Re: [QUAD-L] Urinalysis costs_Urine test strips
AMEN TO THAT LORI-- THESE LABS ARE SCREW UPS MUCH OF THE TIME ! THEY HAVE THROWN MY SPECIMENS OUT MANY TIMES, THEN OTHER TIMES DIAGNOSS ME WITH SOMETHING--THEN AS I'M BEING TREATED, CHECK BLOOD AND URINE AGAIN AND GET A TOTAL DIFFERENT READING AND CHANGE THE DRUGS ONCE AGAIN! --- WE DO NEED THEM BUT LIKE ALL JOBS --- THEY HAVE GOOD WORKERS THAT CARE AND OTHERS THAT JUST WANT A PAYCHECK AND COULD CARE LESS IF YOU SUFFER OR DIE. DAN H. Lori Michaelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Wheel... I think Bill's itemized list only contained a urinalysis. That is just usual protocol. A culture and sensitivity has to be specifically ordered by a doctor. Whether outside the hospital or inside the hospital. If I drop off a urine specimen at my doctor's office ... they will only do a urinalysis unless the doctor orders the culture and sensitivities. Further, they will not automatically these sensitivities unless it is firmly ordered. Laboratory technicians think they are superfluous if only such and such shows up on the culture. They take it upon themselves to do or not to do sensitivities. Which is wrong. They also get paid the same for doing extra so why bother to do the sensitivities which take another 48 hours -- some more than often often think. John ... my goodness are you kidding? At first I thought you were being facetious and sarcastic but maybe not. Maybe you missed my post on the laissez-faire attitude of laboratory technicians. The real facts are --that they are supposed to meet very high standards but they don't! JCAHO only visits twice a year. Whooopie. They don't get results mixed up? I have lived in three different states and have had so many laboratory errors made that it is scary. Because my husband was once a chief lab technician... even back in the 70s he would see how lazy his staff would be and he put a stop to it when he saw it but that is not the norm! Since my husband is able to read laboratory results (be it urine or blood) ... he has caught so many mistakes. Blatant ones. Even some of my doctors have thanked him for pointing things out that they just overlooked and wrote out the wrong antibiotic for me because of that. Some of them even do something called sink testing which is more common than not. There is a reason it has a name -- they get lazy and dump samples down the sink. I kid you not. And there are telltale signs that only a laboratory technician or a chief laboratory technician would recognize that something is rotten in Denmark when certain results are this or that or do not come back for 10 days, etc.. I am not saying this because I want to disagree with you but because I have worked with doctors and nurses who also see it happen all the time as well. Perhaps you were being sarcastic however. Lori On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 11:02 AM, John S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yup, they use test strips and some have backup tests. The important part is that you get a complete battery of tests performed fast and accurately. These labs meet very high standards and don't get results mixed up. that has to be worth $15. john - Original Message From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 8:33:44 PM Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Urinalysis costs_Urine test strips I don't believe hospitals or labs do the dip test as much as they do cultures and microscope inspection before releasing the information. I don't believe the use the strips as you do. Strips don't tell you which bacteria you have either. Am I wrong? Best Wishes In a message dated 7/1/2008 6:50:07 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: When I eventually found out by myself that the reason I was having so many UTIs was because my urine pH level was always too high. It was always like a 7.5 (too alkaline and great and friendly for bugs to grow) rather than a preferred '6'. Recently my husband had to make a big medical products order and he ordered those urine test strips. We ordered a jar of 100 and they came out to be $.28 apiece. They test 11 different things (nitrates, blood, pH level, etc. etc. etc. etc.) and is the same thing as a urinalysis. At the time, my husband commented that labs charge around $30 for urinalysis and Bill just showed us that his hospital bill charged $99 plus dollars for a urinalysis! In real reality (not to be redundant) ... it only costs about 10 or $.15 to dip one of those in urine. Medical system = highway robbery. Lori Michaelson Age - 43 C4/5 complete quad, 28 1/2 years post Tucson, AZ - Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. -- Lori C4/5 complete quad, 27 years
Re: [QUAD-L] Urinalysis costs_Urine test strips
Danny, In the defense of labs, it isn't unusual for one treatment to nearly eliminate one or two bugs only to have another opportunistic bug that's resistant to Treatment #1 begin vigorously invading thus requiring a different or broader Treatment #2. Sure, there' some bad techs just wanting a paycheck... accuracy be damned... and plenty of good techs doing the job they love and doing it well. Is this any different from ANY other work environment? Think about an auto mechanic, a computr tech, a Voc. Rehab counselor... some great, some good, some mediocre and some awful. So, you are right about one thing, for sure: --- WE DO NEED THEM BUT LIKE ALL JOBS --- THEY HAVE GOOD WORKERS THAT CARE AND OTHERS THAT JUST WANT A PAYCHECK AND COULD CARE LESS... But, to say ...COULD CARE LESS IF YOU SUFFER OR DIE, is pretty extreme. I've used several labs, get copies of all my results (and check) and VERY rarely have problems that aren't correctly treated the first time. Best regards, --Tod Danny Hearn [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: THEN OTHER TIMES DIAGNOSS ME WITH SOMETHING--THEN AS I'M BEING TREATED, CHECK BLOOD AND URINE AGAIN AND GET A TOTAL DIFFERENT READING AND CHANGE THE DRUGS ONCE AGAIN! --- WE DO NEED THEM BUT LIKE ALL JOBS --- THEY HAVE GOOD WORKERS THAT CARE AND OTHERS THAT JUST WANT A PAYCHECK AND COULD CARE LESS IF YOU SUFFER OR DIE. DAN H.
[QUAD-L] Re: [TMIC] Three-Year Mark
Good Afternoon, Many of you have asked my age, and how I manage. I am now 51 years old. I spent my 48th birthday in the hospital. It is very difficult to manage, because maybe not as many of you with TM may experience it, but many quadriplegics have experience with lack or loss of support from friends, family and community members. It is so hurtful and disappointing when friends, and especially family does not help or support you. If not for the help and support of my mother and husband and my strong faith in God, I would have surely lost my mind by now. I truly appreciate the support of my online friends. Naomi C4-incomplete, quadriplegic since July 2005 due to Transverse Myelitis **Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut000507)
Re: [QUAD-L] Medicare fraud is blatant but is not being stopped
I don't doubt anything you said. I'm just saying, I haven't had the same problems. In fact, I have had problems with Medicare, not doctors or hospitals or DME's. I certainly do not doubt you. If I had a doormat like you I wouldn't miss so many visitors. I think you might try looking at the coding your insurance expects your doctor to use to bill them. It is all gibberish that is required to get paid EFFICIENTLY.? Honestly, no insurance company or medical payer can withstand an audit because of these codes. Obviously, you are being ripped off, but see if you can follow the money. john P.S. I wasn't at anytime saying you shouldn't ask questions, just letting you know what I have run into here. - Original Message From: Lori Michaelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: John S. [EMAIL PROTECTED]; quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 8:05:11 PM Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Medicare fraud is blatant but is not being stopped I think you missed the part whereby WE DID NOT accuse them of fraud. We only wanted, and kindly asked for numerous times, for a readable bill and they refused to give us one. Are we supposed to let the problem only worsen by not questioning things? Being doormats? Which only exacerbates the problem that already exists. If my a*s was covered 100% and *I* was not having to shell out what I have to... I would probably just go along. It's always easier just to go along isn't it??? The problem with that is that more and more people walk all over you. And they will walk all over others. Constantly taking advantage of the elderly also and robbing them of their life savings. I had a huge problem with a home infusion Co. as well. The owner said that he would only charge me $500 (as I was a second customer giving him business) but that changed when his billing department changed and he eventually turned us in to a collection agency. We were getting a bill from them for $1500 for all the paraphernalia that Medicare does not cover. BUT ... if I need them again they better not refuse to give me what the doctor ordered or they will be in court. And we have saved everything (paperwork). Bottom line... does everyone here want to remain sheeple? I don't think the quad list will let me attach a photograph of an example of sheeple so if anyone does not have it and wants it... e-mail me separately with the subject changed to SHEEPLE or I will miss it. Or perhaps you can google it and see it online somewhere. I almost missed this post from John below to respond to. Lori On Tue, Jul 1, 2008 at 2:09 PM, John S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I don't doubt a word you say, but I have never had a doctor get what Medicare owed them. I know a lot of people think Dr.s should be paid the same as barbers. My doctors have also employed relatives. Why not? Nepotism is a problem in police forces and government, not a doctors office. My doctor charges $80 per visit and Medicare pays him $42. My podiatrist will get $66. The vet gets $65. The insurance company flips a coin and if the doctor wins, he gets the coin. Medicare fraud to me is when I am told I'll soon be using a Pride Jazzy. My Waiver representative is an atheist so to save gas she calls me each month to see if I'm alive and have I started jogging yet? A usual litany of questions regarding each others lives and g'bye. On occasions I have had bad doctors. A urologist in fact. I did report him to Medicare, but I'm sure he still practices medicine. I would not expect the doctor to set up more appointments if I just accused him of fraud! This accusation is a doctor/patient relationship killer. Some Doctors are so good they do make millions. I do not resent a single dollar. If you accuse the medical system of malpractice and fraud very often, you will start having trouble seeing doctors that are not in an Emergency Room. You won't find anyone that wants to work for while you accuse them of federal crimes. Your name will get around and you will be going to Dr's that only see Medicare cases. I've seen doctors submit very large bills to Medicare that I thought were a little steep. This guy is 44 years old and still paying student loans from hell while trying to raise a family and after the insurance company is allowed to price fix against doctors, Medicare undercuts him by 70% and the rest are too poor to even send an X-mas card, then he has to buy malpractice insurance that costs him so much that many really good doctors only work for drug companies. Now, just to show how stupid they can be, congress has decided it will cut any doctor bills by 10 percent. Why not cut what tort lawyers get by ten percent. Cut the amount lawyers get from Medicare by 10 percent and save big money. Cut back all payments from the US government to lawyers until the budget is balanced! We will have a balanced budget in 6 months. Treating Doctors as if they cause health care problems is the DUMBEST thing
Re: [QUAD-L] Urinalysis costs_Urine test strips
I was being sarcastic. I guess in my mind, I think you all knew that by the shortness. - Original Message From: Lori Michaelson [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: John S. [EMAIL PROTECTED]; quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Wednesday, July 2, 2008 8:27:43 PM Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Urinalysis costs_Urine test strips Wheel... I think Bill's itemized list only contained a urinalysis. That is just usual protocol. A culture and sensitivity has to be specifically ordered by a doctor. Whether outside the hospital or inside the hospital. If I drop off a urine specimen at my doctor's office ... they will only do a urinalysis unless the doctor orders the culture and sensitivities. Further, they will not automatically these sensitivities unless it is firmly ordered. Laboratory technicians think they are superfluous if only such and such shows up on the culture. They take it upon themselves to do or not to do sensitivities. Which is wrong. They also get paid the same for doing extra so why bother to do the sensitivities which take another 48 hours -- some more than often often think. John ... my goodness are you kidding? At first I thought you were being facetious and sarcastic but maybe not. Maybe you missed my post on the laissez-faire attitude of laboratory technicians. The real facts are --that they are supposed to meet very high standards but they don't! JCAHO only visits twice a year. Whooopie. They don't get results mixed up? I have lived in three different states and have had so many laboratory errors made that it is scary. Because my husband was once a chief lab technician... even back in the 70s he would see how lazy his staff would be and he put a stop to it when he saw it but that is not the norm! Since my husband is able to read laboratory results (be it urine or blood) ... he has caught so many mistakes. Blatant ones. Even some of my doctors have thanked him for pointing things out that they just overlooked and wrote out the wrong antibiotic for me because of that. Some of them even do something called sink testing which is more common than not. There is a reason it has a name -- they get lazy and dump samples down the sink. I kid you not. And there are telltale signs that only a laboratory technician or a chief laboratory technician would recognize that something is rotten in Denmark when certain results are this or that or do not come back for 10 days, etc.. I am not saying this because I want to disagree with you but because I have worked with doctors and nurses who also see it happen all the time as well. Perhaps you were being sarcastic however. Lori On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 11:02 AM, John S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Yup, they use test strips and some have backup tests. The important part is that you get a complete battery of tests performed fast and accurately. These labs meet very high standards and don't get results mixed up. that has to be worth $15. john - Original Message From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 8:33:44 PM Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Urinalysis costs_Urine test strips I don't believe hospitals or labs do the dip test as much as they do cultures and microscope inspection before releasing the information. I don't believe the use the strips as you do. Strips don't tell you which bacteria you have either. Am I wrong? Best Wishes In a message dated 7/1/2008 6:50:07 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: When I eventually found out by myself that the reason I was having so many UTIs was because my urine pH level was always too high. It was always like a 7.5 (too alkaline and great and friendly for bugs to grow) rather than a preferred '6'. Recently my husband had to make a big medical products order and he ordered those urine test strips. We ordered a jar of 100 and they came out to be $.28 apiece. They test 11 different things (nitrates, blood, pH level, etc. etc. etc. etc.) and is the same thing as a urinalysis. At the time, my husband commented that labs charge around $30 for urinalysis and Bill just showed us that his hospital bill charged $99 plus dollars for a urinalysis! In real reality (not to be redundant) ... it only costs about 10 or $.15 to dip one of those in urine. Medical system = highway robbery. Lori Michaelson Age - 43 C4/5 complete quad, 28 1/2 years post Tucson, AZ Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. -- Lori C4/5 complete quad, 27 years post Tucson, AZ
[QUAD-L] Miralax -stool softner
To people who use Miralax for bowel care, I just bought Miralax to try. It says that it produces a bowel movement in 1-3 days. If you use this product, when do you take it? I do bowel care every-other-day in the morning.Example, Sunday morning, Tuesday, Thursday, etc. One person says he takes it 24 hours before bowel care. I know everybodys body is different but I wanted to hear what would be a good time to try. So, I can avoid accidents-I live alone. I am using this product to soften the stool. and hoping it helps heal a hemmorhoid. Thanks, Derrick W. in PA c/5 quad
Re: [QUAD-L] Miralax -stool softner
I have it in my morning coffee everyday. Have a bowel movement everyday.
Re: [QUAD-L] Miralax -stool softner
Hi Derrick, I use it the right before BP, which I do every other morning. Otherwise my stools get too soft, if I do daily. Thanks, pj - Original Message - From: Derrick [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 1:24 PM Subject: [QUAD-L] Miralax -stool softner To people who use Miralax for bowel care, I just bought Miralax to try. It says that it produces a bowel movement in 1-3 days. If you use this product, when do you take it? I do bowel care every-other-day in the morning.Example, Sunday morning, Tuesday, Thursday, etc. One person says he takes it 24 hours before bowel care. I know everybodys body is different but I wanted to hear what would be a good time to try. So, I can avoid accidents-I live alone. I am using this product to soften the stool. and hoping it helps heal a hemmorhoid. Thanks, Derrick W. in PA c/5 quad
Re: [QUAD-L] Miralax -stool softner
Im on narcotics so i take it morning and evening before bowel regime the next morning. john - Original Message From: Derrick [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Thursday, July 3, 2008 4:24:00 PM Subject: [QUAD-L] Miralax -stool softner To people who use Miralax for bowel care, I just bought Miralax to try. It says that it produces a bowel movement in 1-3 days. If you use this product, when do you take it? I do bowel care every-other-day in the morning.Example, Sunday morning, Tuesday, Thursday, etc. One person says he takes it 24 hours before bowel care. I know everybodys body is different but I wanted to hear what would be a good time to try. So, I can avoid accidents-I live alone. I am using this product to soften the stool. and hoping it helps heal a hemmorhoid. Thanks, Derrick W. in PA c/5 quad
[QUAD-L] Re: Who Are You Going To Call?
Asclepios Your Weekly Medicare Consumer Advocacy Update Who Are You Going to Call? July 3, 2008 ; Volume 8, Issue 27 If you break your hip, do you call an orthopedic surgeon, or an insurance executive? Who do you trust to read your chest X-ray, your cardiologist or an insurance broker? Would you rather have a physical therapist or a private equity manager help you recover from a stroke? The vote last week by 39 senators against the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act jeopardizes the access people with Medicare have to doctors and other health care providers. This vote, against a bill that passed the House of Representatives with broad, bipartisan support, allows a 10.6 percent Medicare pay cut to take effect. It also imposes a $1,810 cap—with no exceptions allowed—on rehabilitation therapy. Patients recovering from stroke may face an abrupt halt in treatment because they are near or over their quota for treatment this year. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act, HR 6331, also helped guarantee access to providers for enrollees in private fee-for-service (PFFS) plans, Medicare private health plans that operate without a network of providers. PFFS plans are not subject to the same oversight by the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) as other types of Medicare private health plans. No one at CMS makes sure these plans provide adequate access to specialists and other providers before they are marketed. That means these plans can be sold in parts of the country even if no cardiologist, orthopedic surgeon or other specialist in the area will take the plan. HR 6331 would have required, over time and in areas of the country where other companies have established provider networks, that PFFS plans also set up networks that meet minimum access requirements. The insurance companies that sell these plans, and their cheerleaders in the White House, however, are opposed to this new protection for consumers. PFFS plans are a money-making bonanza, reaping payments for insurance companies that average 17 percent above comparable costs under Original Medicare. These plans do not need to establish networks, provide care coordination or report on the quality of care their members receive. The government is barred from reviewing the benefit packages offered by PFFS plans to ensure that taxpayers and enrollees are getting their money's worth. The vote against HR. 6331 last week was a vote to protect the special rules and exemptions that make PFFS plans so lucrative for insurance companies, even though it jeopardized access to care for people with Medicare. The senators who voted No last week will get a chance to vote again next week. Tell them they need to make the right choice. Call 1-866-622-2184 to connect toll-free to the Capitol Switchboard. Ask for your senator's office and tell your senator to cast a vote for HR. 6331 and for people with Medicare. You can also write and urge your senator to vote for HR. 6331. Medical Record I signed up for a Medicare Advantage Private-Fee-For-Service plan in June 2006 for $84 per month. The brochure from the insurance company sounded great with all the co-pays. My doctor would not accept the insurance and told me no doctor in town would! To see for myself, I called doctors. My doctor was right. I had to pay for visits out of pocket. I called the insurance company's customer services 6 to 8 times to find a doctor who would take my insurance. In December 2006, I called CMS to tell them I did not want this insurance company for 2007 nor any thing connected to them. I now have a drug plan with the same insurance company that I did not want. I had too much trouble with them, but CMS ispushing the insurance. (Story submitted to the Private Health Plan Monitoring Project (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=llI5IlM1JmI1KqJs=orJZK6OBL9LSK1PKEm=cgLMI1PzEbIWH) from Walnut, MS, March 2008) An estimated 700,000 Medicare beneficiaries will exceed the limit on their Medicare therapy benefit this year. These beneficiaries, the majority of whom reside in skilled nursing facilities, will suffer if the exception process is not maintained. Many of these beneficiaries are currently in the process of receiving needed care and were receiving such care on June 30th when the exception expired. With the exceptionprocess, their Medicare therapy benefit will end.(Baucus Fights To Protect Seniors' Access to Therapy Services Under Medicare (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=eeKRJ0NzHfLOI6Is=orJZK6OBL9LSK1PKEm=cgLMI1PzEbIWH), July 2008) Senate vote to invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed on HR. 6331 fell short of the 60 votes needed. Yea votes indicate support for passage of HR. 6331. No votes indicate opposition. Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, voted No to preserve the right to bring
RE: [QUAD-L] Air transportation
That place changed some rules from first statements. You have to transfer into the planes seats for take offs and landings, but can get back into the wheelchair during the flight. Still much better. Plus the no waiting at the airports 2 hours early. No sending your chair to the great unknown baggage where pieces end up broke or missing. Sure it's a smaller, slower, plane, but not a lot. Prices look reasonable. And using smaller airports can be much closer for most people. I'm using it next time I fly. I say a List user in a power chair sucks it up and takes one for the team and tries them out. (-: Greg http://www.iflymat.org/flying.htm Eligible passengers include: * Persons who use power wheelchairs and are medically able to ride in a small aircraft. Currently, you must be transferred to the aircraft seat on take off and landing. (these aircraft seat armrests lower completely) However, during the flight you can be transferred back to your wheelchair which will remain right next to you the entire flight. * Persons who use manual wheelchairs and are medically able to ride in a small aircraft. After transferring to the aircraft seat, your wheelchair will remain in the aircraft cabin, free from damage. _ From: Dan T [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:50 PM To: quad-list@eskimo.com Subject: [QUAD-L] Air transportation A while back there was a great deal of anticipation about air transportation in which a wheelchair user could stay in the chair during the flight. Did this become a reality?
Re: [QUAD-L] Air transportation
hell...i dont fly if neededthnx Greg Eric W Rudd [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Greg To: 'Dan T' ; quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2008 6:24 PM Subject: RE: [QUAD-L] Air transportation That place changed some rules from first statements. You have to transfer into the planes seats for take offs and landings, but can get back into the wheelchair during the flight. Still much better. Plus the no waiting at the airports 2 hours early. No sending your chair to the great unknown baggage where pieces end up broke or missing. Sure it's a smaller, slower, plane, but not a lot. Prices look reasonable. And using smaller airports can be much closer for most people. I'm using it next time I fly. I say a List user in a power chair sucks it up and takes one for the team and tries them out. (-: Greg http://www.iflymat.org/flying.htm Eligible passengers include: a.. Persons who use power wheelchairs and are medically able to ride in a small aircraft. Currently, you must be transferred to the aircraft seat on take off and landing. (these aircraft seat armrests lower completely) However, during the flight you can be transferred back to your wheelchair which will remain right next to you the entire flight. b.. Persons who use manual wheelchairs and are medically able to ride in a small aircraft. After transferring to the aircraft seat, your wheelchair will remain in the aircraft cabin, free from damage. -- From: Dan T [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:50 PM To: quad-list@eskimo.com Subject: [QUAD-L] Air transportation A while back there was a great deal of anticipation about air transportation in which a wheelchair user could stay in the chair during the flight. Did this become a reality?
