I had to take a couple minutes out of my work day to blog about lawyers. No offense Brad, but lawyers suck! Well, mainly custody battle's suck.
Instance # 1: Mr. Lawyer calls and says his son is going to be a new patient in our office (we LOVE new patients!!). He needs to come here to establish records and get copies of clinical notes from the dentist mom took him to in California. Dad has custody and does not want the child to have braces in California because then he thinks mom would request custody, etc. Dad raised the child while mom was in medical school, blah, blah. I need to call the other office and get the records if I can get them e-mailed that would be awesome. Oh, and can I call dad when I get the records. Oh, and can I ask about what the insurance is and what the identification number is, cuz mom won't give it to him, and he needs to know it. Oh, and can I give him the id # when I find it out. So, 4 days and a conversation-with-him-every-single-day later he calls to cancel the appointment. Mom is agreeing to have dental and orthodontic treatment with a dentist in Utah, so dad needs to be compliant. What a waste of my time!!
Instance # 2: A mom calls and says she's in this big custody battle with the father of her cute 3 year old. He needs to have an IV sedation because he needs fillings on 9 teeth, so I told her she needs to pay a $200.00 deposit. She tells the dad, who calls me and asks if the deposit will be refundable. I say only if the two insurances pay all of the billed amount, then of course I will be happy to refund the deposit to whomever pays it. Then later his lawyer calls and says they need a letter stating what the deposit is for, and once the treatment has been completed, they will need a copy of the billed charges. In my happy voice, I tell them of course I will comply with their request for lots of papers.
I am justifying this blog because I never post about work items, and I thought everyone would want to know about my work as well as my home life. I am here at work about half of the week, so technically I should blog half the time about work...but I wont.
Monday, October 22, 2007
I LOVE lawyers
Posted by Mandi at 2:15 PM
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5 comments:
Kinda like cops: lawyers only seem to pop up when they want to hassle you.
All the crap that keeps patient care at a minimum. Lawyers seem to take the simple things in life & make them complicated. It is interesting to hear about your job, though!
I have to post this comment that Kenda sent to me in an e-mail. She really needs a g-mail account and then she can comment on all my posts.
Here's her e-mail:
10-22-07:
So today while on hold with insurance, I read your latest blog "I LOVE Lawyers"- hillarious !! I only wish I could comment directly on your blog. I hate those kind of people- there are so many things that you wish you could just say to them but can't. I also thought you could add a blog about insurance- although that might be a very long blog- I know I could go on and on and on about them. I also have to add- I HATE- the people you think they know more about your job than you do- ex: Patient: I called my insur and they told me this and that, ME: yeah I know I called them too- but the difference is I understand what they are saying. You apparently don't (not that I really say that to them) I honestly don't mind the work blogs maybe because I deal with it too. I love seeing pics of your kids- O.M.G. they are big- Rachel what happened- wasn't she just a baby like yesterday. Has it really been that long since I've seen them!! Hope all is well with you!! Keep on blogging- it kills time waiting for insurance to answer!! :) Kenda
A follow-up comment in my profession's defense. You have to realize that the lawyers aren't really the actors in the scenarios described and complained about here. They are the agents of some moronic, disgruntled person who is trying to make life difficult for someone else. It's a "shoot the messenger" issue here. It's facile, reductionist tomfoolery to assert that lawyers actually want to do this kind of crap--they simply have to because that is what some litigious, mal-adjusted client is paying them to do.
I have to agree with Brad on his last comment. Its not the lawyers. They are just doing what their clients want. Go brad!
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