Dr. Horvitz -- Medical Home

October 11, 2010

Hey, I was just saying!!!

Everyone knows that I am not a fan of any third party getting in between me and my patients. That is one of the many reasons I no longer contract with insurance plans. One of the more irritating intrusions occur via medication formularies and preauthorizations for prescription medications. Luckily, we have Jessica, our medical assistant well trained to handle most of these requests. Oddly though, a recent medication preauthorization request stumped her. So she came to me for help.

First let me explain how this preauthorizations scenario works.

-I give a prescription to a patient who gives it to the pharmacist to get filled.
-The pharmacist enters the prescription into their computer network to check insurance coverage.
-If the medication is not covered, it may get sent back with a note to contact the insurer for a preauthorization. Without the preauthorization, the patient will be charged full price for the prescription. Kinda makes you wonder why you pay for a prescription plan at all??
-We then fax information as to why the medication is needed. Invariably, this does not end the process. We usually get a fax back asking us to call a toll free number to provide more information before they make a determination. During this call, it is not unusual to be waiting for up to 20-30 minutes. So this entire process can take anywhere from between 5 to 45 minutes, per prescription.

OK, back to what stumped Jessica.

Jessica was at the point where the pharmacy asked that we call the insurance company for the preauthorization. The phone number given on the fax was 1-800-555-1212. The real number was changed to protect the innocent ; )

Jessica asked that I call this number as she was confused over the instructions given on the other end of the phone line.

Hmmm...

What could it be?

Maybe the insurance ID is off by a number. Perhaps the date of birth is incorrect ????

So I dialed the number.

It was not the usual , "please hold, your call is important to us" message.

No, this time it was a prerecorded message with music in the background. To my surprise, the voice on the other end of the line was not asking for pertinent medical information. Instead, it gave us another number to call, but not for the medication needed. No, that would be too easy.

The voice said the following:

" Hot girls .... ..... ...... talk to hot girls for just 69 cents a minute. Talk to a hot girl now. "

Call now. 1-800-555-1234"

OK.

I need to lay down some ground rules.

We always do our best for our patients. Even though we do not participate with any insurance plans, we still try to go through the insurance morass necessary to get your prescriptions, tests and procedures covered. It is a cumbersome, bureaucratic and time wasting procedure, but as I have said, we try to do what we can for our patients.

But I have to draw the line on calling a phone sex line to get a prescription covered.

Now before you get wise and ask, No, the prescription was not for Viagra!

My next call was to the local pharmacy involved, who gave us the toll free number to call. I spoke to the lead pharmacist who after he stopped laughing and composed himself, said the new pharmacist accidentally transposed the phone number incorrectly. The number should have been a 1-866 number, not a 1-800 number.

Here is another thought. Maybe the 1-800 number is actually another way to raise money for Obamacare! By my calculations it would only take about 1.5 trillion minutes of calls to this hotline to pay for the one trillion dollar Obamacare plan. If each call lasted an average of five minutes, and if 100,000 doctors offices called once a day for five patient prescriptions, it would only take just under 600,000 prescriptions a day to fully fund Obamacare, without raising anyones taxes! And think of all the unemployed "hot girls" who could now get a job! It would do wonders for the unemployment rate!!!

Hey, I was just saying ; )

FLU SHOTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE

Flushots are fully covered by Medicare.

Flushots, while supplies last, are included as part of a Traditional Wellness Plan.

For everyone else, Flushots will be available for $30.

There are other ways to prevent the flu.

My favorite is to supplement with Vitamin D, which is now available as our supplement of the month for October. Our Vitamin D supplement has been shown to increase your blood level of Vitamin D, increasing the ability of your immune system to fight off infections such as the flu.

If you are unsure of your Vitamin D level, testing is also available at our office.

Institute For Medical Wellness Supplement of the Month:

Our supplement of the month for October 2010 is Vitamin D3. I believe that Vitamin D3 aids our immune systems, which helps protect us from the flu, or "influenza".

Our Vitamin D3 supplement, contains Vitamin D3, 2000iu per drop, and contains approximately 900 drops per bottle. The average dosage is between 1 and 4 drops daily, best taken at night.

Vitamin D3 can now be purchased for $15, $5 off the regular price. Vitamin D works great with or without a flu shot.

Click here for a list of other supplements available at The Institute For Medical Wellness

To Good Health!

Steven Horvitz, D.O,
Board Certified Family Practice
Founder of The Institute For Medical Wellness

128 Borton Landing Road, Suite Two

Moorestown, NJ 08057

Phone 856-231-0590

Fax 856-294-0311

www.drhorvitz.com

http://drhorvitz.blogspot.com/

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I would like to thank everyone for their confidence in my professional abilities and referrals of new patients to the practice as well as to the Wellness Plans. If you are presently in the Traditional Wellness Plan, and refer a new patient to this plan, you will receive 1 month added on to your plan for the first referral, and two months added on for every other new patient you refer. Just my way of saying Thank You for your confidence!!

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