Random thoughts from the hospital waiting room

[Airplanedoc]

Spent most of the day in a hospital waiting room for my dad to have some kind of stress test. The day consisted of

1. Sit for a hour after check in
2. Called back put in iv 15 min
3. Sit for another hour
4. Called back 15 min of test part 1
5. Wait another hour
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 3 more times
7. Wait a week or so for results

The high light of my day was filling out his forms in the morning. They had some great questions for me to answer for him.

Question: Have you ever been exposed to lead?
Answer: Yes... I'm 75 years old, my crib/toys/school were all painted with lead paint.

Question: Have you ever been exposed to asbestos?
Answer: Of course, again i'm 75 my elementary school had asbestos floor tiles and pipe insulation, so did my car brake pads. However I do not recall eating any of the mentioned items.

Question: do you use recreational drugs?
Answer: do Viagra, or cialis count????

 

[KayaBrew]

As some one who has endured brain surgery, countless MRIs, radiation treatment, dozens of follow-up visits and removal of his gall bladder, I can tell you I feel your frustration. They ask the same GD questions over and over and over. I see you typing this out or writing it down, so why are you asking me again?!? No, for the 37th time, I don't have any metal fragments in my eye, and yes, I HAVE had a major surgery in the last 12 months, that's why I'm effing here!!

 

[KayaBrew]

My oncologist, however is elated that I have taken it upon myself to use an herbal remedy for the nausea due to chemo rather than the perscription meds for sickness. Now if only NYS would jump on board and make it legal (at the very least for medicinal purposes).

 

[brewbama]

Dr offices suck. Just saying.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Airplanedoc]

This is a pretty modern building and waiting area. Why is their only 1 outlet in the entire area shared today by 50 people with ipads/phones/laptops. It reminded me of this.

 

[Airplanedoc]

Oh here was another great question

Question: Do you have a heart condition or have you been told by your dr you might heart trouble?

Answer: I am in a cardiac cath lab, having a stress test.

 

[jfin22]

I'm a cath lab nurse. I've always wondered what people actually think about the stupid questions we ask. Most of the questions are unnecessary and usually slow down the patients and the doctors from getting the tests done. But the hospital, insurance companies and the good ol govt require them to be asked.
To be honest, we hate asking them.

 

[Hamaki]

I recently had some work done, several different Drs., labs, couple of stays in the hospital. There was some paperwork, including some repetitive and some ridiculous questions but in all I think I got off pretty easy in that regard.

What struck me, though, was the statements from my insurance company. They'd report what the normal rate was, the fee they'd negotiated with that provider and what my cost was. In virtually all cases the negotiated fees were a small percentage of their "normal" rate. Sometimes ridiculously low (less than $10 for a chest X-ray?). Makes me wonder where the slack is being taken up.

 

[Beernik]

I was once asked about the nail in my shoulder after an X-ray.

The tech didn't read the questionnaire where I mentioned the shoulder surgery I had 12 years earlier.

My brother, who was sick a lot when he was young, had a children's book called something like "10 things to do when you are stuck in the hospital." The two I remember from it were:

"Write a threatening letter to Mickey Mouse."

"Go to the admitting desk and admit something."

 

[Airplanedoc]

I recently had some work done, several different Drs., labs, couple of stays in the hospital. There was some paperwork, including some repetitive and some ridiculous questions but in all I think I got off pretty easy in that regard.

What struck me, though, was the statements from my insurance company. They'd report what the normal rate was, the fee they'd negotiated with that provider and what my cost was. In virtually all cases the negotiated fees were a small percentage of their "normal" rate. Sometimes ridiculously low (less than $10 for a chest X-ray?). Makes me wonder where the slack is being taken up.

Third defibrillator my dad put in he got his itemized bill from the hospital the day of his follow up appointment. My dad mentioned the above fact to the cardiologist. That if he did not have insurance there is no way the hospital would take $14500 for a $27000 defibrillator. The Dr. looked at my dad and said do you have a deductible? Took the bill from my dad, picked up a phone called accounting, and said This is Dr_____, pull up account number_________, write off $5000. Ok Thanks, and hung up the phone. He handed the statement back to my dad and said don't worry about sending a check for you deductible.

 

[Black_Sails]

This is a pretty modern building and waiting area. Why is their only 1 outlet in the entire area shared today by 50 people with ipads/phones/laptops. It reminded me of this.

Carry a power strip with you.....I have one with 4 outlets that is pretty compact. I can take it with me to the airport.....your the hippest of the squares when you pull one of those out.....

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Question: do you use recreational drugs?
Answer: do Viagra, or cialis count????

AWESOME answer! Hope your Dad is OK.
Regards, GF.

 

[Homercidal]

Carry a power strip with you.....I have one with 4 outlets that is pretty compact. I can take it with me to the airport.....your the hippest of the squares when you pull one of those out.....

Nice!

I got my wife a battery pack for her phone. Can probably charge it 5-6 times before it needs to be plugged in and recharged.

 

[Airplanedoc]

deleted

Now I remember why I quit coming here

 

[passedpawn]

Yesterday my mom had cataract surgery. So I ventured to the hospital to sit in the waiting room with my dad, who was a nervous wreck. We get to the waiting room, and my dad asks the volunteer person where the doughnuts were. Instead of telling him the truth, the hospital is too cheap to give away doughnuts in the waiting room. The lady gives him a long lecture about poor dietary choices, and how unhealthy doughnuts are, and how the hospital values and encourages good health by not giving away chocolate and cream globs of of goodness (or death in her terms). All while standing in front of a soda vending machine. At 6 am I was in no mood for any of this, so I asked "if the hospital was so concerned about health why were they still peddling soda in the waiting room?" Not wanting to get involved in this my dad heads off to the cafeteria. 5 min later he comes waking in the waiting room with a huge warm cinnamon roll covered with icing and butter. The volunteer lady was still lecturing on health topics, so I used the cinnamon roll as reinforcement for my argument, that if the hospital was so concerned about health, they wouldn't be selling sugar and butter covered cinnamon rolls in the cafeteria either, that the no free doughnuts was simply a financial decision it had nothing to do with health. With that she left us alone, and several people headed to the cafeteria to buy cinnamon rolls.

I watched my dad die in one of those hospitals recently. Took an angry week of misery for the inevitable to happen. Donuts wasn't a concern. You're really worried over the politics of donuts, but maybe you've forgotten what, exactly, happens in those awful places. Maybe get your donut before you get there next time.

 

[MaxStout]

My favorite Q is: "Do you use tobacco?"
My answer: "No, do you? Because I don't need any 'do as I say, not as I do' medical advice." The person usually has a good chuckle and states their agreement, followed by some rant about all the nurses and doctors who stand around the back door, firing up.

 

[illinoisbrassman]

I watched my dad die in one of those hospitals recently. Took an angry week of misery for the inevitable to happen. Donuts wasn't a concern. You're really worried over the politics of donuts, but maybe you've forgotten what, exactly, happens in those awful places. Maybe get your donut before you get there next time.

Guess you pissed him off

 

[passedpawn]

Guess you pissed him off

Woops. I guess I was a little too harsh. The post did rub me the wrong way. I apologize for it.

 

[JonM]

Once upon a time, I had a professor who was some kind of genius (Harvard law degree and LL.M from Yale.) He would take the consent form, read every word, and then strike out things he didn't like and handwrite in addenda. He seemed quite proud of the fact that it really ticked off the staff.

 

[Hello]

Well that went south quickly.

@Airplanedoc I hope your parents are okay.

Those questions are definitely for the insurance companies. I always felt like they were asked so the insurance carriers could dig around looking for reason to NOT cover you. Maybe it is all in my head, but it seems as though that is what I go through from time to time with my insurance company.

 

[PlexVector]

The following is not a joke, but told to me by the friend asking the question to a little old lady:

"Are you sexually active"
little old lady: "oh no, I lay perfectly still".

She had to excuse herself to go outside the exam room until she got her composure back to continue the routine questions.

After reading this thread I bet the little old lady was tired of all the questions and decided to mix it up a little.



I hope your dad is okay.

 

[MaxStout]

Once upon a time, I had a professor who was some kind of genius (Harvard law degree and LL.M from Yale.) He would take the consent form, read every word, and then strike out things he didn't like and handwrite in addenda. He seemed quite proud of the fact that it really ticked off the staff.

That's funny!

One of my law school profs told a story about when his wife (also a lawyer) was having their first child. He glanced at the chart near the bed and in the comments section one of the staff had written, "both parents are attorneys."

 

[Hamaki]

Well that went south quickly.

@Airplanedoc I hope your parents are okay.

Those questions are definitely for the insurance companies. I always felt like they were asked so the insurance carriers could dig around looking for reason to NOT cover you. Maybe it is all in my head, but it seems as though that is what I go through from time to time with my insurance company.

I can't think of anything that would motivate insurance companies to do anything but look for ways not to pay out claims or pay as little as possible, especially when it comes to big cost items. I hate dealing with insurance.