Always ask the doc

[abeaher 0]

So I had my first appt yesterday with doc Turnquest in Houston.......I was so nervous....the bariatric coordinator (a medical asst??, I thought she would have been a nurse, but she was nice) is who I met with first. I have been gathering a TON of records and info in preparations for this vist for MONTHS and it was a B***H, let me tell you! I am a nurse and usually have a lot of patients with office staff, but it was a nightmare to get my records (one office tried to charge me $50!!!!) Anyways, so I go in TOTALLY prepared and almost more knowledgable about my approval process than her and she still tells me that I need:

1. letter from PCP

2. Medical clearance form PCP

3. Pulmonary clearance

4. Psych consult

5. nutrition consult

And I am really frustrated at this point. I know that these are all things that would benefit me, but I have been researching for 4 years, dieting since I was 10, had just seen the respiratory doc, just had an EKG (for no reason), just had a total blood workup, etc. Plus my ins does not even require all of these things! So I tell her fine.....whatever I have to do and then I see my surgeon......I LOVED HIM!!! He was AWESOME! and when I was discussing all of these future visits,appointments, tests I was being told I needed, he immediately said, you are only 28 years old with no significant hx and you just had surgery a year age(c-section) you don't need any of that!! He said to have the nutrition consult for pre-op reasons and then we will schedule the surgery.

I was ELATED!!

It just goes to show you that you should ALWAYS talk to the doctor about EVERYTHING the office staff tells you!

Yaaaa go me!!:whoo:

[minpinmom 2]

Awesome! I am so excited for you - keep us informed with your updates and progress.

[kaninag 35]

Oh man thats great....I had the same thing with the office staff and my doctor was like nope you dont need this or that and because you have done so much research and are so prepared and know what youre getting into you dont even need the pysch eval.....so he put in his note that I was mentally ready....that saved me like $300!!!! It pays to talk with your doctor...but we have to realize the office staff are just doing what theyre told....

[abeaher 0]

You're right, the staff can't be blamed for doing their job and in fact when I told the girl what he had said she was really happy for me even though I am sure she felt like I went over her head. The other staff members' reaction was not so nice. I just get frustratd sometimes with medical personel because being a nurse and having worked in a dr office I was always so mindful of being the patient's advocate and addressing their INDIVIDUAL needs, not just hearding them like cattle and assuming that every problem and course of treatment is the same. I feel like some of these people are just in the wrong profession! I worked in fertility which like bariatrics is a specialty field with undefined insurance coverage and I always made every effort to help the patients feel like they were the only patient I had that day and my #1 goal was to make their journey as painless as possible. I don;t mean to toot my own horn, I mean there are thousands of awesome practitioners and office staff out there that provide this type of compassion and service, it just is irritating when you come across the not so good ones.

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

[kaninag 35]

Its like that in our office we always tell the patients that it is different with each individual case and we tell them that we wait for the doctors decision. They respect that better than us telling them how its gonna be and then the doctor ending up saying something totally different. I think all offices should be like that but unfortunately its not....insurance is the same way...i called today and the lady is like it WILL take 30 days for an approval...and I am thinking about alllll the ppl on here that go such fast approvals......INDIVIDUALITY!

[abeaher 0]

The girl at my office said that legally they have 30 days to review the case, maybe you will get lucky....just keep calling, maybe if you bug them they will want to move your case through faster...hah. I about to start the ins approval process, after my nutr consult on Tues we will submit. Let me know how yours goes. Do you think you will get approved, I notice you are close to my age.....do you have comorbidities?

[kaninag 35]

Well, I have high cholesterol (BARELY) and arthritis in my knees but thats really it. Thats why I am so nervous about my approval.......

[kaninag 35]

Well, I have high cholesterol (BARELY) and arthritis in my knees but thats really it. Thats why I am so nervous about my approval.......