SurvivingInfidelity.com^®

Well first I wasn't able to get on here this morning. An error page kept showing. Wonder if it was just me.

Anyways last week wh got hurt at work. Ended up taking him to the ER. While there he mentioned that within the last couple of weeks he had passed out. They immediately do an ECG. He's then sent for an x ray of his shoulder.

Er doc says he has AC separation and rotator cuff injury.

Ecg didnt show anything so he makes the suggestion to follow up with our family doctor for the shoulder AND to see about having a monitor put on for his heart.

Wh is put on modified duties for 2 weeks, forms for work related injury all done AT the hospital.

The moment we got home from the hospital I called family doc and made it very clear that the appointment was to discuss a HEART MONITOR and see how his shoulder is healing.

Last night was the appointment with family doc. All that was discussed was his shoulder AND the doc ended up filling out the same damn work injury forms with just one change, ordering an ultrasound and the possibility of needing physical therapy depending on what the ultrasound shows.

When we bring up the heart monitor the doc says that he does ONE issue per appointment and to make a separate appointment for the heart thing. OMFG!

The office was empty, I specifically told reception what NEEDED TO BE COVERED and the time needed for that, it takes us an hour and a half to get there and wh works so he's limited to just the evening appointments.

Wh had to finish filling out the forms with his info then the receptionist needed to make copies. While he's doing that I ask her for another evening appointment for wh. She gives me an afternoon appointment. So I say again, LATE evening appointment. After the third time explaining I asked for a specific TIME hoping she got it.

Anyone else wanna pull out their hair and scream.....

Is this a new normal? Making an appointment for each thing you want to discuss with your doctor? And frankly the forms didn't need to be done AGAIN, nor the total shoulder range of motion thing when it hadn't even been two weeks yet.

The main concern was to get the heart checked to rule that out for why he's passed out. Grrrrr.

I don't know the rules on billing/coding/reimbursement in Canada, but I suspect that this is common practice.
You can only bill for one treatment/evaluation when seen in the office, or if you do bill for more than one thing, you only get reimbursed for 1/3-1/2 of what you would if it were separate visits, here in the US.

HOWEVER..... You have to prioritize the issues per most life threatening to least, that being said, cardiac issues supersede ortho issues.

Yes it is incredibly frustrating to not be listened to, and to have to come back again, especially w/ him passing out, without a known cause.... Now if he had been working outside in 100 degree heat, and not staying hydrated, and passed out I would not be nearly as concerned about it being cardiac in nature.

Push for the cardiac follow up if his passing out is not explained like scenario above.

Well I had thought I made the cardiac issue the priority when i made the appointment but when we got into the office the doc asked what's up wh mentioned shoulder first.

Still the doc had the ER report. He actually spent a ton of time complaining about what they didn't do ie ultrasound, set up physio etc. Time wasted in my opinion. I don't know why the work injury forms had to be filled out again. Same forms as the hospital.

The first time wh passed out he was driving. The van just started to slow down I look over and he's out. Damn lucky his foot came off the gas pedal!!! I screamed at him and shook him, his head popped up and he pulled over for me to drive. He has no recollection of that happening. Didnt feel light headed. Guess who is doing ALL of the driving now...

The second time he was having his nipple bar piercing jewelry switched out for hoops. That time he did feel faint, he said he did as he grabbed the table. The piercer and I both grabbed wh just in time.

Both times he was out about 15-20 seconds.

Once he came too, piercer insisted he lay down for a while and drink iced tea to increase sugar.

Wh lost 70 lbs in just over a month back in March. He is skin and bone. He barely eats. Just dinner and usually he will just eat a wrap sandwich and salads.

He never feels rested even if he sleeps. He's always tired.

He also either sounds like he's struggling to breath when sleeping or stops breathing and then jolts up and takes a breath AND he can breath so shallow and quiet that I have actually checked for a pulse to make sure he isn't dead!

I have always been o. Him to see the doctor but he's been stubborn and refused. I know I couldn't force him. Now that he's feeling like crap and hurt he agreed to go.

The next appointment specifically for the heart is on the 24th. Bloodwork would be good to do as well.

That's nuts. I usually have the opposite response. In fact, during a fairly recent visit to the doctor for a checkup, I mentioned that sometimes I can feel a sore spot if I push really hard in my side, under my ribs. Next thing I know, my doctor is scheduling an ultrasound, setting up appointments with a specialist and running umpteen blood tests to see what's going on. If I had mentioned a heart problem, I think they would have air-lifted me to the hospital! :)

Seriously however, I have never had a doctor tell me that they wouldn't even discuss something else during an appt, especially something as serious as a heart issue. I mean sure, it would make sense for them to say, "That's important, let's schedule something in the near future to take some tests", however it makes no sense to me to refuse to speak about it. That's a violation of the Hippocratic oath I think.

Has he been checked for sleep apnea? My husband would sound and look like he was struggling to breath, make loud noises and startle himself. When he was tested he was indeed having multiple episodes a night where he was not breathing. He sleeps much better now that it's treated.

The passing out while driving is scary. So glad nobody was hurt.

Hope they figure out what's going on.

I couldn't sign on to SI this morning either so it was not just you.

The fact that this room had been been redone with NO chair for the doctor to sit down set off my worry senses as soon as we walked in. I've had appointments when doctors and I know if they don't sit down they aren't going to give you the time or focus you need!

DaddyDom

That's what happened when I went to the urgent care clinic for something in my eye. Happened to mention I was having a bad day since I woke up with chest pain. Doc stopped me and had me go straight to the hospital across the street where I was immediately taken back for ECG. It wasn't until I was cleared from a heart attack that they even looked at my eye and by then whatever was in it I had rubbed out leaving just a scratch.

No wh has never been tested for sleep apnea because he's never brought that up. He hasn't seen the family doctor since well before covid started. Always refused to go. Had I not driven him yesterday he probably wouldn't have gone.

I hate it too. I'm not his mother! But I knoe if he has an accident due to a condition he knows he has or suspects insurance won't cover it so this affects me too since I'm under the same policy. I'm just being the responsible adult.

The only thing I can add to this is:

Our primary care physician, who also happens to be a friend, will listen to, treat, and brainstorm about any number of things we bring to him when we have an appointment.

On the other hand, our orthopedic group will schedule an appointment for only one body part per appointment. And that IS very frustrating!

When I say family doc I mean primary care physician. Same thing I guess. So yeah I expect him to hear me out when there's a range of issues thst need to be addressed. Especially when one is more concerning than the other...

Wh says he handed in the new forms but his boss had him sign a waiver for modified duties because he's not actually On modified duties and this covers him for any further injury or issue...

I call bullshit.

Boss also said he made sure he got paid for the two days he took off. We will see when he gets his pay tomorrow.

That is the new norm in Ontario because of the way the doctor can bill OHIP. They get a set rate per appointment, and it's actually fairly low considering they have to pay for their staff, overhead etc. If the appointment takes 3 minutes or 3 hours, it's the same amount that they receive. Many doctors have gone to this one issue per appointment model because of this. It's sad, but it's the state of OHIP right now.

I'm already livid at the system up here this just pisses me off to no end. With what we pay in taxes and all the talk I hear about making health are private I want to scream. It's bull feces!

And our doctor should know that a fucking heart issue is more important to deal with than an AC separation! Duh!

Our girls just had their optometrist followups and dd isn't doing well. The eye doc asks all the time when the last time the family doc saw her. I say years since he always passes thr buck to some other doctor and refuses to deal with any issue she may have. It's maddening.

I'm hoping that wh is just exhausted from work and isn't dying of anything. He's been a super asshole lately and there's just no way I could care for him.

Ya I know I'm being a bitch but owell.

Well, this is interesting. Definitely not the case in the US because medical decision making may be used for selecting the right billing code, and the number of acute or chronic conditions can affect billing codes.

It will probably take somebody suing them because the wrong problem was addressed at the appointment.

Frankly, if your wh had another fainting spell, this doctor could be sued for not addressing the problem.

I'm curious about this, too. My primary physician has said the same thing for years: one issue per appointment. And then, of course, you can't get an appointment because they're so overbooked. I wonder why?

My mom's doctor asks her about whatever she needs to discuss all in one appointment, so I'm planning to switch.

This does make me worry. Wh will have the appointment for the passing out BUT will the doc only address possible heart issues or will he also order bloodwork?

That needs to be done! Wh is tired all the time and lost 70lbs in just over a month. Come on. That's NOT normal!

I will be driving him but I can't go up with him. If the doc gives any attitude ill lose it.