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The medical profession really scares me. They have no respect or concern for patients and are largely going through the motions of providing care with no concer
by arielweisberg 8y ago
The medical profession really scares me. They have no respect or concern for patients and are largely going through the motions of providing care with no concern for successful outcomes. I find this to be consistently true in every encounter.
I fired my last PCP because they lied about treating me for depression complete with fictional prescriptions. I found out when I couldn't get disability insurance (at a sane price) because there was history of depression in my records I didn't know about.
I asked the PCP to correct it and they said they couldn't they might get sued for insurance fraud. What a joke!
So I avoided doctors for three years. Eventually I got to a new PCP and guess what I find when I check their notes? A herniated disk I don't have (I know, I have the MRI to prove it) and they claimed I was being treated for ADD even though I haven't been treated for that since I left my last PCP and we didn't talk about it beyond my mentioning I used to "have" it.
Believe it or not ADD is a thing insurance companies think can cease to be an ongoing issue. You just have to stop taking the medication. And then poof you go from being mentally ill to having a history of mental illness (yes ADD is a mental illness). It's critically important you not let medical professionals claim you are being treated for fictional things and how long it has been since you were treated matters a lot. If you let them claim they are treating you for a long ago resolved condition they revive it and suddenly you are a bigger liability.
If you go to purchase insurance on the open market or long term disability you will be dinged for the rest of your life for anything they claim as part of their insurance fraud. If it's an ongoing or recent issue you are dinged even worse.
PCPs in particular are financially incentivized to invent issues they are treating you for in their records because they can bill more for office visits if they can increase the number, complexity, and seriousness of the conditions they treat you for. And the insurance companies just take them at their word!
And the craziest part is that as part of HIPAA you can ask the doctor to correct the record, but they are under no obligation to do so. They make the final determination of medical fact, or fiction as it were. You can add a letter to your file pointing out how insane and contradictory their records are, but I can tell you from experience insurance companies aren't buying it and have no appetite for risk.
- luddaite 8y agoIt seems pretty unfair to malign the entire field of medicine due to a single bad actor. I went to medical school prior to becoming an engineer and my impression was that most if not all of my classmates were genuine in their desire to help improve the lives of others. I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with your previous PCP but they don't represent the profession as a whole. Also, if ADD is not a mental illness then what is it? I think this point is a conflation between medical definitions and social stigma.
- lylecubed 8y ago> It seems pretty unfair to malign the entire field of medicine due to a single bad actor. Do a little research. Prescription fraud of this sort is widespread in the US.
- luddaite 8y agoI have definitely seen anecdotal stories of this occurring. Do you have any evidence to back up your claim that this type of behavior is widespread?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- arielweisberg 8y agoSingle? I just gave two. This not the only anecdata. Friends, family, and a family business. It’s not a scientific study. I was trying to give practical advice. If things are hunky dory in your neck of the woods great!
- e40 8y agoYou seem to have terrible luck finding PCPs. What area of the country are you in? Big or small city?
- arielweisberg 8y agoBig city. There are reams of them to choose from I just don’t invest much time in it because I am mostly healthy.
- ThrustVectoring 8y ago>And the craziest part is that as part of HIPAA you can ask the doctor to correct the record, but they are under no obligation to do so. Couldn't you sue (or threaten to sue) them for libel? It's a written false statement that is injurious to your reputation.
- arielweisberg 8y agoMaybe? I feel like interacting with lawyers is a losing proposition. I never consulted one to see what was possible. I am not the kind of person who uses the legal system to make a point.