Moxie Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Just venting. My kid is sick. She saw her doctor last week. She is worse now but she just needs an oral antibiotic. On-call doctor says to take her to urgent care. Ok. I'll take her there, spend $200 and get an antibiotic or you could just call one in and save me time and money. If I could talk to our real doctor, he would call one in because he knows me and the situation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 If the on-call doc hasn't seen the patient, he/she isn't going to call in anything. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 This is why I'm so glad Kaiser has doctors in groups covering for each other. Normally I can get to an oncall doctor, point them to my record which they can see on the computer, tell them that this is the same exact thing, and get them to give me a prescription. I hardly ever do this, but whenever I can, it's invaluable. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 If the on-call doc hasn't seen the patient, he/she isn't going to call in anything. Right. But our real doctor would and if she could connect with him for 30 seconds, this would be handled. What is the point of the on-call doctor if they always just say "go to urgent care" (which is what they always say to me)?? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 If the on-call doc hasn't seen the patient, he/she isn't going to call in anything. And a quick glance at the records would show that I am right in this case. She's just handing out generic advice which is useless. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalea Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Just venting. My kid is sick. She saw her doctor last week. She is worse now but she just needs an oral antibiotic. On-call doctor says to take her to urgent care. Ok. I'll take her there, spend $200 and get an antibiotic or you could just call one in and save me time and money. If I could talk to our real doctor, he would call one in because he knows me and the situation. I agree. How many of us are now on high deductible HSA's? Do they even get that we are paying out of pocket? Do they even care? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I agree. How many of us are now on high deductible HSA's? Do they even get that we are paying out of pocket? Do they even care? Nope, they don't care, as long as they get paid. They don't even have to stand by their quotes of costs for things. They are so divorced from actual charge structures that it's pathetic. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Nope, they don't care, as long as they get paid. They don't even have to stand by their quotes of costs for things. They are so divorced from actual charge structures that it's pathetic. I think this is a step too far. All the doctors I've talked to have been very willing to work with us and our shit insurance. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Do they even get that we are paying out of pocket? Do they even care? I think this is a step too far. All the doctors I've talked to have been very willing to work with us and our shit insurance. I agree that having an on-call doctor just tell you to go to urgent care makes the idea of on-call useless. I also agree that doctors aren't uncaring about costs to their patients. All of my doctors as well as the ones ds had over the years, have been very aware of insurance. They have their own problems with insurance as one doctor told me recently how difficult it is to prescribe medications when insurance companies are so different about how they want things coded and what they'll pay for. I've had doctors tell me they want to prescribe me such and such but it's not often covered so I should check my policy - then they said if it's not covered we'll look at (less effective) alternatives. I also had one doctor recently give me Canadian pharmacy information for a medication Cigna kept denying. It turned out to be not much cheaper from Canada, but at least she tried to offer me an alternative. Back to your OP, Moxie, I get your frustration. It doesn't help you now, but is it something you can bring up with the doctor at a future visit? Maybe ask him if there's anything you can do when you have to talk to an on-call doctor from a different practice? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I guess it depends on your expectations. There are rules and regulations about what a doctor can and cannot do, and for good reason. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I guess it depends on your expectations. There are rules and regulations about what a doctor can and cannot do, and for good reason. Please. I'm not asking for a lot. She has an outer ear infection. She has prescription drops. She has an appointment Wednesday where the doctor will see if the infection has cleared up. If not "she'll need a round of oral antibiotics"--his words, in her chart. She woke up with a fever and pain (there was no pain before) and the drainage is worse. It does not take a rocket surgeon to see that she needs the oral antibiotics. Our real doctor knows me and knows that I almost never take my kids to the doctor looking for antibiotics. Maybe 4 times in 10 years?? If she would look at the chart or send him a quick text, this would be done. Generic advice is useless and condescending. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MysteryJen Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 This is why we started using Walgreens. They handled multiple strep infections and a sinus infection for half of the cost of urgent care. If i have to pay cash anyway. I am going to shop around. We have never had an on-call doctor or nurse say anything but "go to urgent care." Sent from my LG-H345 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Please. I'm not asking for a lot. She has an outer ear infection. She has prescription drops. She has an appointment Wednesday where the doctor will see if the infection has cleared up. If not "she'll need a round of oral antibiotics"--his words, in her chart. She woke up with a fever and pain (there was no pain before) and the drainage is worse. It does not take a rocket surgeon to see that she needs the oral antibiotics. Our real doctor knows me and knows that I almost never take my kids to the doctor looking for antibiotics. Maybe 4 times in 10 years?? If she would look at the chart or send him a quick text, this would be done. Generic advice is useless and condescending. If this was the case, why didn't your doctor give you a prescription at the time he saw your dd? Then you'd be able to fill the prescription if needed. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 aren't there online urgent care physicians now that use FaceTime or similar to "see" the patient? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 tbh: this is the result of lawsuits. EVERY TIME I ever called - it was bring them to the ER or urgent care. some parents freakout over a hangnail. some parents are calm when describing how their kid hit their head and was knocked unconscious. the on-call folks don't know which one you are, so . . they automatically say bring them in. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 Yes, lawsuits and requirements of their malpractice insurance. Multiple doctors have told me that. Mine are older now, but our pediatric office had a policy of never prescribing antibiotics by phone. It was stated in their practice procedures. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 When I read things like this, about what goes on with basic medical care in the USA now, like some other things there, I am puzzled. No way for me to understand how things there have changed so much, in (almost) 22 years. I wonder if the "On Call" doctor gets paid, for taking the phone call and then simply saying "go to Urgent Care"? If so, that's a racket. Like someone upthread, when I was very young, we went to Kaiser Foundation in CA. They had doctors on duty. I forget the word, but for example, my wife's OB-GYN, every once in awhile, is on duty for 24+ hours. If someone goes into their E.R. and needs an OB-GYN, he's there. Or, another OB-GYN is there. In the hospital. I submitted a resume for a Remote, part-time position (QA) to a company that is in "TeleHealth". From what I have read about "TeleHealth", in some states, the M.D. one consults with, via "TeleHealth" (typical cost USD$49 for the visit?) can prescribe medicine to the patient. The doctor sends the prescription to the patients pharmacy electronically. Years ago, when we had great coverage (like a PPO in the states), not one, but two Gastroenterologists I had moved up to the states. After the first one moved, I went to the other M.D. and then he moved up there. I bet they are pulling their hair out now, with the stuff I have been reading here on WTM, about how patients cannot ask the doctor a question, because the insurance/government rules do not permit that, during certain kinds of appointments (Well visit or something else). Or, how much insurance dictates how they practice medicine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyDay Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 (edited) You have "on call"? How wonderful. The office policies I've found have been after hours use Urgent Care. BTW, our vet does have after hours call back. I was surprised when I called for our dog over the summer. Actually spoke with our vet. And I can't tell you how many times I've called a potential office looking for a new doctor or specialist only to be told they do not accept our insurance. Or they used to but no longer. I called 2 this week whose names/numbers/addresses are listed on our insurance provider list to be told they have not accepted that insurance in quite a while. Okay, now that that vent is over.....A brighter side...... We did recently switch providers to one closer who has extended hours. Our previous doc did not have after hours or weekend on call and call backs could take a few days. I liked the provider fine, but we moved further away in one direction and shortly after that, he moved further away in another direction, and difficult communication with his office, we decided to start looking around. Our new provider has extended hours M-F and Sat office hours. One of the nurses will actually talk to me when I call and they have same day or walk in policy. And they take my insurance!!!! It is usually a different provider each time, but with only 3-4 providers, and all have access to records, it has not been a big deal. Edited January 21, 2017 by HollyDay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 If the on-call doc hasn't seen the patient, he/she isn't going to call in anything. Agreed. Which supports what Moxie is saying. If the on-call doctor can only say "go to urgent care" then they are pretty useless (except maybe for patients they have already seen?). Your statement is kind of her point. If they are not allowed to prescribe anything even if the condition is already known and the additional treatment was already mentioned as a possibility by the doctor that DID see her, then they really are not in a position to help the situation. It doesn't matter whether their hands are tied for reasons beyond their control, they are still not in a position to help. Which goes back to what Moxie was saying in the first place. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 If this was the case, why didn't your doctor give you a prescription at the time he saw your dd? Then you'd be able to fill the prescription if needed. We did this several times when our son was younger, especially if we knew we were going to be traveling. Now we do it for our dog at the vet, even though they are open 24/7 and our wellness plan covers all office visits, it still saves us a trip. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 tbh: this is the result of lawsuits. EVERY TIME I ever called - it was bring them to the ER or urgent care. some parents freakout over a hangnail. some parents are calm when describing how their kid hit their head and was knocked unconscious. the on-call folks don't know which one you are, so . . they automatically say bring them in. Is Ask-A-Nurse still around? They were always the same way. If you called them, they usually just said go to ER or urgent care. Agreed. Which supports what Moxie is saying. If the on-call doctor can only say "go to urgent care" then they are pretty useless (except maybe for patients they have already seen?). Your statement is kind of her point. If they are not allowed to prescribe anything even if the condition is already known and the additional treatment was already mentioned as a possibility by the doctor that DID see her, then they really are not in a position to help the situation. It doesn't matter whether their hands are tied for reasons beyond their control, they are still not in a position to help. Which goes back to what Moxie was saying in the first place. Exactly. Moxie's point is why even bother having a doctor on call if this is all they're going to do. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 My recent experience with on call docs has been favorable, in that the MFM and OB on call saved my life, but in your instance, Moxie, this is ridiculous. There's no point in having an on call doc if that's all they're going to say, to bring them to urgent care. I think in our primary doc's case, whichever of her partners was on call would probably be able to look at my child's chart and say, "Yes, I see that you saw Dr. Primary, and so we can call in a script because the infection's not better," but I'm not sure. On the one hand, it's good for them not to prescribe something if they haven't seen your child, but otoh, it's pretty unlikely that anything major has changed since you last saw your doc a few days ago, and you're calling about a known issue. So annoying! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 My recent experience with on call docs has been favorable, in that the MFM and OB on call saved my life, but in your instance, Moxie, this is ridiculous. There's no point in having an on call doc if that's all they're going to say, to bring them to urgent care. I think in our primary doc's case, whichever of her partners was on call would probably be able to look at my child's chart and say, "Yes, I see that you saw Dr. Primary, and so we can call in a script because the infection's not better," but I'm not sure. On the one hand, it's good for them not to prescribe something if they haven't seen your child, but otoh, it's pretty unlikely that anything major has changed since you last saw your doc a few days ago, and you're calling about a known issue. So annoying! My mom just needed to use the on-call doctor (oncology) this morning and I was impressed. He's not her doctor, but had to answer an unusual question. He took the time and found an answer for her - either called her doctor or looked up information himself. They aren't all useless. That said, I agree with Moxie about her situation - useless. What is the point if they can't check records or similar when a "plan" has already been determined? Something is seriously wrong with the system at that point. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I've always had this response when I try to get any info from the nurses before coming in. I always try to ask if my kid needs seen or not for whatever is wrong and the answer is always yes. But I had a great experience with the on-call doc. I had to call them just a couple of weeks ago for my 4yo when I was out of town with apparently bad reception. Our call got dropped early in the conversation and just as I was dreading having to be re-routed through the hospital to get to the on-call doc, she called me back. She stayed on the phone with me for quite some time and worked through symptoms and told me exactly what to go pick up at the pharmacy. She didn't prescribe anything, but she did give me specific meds and dosages to get OTC, including a couple that were not children's meds and did not have dosage for a 4yo on the box but rather said consult a doctor before use. She followed it with a list of reasons to get to an ER, which we didn't end up needing to do, thanks to her help. This was not my kids' regular doctor. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 We did this several times when our son was younger, especially if we knew we were going to be traveling. Now we do it for our dog at the vet, even though they are open 24/7 and our wellness plan covers all office visits, it still saves us a trip. My doctor does this for my family and I, too. It makes perfect sense. I don't see this as the on-call doctor's fault. They're just doing their job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Welcome to the Brave New World. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 I've always had good experiences with on-call docs. Most recently when I kept barfing up the prescribed laxative solution that was supposed to be prepping me for a colonoscopy the next morning, the on-call doc called in something else. With my seizure kid I've received critical help. "My daughter is having cluster seizures and I tried the new oral emergency med her neurologist prescribed but it didn't stop them. Is it safe to give her a rectal Diastat on top of that?" (answer: yes. Seizures stopped. No ER or urgent care needed). I got amazing help in the middle of the night in July 2007 when she stopped breathing every time she fell asleep and woke up gasping for air. On-call doc asked, "Does she have a shunt?" Um, yeah. Shunt failure diagnosis at the children's hospital a day or two later, but the on-call ped who had never met her had a good idea of what it might be and got us to the ER. Just had to share a few stories of on-call doctors doing good things. Not 100% useless. But I'm sorry for the situation you're in. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zinnia Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 We had a pediatrician that we loved who did a great job of always answering questions so thoroughly and well, as well as being on call after hours. I suppose lots of people liked this, because they started charging $50 for each phone call, after hours or not, if a medical assistant could not answer your question. I have never asked a question a medical assistant could answer, so I always had to pay the $$. At least it was cheaper than an office visit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjzimmer1 Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 We have never had an on-call doctor or nurse say anything but "go to urgent care." That's been my experience too, except the one time they told me I had to go to the ER because the symptoms sounded like menegitis and they couldn't treat that in the urgent care. But otherwise it's always go to urgent care. Never, try this, watch for that, always go to urgent care. I love the idea of being able to call and talked to someone but since I've learned their advice is always the same, I don't even bother calling anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 I think my pediatrician would have done the same thing as the OP's. If I called during their hours, they likely would have called in the prescription. But I think urgent care is for that kind of thing after hours now. On call doctors have been great for me when I ran a high fever a day after having a baby, when I started bleeding at 32 weeks pregnant, and when my son hit his head at a bounce house when we were out of town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valley Girl Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Slightly different, but I will never bother with the insurance company nurse line ever again. A couple of years ago, I called to see if I could give one of my kids an adult dose of painkiller. (He was at the point where it was a bit iffy, and I'm always leery of giving too much medicine.) My internet search didn't give me a specific weight to go by, so I though I might as well call. Simple question, huh? Shouldn't be difficult to get an answer, right? Nope. I was on the phone with her for at least a half hour answering a multitude of questions. No, he hasn't lost consciousness. No, he didn't suffer a head injury, etc., etc. I do understand why she asked. But all the kid had was a garden variety headache, for crying out loud. In the end, she gave me a lot of lame advice which I told her I had already tried. (I had!) Then she said she couldn't answer my question and that I needed to call the doctor in the morning. I politely informed her that the call was completely unhelpful. I kept hoping I would get one of those follow-up surveys. I will never waste my time using that "benefit" again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 You know, with something on call that just needs advice about what to do or OTC things, I think the Hive is a great source of wisdom and options due to the vast variety of experience. No one can write prescription things, of course, but I know I've had very useful leads come from here. Pending the lead, more research can be done - or just go with some ideas and try them if they aren't life/death deals. None of that would have helped the OP, of course, but I think about it when hearing some of these other stories. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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