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The last time I had an abscess, I went to an urgent care. I paid cash ($80), told the doctor that I believed I had an abscess, and asked for a prescription for

The last time I had an abscess, I went to an urgent care. I paid cash ($80), told the doctor that I believed I had an abscess, and asked for a prescription for antibiotics since I was traveling and it would be at least a couple of days before I could see my dentist. He did a very cursory oral exam, wrote the prescription, and we were done.

maxerickson 9y ago
So how do I get my money back from the hospital/doctor that did a CT scan to investigate my sinus infection at 4 AM? (I had a cavity on a tooth and the infection irritated that tooth so I had pretty good pain on that tooth and non localized pain along my whole jaw and also had never had such a painful sinus infection and went to the ER because I didn't understand why it was so painful. I bitched at them, they came back with "the doctor wanted to be sure there was no abscess". What really pisses me off is that having the radiologist do the diagnosis kicked the visit up to a more expensive billing code, because apparently it's complicated to do imaging and defer the diagnosis. They bill you to collect the information to make the diagnosis obvious and then bill you more because they collected more information.)
- LyndsySimon 9y ago
  If you were confident that's what it was and were willing to take the risk, you should have refused the additional test. Doctor's advice is just that - advice.
  - maxerickson 9y ago
    My ramble above isn't all that clear, but I wasn't confident at all, I didn't understand why I had the amount of pain I did (hence going to the ER in the middle of the night). The point is the doctor wanted to check for an abscess.
    - LyndsySimon 9y ago
      Of course he wanted to check for an abscess - an abscess into the sinus cavity can be a very big deal. Whether or not to perform that diagnostic is not his decision, it's yours. I think we're speaking to different things, though. I'm simply saying that there are ways for people without health insurance to obtain a prescription for an antibiotic without going to an emergency room and incurring a large debt.
      - maxerickson 9y ago
        I'm not sure we are speaking to different things. I'm skeptical that a pharmacist would want to accept any liability to sell the $4 of antibiotics. The not simple part (my relating my experience is to argue that it isn't always simple). I wonder what the doctor you saw would do with someone less sure of their issue.

maxerickson 9y ago

So how do I get my money back from the hospital/doctor that did a CT scan to investigate my sinus infection at 4 AM? (I had a cavity on a tooth and the infection irritated that tooth so I had pretty good pain on that tooth and non localized pain along my whole jaw and also had never had such a painful sinus infection and went to the ER because I didn't understand why it was so painful. I bitched at them, they came back with "the doctor wanted to be sure there was no abscess". What really pisses me off is that having the radiologist do the diagnosis kicked the visit up to a more expensive billing code, because apparently it's complicated to do imaging and defer the diagnosis. They bill you to collect the information to make the diagnosis obvious and then bill you more because they collected more information.)

LyndsySimon 9y ago
If you were confident that's what it was and were willing to take the risk, you should have refused the additional test. Doctor's advice is just that - advice.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  My ramble above isn't all that clear, but I wasn't confident at all, I didn't understand why I had the amount of pain I did (hence going to the ER in the middle of the night). The point is the doctor wanted to check for an abscess.
  - LyndsySimon 9y ago
    Of course he wanted to check for an abscess - an abscess into the sinus cavity can be a very big deal. Whether or not to perform that diagnostic is not his decision, it's yours. I think we're speaking to different things, though. I'm simply saying that there are ways for people without health insurance to obtain a prescription for an antibiotic without going to an emergency room and incurring a large debt.
    - maxerickson 9y ago
      I'm not sure we are speaking to different things. I'm skeptical that a pharmacist would want to accept any liability to sell the $4 of antibiotics. The not simple part (my relating my experience is to argue that it isn't always simple). I wonder what the doctor you saw would do with someone less sure of their issue.