ANYTHING that is needed to cover their expenses.

My friend is not here illegally and she also has Humana health insurance. I was there with her and I do believe that she was sent home them knowing that she was going to go back to the hospital. I guess next time she needs to be more careful and be more demanding with the hospital.

Shame on what? What an incompetent statement with no substantial response like the one given by ecmst12.

 

[ecmst12]

Keeping someone in the hospital when their condition doesn't require it is expensive and insurance won't approve charges for unnecessary hospitalization. She was sent home because she was not sick enough to need to stay there.

 

[pablo1888]

It's like sending a car to the mechanic. In some cases you need to pay twice to get it right. The human body is not a car but hospitals do operate like mechanics with no principles.

 

[lya]

Believe it or not, hundreds of legal and illegal immigrants are being sent back to their home countries for medical care because they lack insurance. http://www.saynotoillegalimmigration.com/

I completely agree that if you are here illegally here you should not expect anything. A hospital will do ANYTHING that is needed to cover their expenses.

My friend is not here illegally and she also has Humana health insurance. I was there with her and I do believe that she was sent home them knowing that she was going to go back to the hospital. I guess next time she needs to be more careful and be more demanding with the hospital.

Shame on what? What an incompetent statement with no substantial response like the one given by ecmst12.

What you don't understand, other than grammar and sentence structure, is how hospitals and doctors are paid by insurance companies.

Readmitting a patient for the same complaint often results in no further payment to the physician and the hospital. In today's healthcare environment, often permission to even admit the patient cannot be gained from the insurance company; and, if the patient can't pay, then treatment is provided on an outpatient basis or the hospital and the doctors "eat" the entire cost of treating the patient.

No longer are patients kept in the hospital until they feel fine. Patients are kept only to the point that they can be safely discharged home to continue getting well at home or, if that fails, require readmission to the hospital.

Your friend should pay the $4,000.

You should vote in the November 2008 elections for the US Congressional candidates and Presidential candidate who don't think Congress should manage healthcare and pass on to the taxpayer the cost of the Congressional expenses and the healthcare expenses of every person in the US, legally or illegally.

I hope my opinion, in some small way, makes things more better.

 

[longsally111]

she could vote lya, assuming she is legally able to. I get the impression from the post that these are immigrants with a major chip on their shoulder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say that, here in SC, we love the new immigtration bill!!!!!! I am sure you have heard of it Pablo. You cannot get a job here unless you provide a valid SC drivers license ( no more I came from virginia) or a green card that is VERIFIED through a special system that is being set up. Anyone knowingly hiring illegals will be subject to penalties and fines!!!!!!!

 

[lealea1005]

It's like sending a car to the mechanic. In some cases you need to pay twice to get it right. The human body is not a car but hospitals do operate like mechanics with no principles.

Would people PLEASE stop comparing the practice of medicine to fixing a car!!!!!
Apples and oranges!!

As Lya already said, certain insurance companies, Humana included (medical assistance?) require specific criteria for keeping apatient admitted to the hospital. Once your firend's vomiting subsided, and her vital signs and blood work were back to normal, there was NO REASON (according to Humana) to keep her at the hospital.

She received services, and the Doctors and hospital deserve to be paid. I hope she's feeling better.

 

[pablo1888]

Readmitting a patient for the same complaint often results in no further payment to the physician and the hospital. In today's healthcare environment, often permission to even admit the patient cannot be gained from the insurance company; and, if the patient can't pay, then treatment is provided on an outpatient basis or the hospital and the doctors "eat" the entire cost of treating the patient.

No longer are patients kept in the hospital until they feel fine. Patients are kept only to the point that they can be safely discharged home to continue getting well at home or, if that fails, require readmission to the hospital.

I write and speak 3 languages, how many you can write or speak?

She was readmitted for the same complaint. Her Humana web portal shows all the details of what was paid to the hospital and what she has to pay. The hospital was paid for everything they supposedly did during those 2 visits.

So what do you mean when you say "Readmitting a patient for the same complaint often results in no further payment to the physician and the hospital".

She was not expecting to feel 100 percent fine when she was sent home the first time. What she was not expecting was to go back again to the hospital for the same thing.

The doctors that treated her in the second visit were different than the ones in the first visit. The procedures followed in the second visit were different than the ones followed in the first visit.

 

[pablo1888]

I just spoke with my friend and I gave her a nice piece of advice. She will NOT pay the $4,000 and she will let the billing department of the hospital know that if they were not able to perform correctly on her first visit they should not be charging for the second visit.

Thanks for all your inputs.

 

[Silverplum]

I just spoke with my friend and I gave her a nice piece of advice. She will NOT pay the $4,000 and she will let the billing department of the hospital know that if they were not able to perform correctly on her first visit they should not be charging for the second visit.

Thanks for all your inputs.

Be sure to be a true friend and let your friend know that, by taking your "nice piece of advice," she will be looking at a lawsuit.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

Gastroparesis (which often resembles gastroenteritis) is not unusual in Diabetics.

It is treatable but not curable. Thus, it's not unusual for a diabetic (especially a Type I) to have return flareups of this.

Gail

 

[lealea1005]

I just spoke with my friend and I gave her a nice piece of advice. She will NOT pay the $4,000 and she will let the billing department of the hospital know that if they were not able to perform correctly on her first visit they should not be charging for the second visit.

Thanks for all your inputs.

Do you not understand that she WAS treated properly on her first visit??? As I stated in post #9: Once her vomiting resolved and her vitals signs/blood work were back within normal limits there was NO REASON to keep her admitted!!!

It is unfortunate that her condition deteriorated once she was back home. It is unfortunate that she required readmission for further testing. It may even have been for the same symptoms/reason. You stated Humana paid their portion, now your friend owes HER portion of the bill. As Silver said, by advising your friend to refuse payment will bring her lawsuits from all service providers WHO WILL WIN judgements in court.

Being such a good friend, I'm sure you'll have no problem reimbursing her the court costs/attorney's fees, etc, because she listened to your foolosh advice. Right?

 

[longsally111]

lealea, you are wasting your breath. As I statedm this person has a HUGE chip on their shoulder. let her "friend" take her advice and then she can give her 'friend" more advice after the unpaid bill ends up on her credit and she gets sued for it!!!!!!!