What would you do if
 

What would you do if you found out that your Dr.'s office forgot to send your random drug screen results to workers comp and as a result a letter was sent to your Dr's office from workers comp stating that they were going to deny my medication as a result? How about finding out the letter gave 10 days to respond and file an appeal and the Dr's staff didn't flag it for review, instead just filed it?If it took you 8 days to convince the Office Manager at the Dr's office to forward a letter to your adjuster at workers comp explaining that they were taking responsibility for the errors and another 2 days to receive a copy of the letter only to find out it was worded very carefully as to not really take responsibility? What if you had a script for your medicine but didn't have $500.00 to pick it up because workers comp won't pay for it due to the Dr's staff errors? And what if when you ask the Office Manager to speak to the Dr regarding this situation, you are told that won't happen because it is an administrative issue? How about when you ask to speak to the Dr yourself and you are rerouted to the Office Manager? What would you do if your attorney then tells you due to the ruling in 2013, he can't go to court regarding utilization reviews and fight it. That has been my last 3 weeks. The stress is making my CRPS worse. I am wearing my last pain patch. I really need to know, what would you do?

We have a work comp forum here also, there might be past posts on a topic like this..
Another thought is use the whole site search for work comp, meds, and any other keywords that might find related topics..
Many other health conditions here might have similar w/ comp issues..

Seems like the Drs office and your atty need to have a talk..
He should be able to write a letter to Drs office, stating something to the effect of how important for your health & regulations by W/C for things to be done timely.. a legal & official notice of care letter..

And if both of those let you down- call or write your gov officials, and whoever owns or the oversees company of the drs office.. over & above the dr & the office manager..
Of course they may retaliate by not treating you anymore, so that is a consideration before it goes that far.. are they good other wise or not so good..or the best dr option locally..

Personally...I would start looking for an attorney who could take action against the doctor's ofgice. Your work comp attorney may be correct that he cannot do much in this case...as for example when my company tried to fire me after my case was settled my work comp attorney could not help me with a retaliation or discrimination lawsuit. I went to the EEOC and filed a charge of discrimination against my company...but that wouldn't work in yout case...you would need a separate attorney for a lawsuit against the doctor's office gor negligence or something along those lined. That should be a last resort and could end up neing expensive. An initial consultation may be free though so it may be worth exploring if you have tried everything else with no luck. Keep on your work comp attorney though as he should be able to go beforr the work comp commission and get your treatment approved that way. Neither option will be fast though unfortunately. I hope you are able to work it out...but my best advice in the meantime is DOCUMENT EVRRYTHING.

Do you or your lawyer have a contact person at WC who can tell you if they received that letter from the Office Manager? Perhaps this issue will be resolved soon or they can tell you what needs to be done.

Have you discussed these issues only over the phone or have you gone to the office? Sometimes a face to face meeting works better. Just stay calm. Not easy, I know.

My husband and I have left a doctor because of terrible office staff. Issues like this should never happen and when they do, immediate action should be taken to correct it. An apology helps. The doctor is ultimately responsible for his staff, but if he is not aware of it, he can't help. I really agree with Jo*Mar's entire post. Having the lawyer write a letter or make a phone call should get his attention.

I was also going to recommend contacting your state representative or senator's office. You could also file a complaint with the state's medical board, but I wouldn't take these actions without having the lawyer contact your doctor first. If you can't get in touch with your doctor, I would discuss these issues at your next appointment if you plan to stay with the doctor. You could also send a certified letter to the doctor explaining how you are suffering because of his office staff. Discuss any action you take with your present lawyer or a new one if necessary.

Good luck and I hope that you get your meds soon.

Shay