Maintaining Supportive Documentation

[Guest guest]

Sam,

You wrote, " He has not seen his Gastroenterologist for quit sometime. I

think that he thought since he was doing so well for about two months that he

was " cured. " I now understand that this will more than likely never go away. "

This made me think of a very important point. I don\t know if Brock is on

disability of not, but either way it is very important that he obtain

documentation to support the fact that he has pancreatitis. I know this is hard,

especially if he wants to deny the fact that he has pancreatitis. I have

advanced

pancreatitis, and there is nothing an endoscopic pancreatic

gastroenterologist can technically do for me, however, I continue to see this MD

as my primary

source to state in a medical record that I continue to have chronic

pancreatitis. I also have an annual CT Scan for further documentation. I am on

disability for pancreatitis. I have had one review. It was the mere number of

physician's visits and lab / radiological tests that I have had documented in

my

medical record that supported the extension of my disability. Part of this

came from myself, as one of the questions they ask if for every contact I had

with a healthcare provider. This was defined by physical office visit or

telephone consultation, such as requesting my monthly medications. I now keep an

ongoing log of visits and phone calls. I think if Brock were to be involved in

this message board he may come to understand that this is a serious disease

and when planning, one should opt for the chance that it will continue vs the

possibility that it will be cured. It is important to learn from others, that

one should plan for disability with every tool possible and if it isn't

needed then all the better. The other important issue is the possibility of a

future exacerbation. Seeing a GI once year is not much trouble to ensure that

one

has a relationship with a GI when needed in an emergency. My GI has actually

been a friendly resource in the absence of my pain management doctor.

Karyn E. , RN

Executive Director, PAI

_www.pancassociation.org_ (http://www.pancassociation.org/)