Re: Rude treatment from my surgeon's admin staff

[Guest guest]

I had a dragon lady for an ortho receptionist, I'm convinced! I felt

she would never give me good appointments, and I always had to push.

I took the advice of a good friend, and one day I took them in some

fantastic homemade chocolate brownies (got the recipe from my

friend). The receptionist actually came right into the treatment

room and showed the ortho " look what brought!!!! " - I guess

they never get goodies. Anyway, she was nicer to me after that.

Whenever I had an emergency visit where they squeezed me in on short

notice, I would go downtown and buy some fancy cookies from a German

delicatessan.

Not sure if that would help, but it sure wouldn't hurt!

> I have both upper and lower surgery scheduled for Aug 1, and so

I'm

> just starting to worry about insurance issues now. I haven't seen

> my OS since our initial consultation back in November, so I called

> his office today to check in with him and initiate the insurance

pre-

> auth procedures.

>

> Anyway, one of his admin staff who I guess deals with pre-auth

> paperwork and such was extraordinarily rude with contemptuous, and

> actually hung up on me after I thanked her at the end of the

call.

> She interrupted me at every chance, and acted as though I was

> wasting her time with all of my questions, when all I wanted to do

> was to better understand the pre-authorization process, and

> potential complications therein.

>

> Anyway, it left me feeling VERY uncomfortable, especially with my

> surgery coming up so soon. I don't want to now make a big deal

> about it with my OS or anything, especially since he's the one who

> will be cutting my face open in a couple months -- at the same

time,

> I think I deserve to be treated with a threshold level of respect,

> even if my questions seem rather elementary. This is, after all,

a

> very expensive ordeal, insurance or no. I also don't know how

much

> I trust this admin lady to perform the pre-auth competently,

> especially after the way she treated me today -- it's clear that

she

> doesn't like me. What should I do?

[Guest guest]

And as a last resort, complain directly to your surgeon. I actually

had to do that once. I wasn't happy to do it either, but it had to

be done (this was not the same receptionist I referred to in my

other post).

> I have both upper and lower surgery scheduled for Aug 1, and so

I'm

> just starting to worry about insurance issues now. I haven't seen

> my OS since our initial consultation back in November, so I called

> his office today to check in with him and initiate the insurance

pre-

> auth procedures.

>

> Anyway, one of his admin staff who I guess deals with pre-auth

> paperwork and such was extraordinarily rude with contemptuous, and

> actually hung up on me after I thanked her at the end of the

call.

> She interrupted me at every chance, and acted as though I was

> wasting her time with all of my questions, when all I wanted to do

> was to better understand the pre-authorization process, and

> potential complications therein.

>

> Anyway, it left me feeling VERY uncomfortable, especially with my

> surgery coming up so soon. I don't want to now make a big deal

> about it with my OS or anything, especially since he's the one who

> will be cutting my face open in a couple months -- at the same

time,

> I think I deserve to be treated with a threshold level of respect,

> even if my questions seem rather elementary. This is, after all,

a

> very expensive ordeal, insurance or no. I also don't know how

much

> I trust this admin lady to perform the pre-auth competently,

> especially after the way she treated me today -- it's clear that

she

> doesn't like me. What should I do?

[Guest guest]

I hate it when people are rude! It really distresses me, especially

when a medical procedure is involved. I've had a few instances where

admin staff have been really rude to me in the past and what I did,

and which I found worked quite well, was to interrupt them when they

were being rude to me and saying:

" I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult here or rude and I

certainly hope I am not wasting your time. Unfortunately, as I'm sure

you are aware, this procedure is very expensive and I would not be

undergoing it if it weren't a medical necessity. As you are the one

person that can assist me in answering my questions I would be very

grateful if you could bear with me and help me out. "

I usually find that wakes them up and makes them realize that they

are being total jerks.

Another time when the person i was dealing with was just being plain

impossible i repeated the above phrase with the one addition that

since I was obviously wasting their time I would just have to ask the

doctor directly or could they recommend someone else I could talk to

in the office, such as maybe their manager.This is really a last

resort option. Sometimes admin staff are just having a really bad day

and they don't realize that the person on the other end of the line

is a patient that needs to be treated with just as much TLC as

someone who is on the operating table.

Good luck and let us know how it goes next time. If this woman keeps

on being rude I wouldn't hesitate to tell your OS. After all, you're

the one undergoing the surgery and forking out time, energy and money

for it.

Sara

> I have both upper and lower surgery scheduled for Aug 1, and so I'm

> just starting to worry about insurance issues now. I haven't seen

> my OS since our initial consultation back in November, so I called

> his office today to check in with him and initiate the insurance

pre-

> auth procedures.

>

> Anyway, one of his admin staff who I guess deals with pre-auth

> paperwork and such was extraordinarily rude with contemptuous, and

> actually hung up on me after I thanked her at the end of the call.

> She interrupted me at every chance, and acted as though I was

> wasting her time with all of my questions, when all I wanted to do

> was to better understand the pre-authorization process, and

> potential complications therein.

>

> Anyway, it left me feeling VERY uncomfortable, especially with my

> surgery coming up so soon. I don't want to now make a big deal

> about it with my OS or anything, especially since he's the one who

> will be cutting my face open in a couple months -- at the same

time,

> I think I deserve to be treated with a threshold level of respect,

> even if my questions seem rather elementary. This is, after all, a

> very expensive ordeal, insurance or no. I also don't know how much

> I trust this admin lady to perform the pre-auth competently,

> especially after the way she treated me today -- it's clear that

she

> doesn't like me. What should I do?

[Guest guest]

Dan (?),

I'm so sorry to hear about the difficulties you've experienced. It's

not enough to endure the stress of the whole OSS procedure, but to

have to deal with uncooperative people makes it ten times worse.

I am by no means condoning the treatment you received, but let me say

this. I worked in a chiropractor's office in undergrad, and my job

was to follow up on insurance claims for our patients. Insurance

companies can be extremely frustrating to deal with, and sometimes I

would find myself becoming very angry with them for their apparent

lack of compassion. Some companies I dealt with were easy going and

pleasant, but other insurance companies were just the opposite, and I

would have to take a different - sometimes more forceful - approach

to get the money for our patients. I was lucky enough to be able to

pull it all back inside when I interacted with our patients, but that

was also facilitated by the fact that our office was small, and I

double-dutied as a chiropractic assistant and had a relationship with

our patients that was more of an intimate family type. (I've been

gone for almost 5 years, and they still ask about me!)

I have noticed that when it comes to larger operations such as

hospitals or medical practices, those who deal with the insurance

claims have little interaction on a daily basis with their patients,

and perhaps do not have the opportunity or the immediate need to

learn how to separate themselves between customer service and

insurance claims.

I would agree with the suggestions of others to approach this person

one more time with persistent understanding, patience and brownies :-

) If that doesn't soften the dragon, then it's time to get tough and

either call that person out or go over their head. You must

remember - you are the Number One reason why that person gets their

paycheck, and you deserve respect and consideration.

Good luck, and let us know how things work out for you!

Kate

> I have both upper and lower surgery scheduled for Aug 1, and so I'm

> just starting to worry about insurance issues now. I haven't seen

> my OS since our initial consultation back in November, so I called

> his office today to check in with him and initiate the insurance

pre-

> auth procedures.

>

> Anyway, one of his admin staff who I guess deals with pre-auth

> paperwork and such was extraordinarily rude with contemptuous, and

> actually hung up on me after I thanked her at the end of the call.

> She interrupted me at every chance, and acted as though I was

> wasting her time with all of my questions, when all I wanted to do

> was to better understand the pre-authorization process, and

> potential complications therein.

>

> Anyway, it left me feeling VERY uncomfortable, especially with my

> surgery coming up so soon. I don't want to now make a big deal

> about it with my OS or anything, especially since he's the one who

> will be cutting my face open in a couple months -- at the same

time,

> I think I deserve to be treated with a threshold level of respect,

> even if my questions seem rather elementary. This is, after all, a

> very expensive ordeal, insurance or no. I also don't know how much

> I trust this admin lady to perform the pre-auth competently,

> especially after the way she treated me today -- it's clear that

she

> doesn't like me. What should I do?

[Guest guest]

Hi Trader,

I don't think it is because she doesn't like you. She was simply

rude. Questions about insurance for an expensive procedure are

simply a part of her job, and asking them is your job as a caring

consumer - and one who is concerned about their potential out of

pocket expenses. You did absolutely nothing wrong.

If the questions are elementary, it is because there is definately

no clear definitions of what we are to do as consumers anywhere out

there. I think it is purposely confusing as a matter of fact. The

less you understand, the more likely you are to accept first request

denials, mis-billings, inaccurate allocations of your copays etc

etc. You have every right and obligation to protect yourself

financially as you do medically by asking questions of your surgeon.

If you did not get your questions answered to your satisfaction,

call and ask for the office manager. Most physician offices have

one. If the office manager is the same person you talked to the

other day, then talking to the surgeon is in order. Calmly state

that you felt your last discussion was not a complete,thourough or

polite explanation of your questions. Ask to have them answered

again. I would write your questions down first, so you can ask them

concisely and get all of them included in this conversation.

If the manager is a different person, tell them the same thing about

your impression that the insurance rep did not use care or tact in

answering your questions. I think the insurance rep will be more

careful the second time. This is a business, and bad word of mouth

about patient care is not welcomed.

You have a right and an expectation of being treated well from the

surgeons office. Please do not let this ride. You can bet that if

problems with your insurance comes up post op, they will have no

problem of blaming you for not understanding your insurance

questions, and of billing you personally for what is not paid or

covered by insurance. It is expensive, so you do need to know.

Good luck! Please let us know how it goes the second time around.

I have had this happen to me too, and really feel for you. But know

that you did not provoke this.

Fran

> I have both upper and lower surgery scheduled for Aug 1, and so

I'm

> just starting to worry about insurance issues now. I haven't seen

> my OS since our initial consultation back in November, so I called

> his office today to check in with him and initiate the insurance

pre-

> auth procedures.

>

> Anyway, one of his admin staff who I guess deals with pre-auth

> paperwork and such was extraordinarily rude with contemptuous, and

> actually hung up on me after I thanked her at the end of the

call.

> She interrupted me at every chance, and acted as though I was

> wasting her time with all of my questions, when all I wanted to do

> was to better understand the pre-authorization process, and

> potential complications therein.

>

> Anyway, it left me feeling VERY uncomfortable, especially with my

> surgery coming up so soon. I don't want to now make a big deal

> about it with my OS or anything, especially since he's the one who

> will be cutting my face open in a couple months -- at the same

time,

> I think I deserve to be treated with a threshold level of respect,

> even if my questions seem rather elementary. This is, after all,

a

> very expensive ordeal, insurance or no. I also don't know how

much

> I trust this admin lady to perform the pre-auth competently,

> especially after the way she treated me today -- it's clear that

she

> doesn't like me. What should I do?