[thursday]

Ok. I went in to my last doctor visit in Feb and he declared me Permanent and Stationary- not gonna get better at least in the next year. And four months later, he STILL has not written the medical report up!!
This isn't normal right?? I don't know what to do!!! I have my WC adjustor on my back about it and my LTD is about to can my benefits because they have no doctor opinion backing up my claim. I call the office weekly, I physically go in the office to ask about the P&S report- I've even done a confrence call with my WC adjustor to ask about the hold up and then file a complaint with my Dr's office manager.
What the heck? Does anyone have a similar experience and how did you make your doctor freaking write the report already?? Thanks

[finz]

Wow Thursday.........that really bites.

Is the doctor affiliated with a local hospital ? Do they have a patient advocacy program that you could call and ask for pressure from them ?

Did WC pay for the doctor visit or was it a HMO or private insurance that you have ? If it was your own insurance, I'd call them , they could withhold payment or cancel his check.

I'd be tempted to have a sit in at his office. I'd borrow my young nieces and nephews to come with me and let them run wild in the waiting area while you patiently wait for the doctor to complete the paperwork

I guess before I let the kids trash his office, you could call and leave a message there that if the paperwork is not completed by (insert random date here) June 20th, your LTD will be canceled and you will have no other recourse than to sue him personally.

Do you have a lawyer who could try the heavy handed approach ? It's kind of a tough spot.......if you have been managing without a lawyer, you hate to give up a big chunk of your claim.

Ugh. As if WC and LTD aren't aggravating enough to deal with. you have the doctor complicating things too

Good Luck with this !

[Jomar]

What does the Drs office staff tell you when you call?
Maybe he didn't take notes?? or they aren't transcribed ? something got lost??

there has to be some reason or excuse

Are they close enough you can go in person and speak to the office manager or ? higher up until you get an answer?

If you need to make another appt to have his memory refreshed it might be worth it. that is a long time to be waiting for a report & due to the time limits on the LTD.

I'd really be firm about getting an answer -- it is needed now esp due to the LTD cut off time.
I'd be very nice at first but if they stonewall you and can't or won't give you any help or suggest any options - then get tough- ask who you can report this to etc.

Is his office a group of Drs or only him?

[thursday]

Originally Posted by finz

Wow Thursday.........that really bites.

Is the doctor affiliated with a local hospital ? Do they have a patient advocacy program that you could call and ask for pressure from them ?

Did WC pay for the doctor visit or was it a HMO or private insurance that you have ? If it was your own insurance, I'd call them , they could withhold payment or cancel his check.

I'd be tempted to have a sit in at his office. I'd borrow my young nieces and nephews to come with me and let them run wild in the waiting area while you patiently wait for the doctor to complete the paperwork

I guess before I let the kids trash his office, you could call and leave a message there that if the paperwork is not completed by (insert random date here) June 20th, your LTD will be canceled and you will have no other recourse than to sue him personally.

Do you have a lawyer who could try the heavy handed approach ? It's kind of a tough spot.......if you have been managing without a lawyer, you hate to give up a big chunk of your claim.

Ugh. As if WC and LTD aren't aggravating enough to deal with. you have the doctor complicating things too

Good Luck with this !

Thanks Finz- I am going to investigate the advocacy avenue for sure ASAP- good call!! WC already paid him unfortunately so we have no leverage that way Love the kiddie rampage approach!!!! Don't have that kind of entourage tho :P And unfortunately I don't have a lawyer and I feel like any sort of heavy handed approach might get me an unfavorable P&S report. I know that's not fair or just.... but I do have a lot riding on this and I kinda don't want to **** my doc off

Originally Posted by Jo55

What does the Drs office staff tell you when you call?
Maybe he didn't take notes?? or they aren't transcribed ? something got lost??

there has to be some reason or excuse

Are they close enough you can go in person and speak to the office manager or ? higher up until you get an answer?

If you need to make another appt to have his memory refreshed it might be worth it. that is a long time to be waiting for a report & due to the time limits on the LTD.

I'd really be firm about getting an answer -- it is needed now esp due to the LTD cut off time.
I'd be very nice at first but if they stonewall you and can't or won't give you any help or suggest any options - then get tough- ask who you can report this to etc.

Is his office a group of Drs or only him?

Thanks Jo! Do you know what the logistics are in a situation like mine for going back to see the dr. even tho I'm P&S?? I mean, for most purposes, my case is closed right? (even tho no money or future medical care has been settled on) I'm thinking a visit now would be out of my own pocket and wouldn't be reimbursed
As far as my chats with his nurse, she says she's very frustrated too. The dictation has been transcribed but the final report hasn't been done! He is accumulating lots of forms to fill and messages from other patients (and their adjustors, lawyers, etc) and my P&S isn't the only one he is behind on!!!

I am going to find out who to speak to in the hospital, office manager or patient advocacy program. That seems like the best route right now.
But if anyone has more advice, please reply

[finz]

Does the frustration of dealing with this make your pain worse ? Stress just tightens up everything in my neck/shoulder area and really flares my symtoms.

Good luck on Monday with those phone calls

[lefthanded]

What does your state's w/c statute say about timeliness of reports? Perhaps if the state has a time frame in which they expect reports you could remind the doctor. I know most states have penalties for non-compliant docs. . . .but it seems your w/c claims person would know that and push it from that angle.

Could you make another appointment with the doctor to ask him to go over the report with you? Then, at that time you could ask for a copy.

[WC Nightmare]

Every state WC has and ombudsmen. You can usually go on line or call in a complaint they will send the doctor a warning to respond within so many days if they do not they can loose there right to work comp business. If you have a family doctor you can transfer his file and have him right the note.

[thursday]

Oh yeah.
I got the P&S report finally in October!!
WC just issued a back pay Permenent disability check in November. It was for the time they stopped payments (when they heard I was P&S in Feb yet had no written report) until the time they got the physical report. It was a big chunk of change and now I suspect I'll be handing it over to State Disability Insurance since I have been recieving it while I had no WC....

In conclusion, let me re-iterate that it took 8 months to get my P&S report written!!

Thank you for your help on this matter Finz, Jo, Left and WC Nightmare. You did help me light a fire under his butt.