Quackery

For the immigration process I need a general medical history letter, one to two pages long, from each of my doctors. I called Dr. E about it and, without even signing a release or anything, had a perfect example of what I needed within a week. There was some confusion between me and Dr. L's office staff, and Dr. DS's staff said they would ask her and get back to me.

Today, as I was ferrying M around on her various shopping needs, we were close to Dr. L and Dr. DS's offices, so stopped in. Dr. L's office staff, once I explained what was needed, provided me with dictation that should suffice for the situation at hand and will provide the immigration doctor with the info he needs to further research my case.

Dr. DS's office staff, on the other hand, just doesn't get it and neither does the doctor. I explained what I needed clearly and calmly. The secretary said that I only had one item in my chart, from 2005, and that she could make a copy of that. I explained that I have been a patient of this doctor since 1995 and that I needed the letter to include all of that information; not just the most recent (that's a laugh-- I was in when I came back from Xmas last year, too, and that isn't in my chart) case.

She went to talk with the Doctor and returned saying that the doctor would only provide me with the info if she saw me again.

'Wait a second,' I said, 'All I need is a medical history. Whether she sees me again or not, the history remains the same, right? So why does she need to see me again to provide me with my own history from her own notes and from my old charts?'

Suddenly the story changed a bit as the secretary explained that any"old" info was filed in their archives and not on site; she couldn't provide the history requested without that information and they "couldn't get it."

'Wait a minute,' I said, 'You mean that if I went today to a new doctor, told that doctor that Dr. DS had been caring for me and he requested my history, Dr. DS couldn't provide it?'

'Well, of course she would provide it then,' said the secretary.

'That is all I'm doing now,' I said. 'I need the same history, in a letter and briefly, to provide to a medical doctor who is evaluating my immigration. I do not need to be seen now; I simply need the history she already has on me to provide to this doctor.'

The basic response was "can't do it." At which point I became, while still mostly polite, belligerent.

'Now, I know my rights and I want a copy of my medical history. This is my medical history and I own it. How can we get you to give me my own medical history?' I asked.

'Well, for a fee, you can formally request a copy of your medical history through us. But it can be expensive and we outsource it to another company to get the history.'

'If that is the only way I can get a copy of my medical history, and Dr. DS refuses to give it to me the way I requested it, then I am fine with this,' I responded.

I then filled out the necessary paperwork (which none of my other doctors requested or needed for this same exact procedure, by the way), and left with a promise that the company would be in contact with me in about a week.

Last but not least, the secretary informed me that Dr. DS had already denied my previous phone-in request for the same info a few days after I made it. When were they going to inform me of that decision? The reason we stopped in was, in part, because I hadn't heard anything back from them. Why didn't they call me with the news so I could start this other process sooner?

I could have backed down, signed up for an unnecessary appointment, and allowed Dr. DS to get my copay and see me and then request the medical history from archives. But there is absolutely no reason that I should pay her any extra money for something that is not needed-- my history will not change, her notes will not change, the charts and x-ray and blood work all will not change if she sees me again today for things that happened between 12 and 4 years ago. So why do it? I'm certain most people would just bow to this hypocrisy and get the appointment because it is easier and they just want the letter. And I'm certain my wife would have preferred to wait in the car; however, I could not and would not let these people browbeat me into doing something that gives them more money for no good reason. Call me stubborn or dogmatic, but this just irritates the hell out of me.

When describing the situation to M on the way out (she waited off to the side and didn't catch all of the comments or conversation), she summed it up nicely, 'It's a money-grab, pure and simple. If you go in, she gets a payday. There is no other reason to have you come into the office for this.'

I probably wouldn't be so angry about it, except that it was so easy to retrieve from the other doctors. The staff at those offices understood immediately and gave me just what I needed quickly and easily.

There are many "shoulda woulda's" here; maybe the secretary didn't pass on that I needed this for another doctor or for an important immigration need. Maybe Dr. DS misunderstood the secretary. Maybe absolutely none of my multiple ways of explaining this were understood by anyone. However, I keep coming back to Occam's Razor and what M said-- it is a money-grab, pure and simple.

Guess I need a new GP sooner than I thought.