How hard is it for you to contact your surgeon ?

[B.I.L.L.]

If you have Kaiser Permamente insurance it is NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE to talk to or ask your surgeon a question. My 3 year annivesary is in 3 weeks, I have been enjoying life with my new hip but have some swelling and occasional pain and knocking, not bad but more so than a year ago so I am trying to get my ion levels checked just to be sure everything is ok, since I have a steep acetabular cup (60+degrees)  When I e-mail my Dr a nurse assistant writes me back 3 or 4 days later and says there are no available appts at this time, and you can't schedule an appt for oct until september so call back then, meanwhile I can call and check for any cancelations, there haven't been any. So today (sept. 1st) I called and was told there is no schedule for october yet so.... call back everyday and check for cancellations.  Today I have another appt with my regular physician to see if he can order an ion test, I asked him about 4 months ago and he said the surgeon would have to order the test, I will try to be the squeaky wheel today and see if I can persuade him to order the test. Do any of you have to jump through hoops to talk to your surgeon ?  All that and I have to push 1 for english...... Besides that, life is good with the new hip, a few small issues that I hope are nothing. The ion level test seems to be the yardstick to check how things are going but getting one from kaiser is like trying to take a pork chop from a pitbull. Hopefully I'll get the test done by the end of the year. Anyway I was just curious if this is standard procedure for non kaiser patients Hope everyone is doing well, Bill

[einreb]

Any idea what the ion test actually costs?  I know it may suck, but you may just want to have it done and pay out of pocket.

I think that cup angle is something to keep a close eye on.  What type of device do you have?

[hernanu]

I don't have any problems, Bill. I call the surgeon's office and get a call back from a nurse within an hour or so to answer any questions. If I want the question posed to the surgeon, I tell her or the receptionist, and either the nurse (usually) or Dr. Snyder will call me back that day.

I had a one year checkup scheduled for November, to check on both hips, but got concerned because I got a twinge behind my left buttock several times in July. I called them, told them I was concerned and they moved the appointment to August 16th. The issue went away before then, but I was given a full workup (no metal ions test) and we both agreed to schedule a visit for a year later. I could have asked for the November checkup, but saw no need right now.

I haven't asked for a metal ions test, but am sure that if I want it I would get it. Haven't had any issue with them.

[B.I.L.L.]

Got a call back today after my reg doc contacted them, I have an appt with a different dr sept 12th. I found it interesting that the results from my plasma cobalt/chromium test done in feb 2010 come up as "In process" on the kaiser computer, I got a call from the surgeon back then who said my levels were at "10" and all was well, but theres nothing in print and I have no idea about "ten what"  Anyway looks like were moving forward, its not a big pain issue, just a little swelling, some occasional clicking/pain, and kind of a dull ache when I sit for awhile, nothing I can't live with, it's miles beyond what it was and if its like this forever I'd still be happy, but if things inside are deteriorating I need to know sooner not later, know what I mean ? I'll keep you guys updated

Oh einreb, I have a bhr, hope it's a nice hard one

[FlbrkMike]

I got a call from the surgeon back then who said my levels were at "10"

They probably say that to everybody.
 

I haven't had to contact my surgeon's office very often, especially since a couple of months post surgery, but I have email addresses for my surgeon, his PA, the scheduler and the nurse.  Dr. Ball is often too busy to answer right away but almost always gets back to me within a couple of days.  I can also call the office and a nurse will usually return the call within an hour, if the office is open.

[wayne-0]

Hey Bill, my inlaws have Kaiser and they suck. Same story as yours. It's like pulling teeth to get anything from them. You know you said about the squeaky wheel, well that works for sure. Call them six, eight times a day and be an a-hole to them if you have to. Start talking to them about lawsuits and things may change in your favor. Bill, all insurance companies have a complaint dept. Get ahold of them and log your complaint and grievence to them. Do it in writing so it is all recorded. Also every call to the insurance company is recorded and has a reference # that goes with it, so everytime you call them first thing you do/say to them is " i know this call is being recorded and i want the reference # in case i need to give it to my attorney for future action". This will get their attention and they will more than likely be more accomodating.

Wayne
P.S. Remember I had to fight my insurance company for 8 months to allow me to go out of my medical group for my surgery. I learned some things along that road.

[Denver_wrench]

Interesting. I had the same feedback from Kaiser when I got my blood test- a verbal message but nothing in print or online (though all my other tests come with online results). However, my surgeon has been very responsive, mostly through email, which I think is probably the best way to contact them and also prrovides a (virtual)paper trail. I don't think it's ever a good idea to be "an a-hole" to these folks, though. My understanding from another friend who had Kaiser is that if you harass them, a little note goes on your chart saying "problem patient" and after that the only person you get to talk to is a nurse. That doesn't mean don't stand up for yourself, but I would suggest diplomacy.

[John C]

Hi Bill,
Glad to hear that you are still out there charging. From your previous posts, it may be no surprise that you get a little soreness now and then, because I think we both tend to push our new hips pretty hard. None the less, I think that I would be sure to come out of that Sept 12 meeting with a script for an ion test. Acknowledging that we do not know "10 what", assuming that they are using a similar system to most labs, somewhere between 5 and 7 seems to be the upper end of what many doctors call a "good" number. Ten is certainly not that bad, but it would seem high enough to indicate checking it regularly, as you are doing. I think you are on very safe ground in saying that standard procedure for a result of 10, would be an annual blood test to monitor for any changes. My suggestion is to be pleasant, but not to leave that Sept 12 meeting without the script in hand.
My doctor and his assistant are very responsive, in fact with the numerous questions that I have had over the years, I have never had to wait more than 48 hours for his assistant to get back to me, either with her answer, or one from the surgeon if she is not 100% positive. Even with that level of cooperation, it took me three insistent requests to get the script for the ion test. It turned out that my doctor was correct in saying that it was not necessary (it came back 1.3), but it sure feels better to know than to be guessing.

[Tin Soldier]

Reminds me of chemistry class in college, the Prof would yell at us about the units.  I yell at my kids when they do their math and they don't show their work or they leave off the units.  When I review an environmental cleanup report and the consultant left out the units or used the wrong units, it shows that the consultant is not very sharp.  You always present your data with units, even if it seems redundant.  10 ug/L or 10 mg/L?  Most likely it's not 10 mg/L, that would be bad.  Sorry to go on about this, but it seems like the surgeon ought to explain the the test result a little more and they should present the results with units.  Also, you should also ask for a copy of the analytical report.   

My surgeon's assistant gets back to me within 24 hours and the surgeon and I have had a few conversations by email, which I always thought was odd, but I think it's excellent.

[B.I.L.L.]

Thanks for the responses. My plan is to come out of that meeting with, A- The results from the feb 2010 test written on something "official" so we have an accurate documented result to compare future tests to, B- A script for another test, and C- Have everybody love me and want to go out of their way to help me   Hahahaha.....  And John you are right, I have been pushing hard and charging, and have no plans to let up at this point in time, We aint gettin any younger, full speed ahead captain full speed ahead lol

[FlbrkMike]

When I review an environmental cleanup report and the consultant left out the units or used the wrong units, it shows that the consultant is not very sharp.  You always present your data with units, even if it seems redundant.

 

In my job I review energy savings calculations for commercial and industrial energy efficiency projects.  When I see a report written by an energy consultant who doesn't know the difference between a kW and a kWh I can usually assume that they don't know what they're doing.