Special Needs
realisticdreams
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I AM LIVID. **final resolution at bottom**
realisticdreams
member
Incase you are unable to see my image attachment, it's an EOB form, that I received in the mail today, for P. Both girls had a dentist appointment in October, the same dentist we have gone to for 2 years, which I have highly recommended to a lot of people. Line 4 (just below the oral exam, prophylaxis & topical application) if you can see, says, "behavior management." Wait wait. If you're done laughing, it also says beside it, $150. ONE HUNDRED & FIFTY DOLLARS.
Oh, it gets better, BECAUSE, P didn't even shed a single fing tear during that visit!!!!
Like I said, livid.
I called and the receptionist said their is a note on the chart from the dental assistant saying something about non-compliance (I was too angry to listen) and I asked to speak with the office manager, and was sent to her voicemail. I really tried to keep it together but at the end of the voicemail you could tell I was furious. You market yourself as a pediatric dentist and as an office that caters to children with special needs?!?!
I'm sorry but that does not equate to $150 fee's. It's not like she bit the dental assistant and ran away! They attempted to do xrays even though it wasn't time for them, because she has 2 insurances and the 2nd will pay. After about 3 mins they gave up, because P wouldn't bite down. She has had them in the past, but I don't blame her, they suck. And, they weren't necessary, they just wanted more money basically. But the dentist didn't spend any extra time with her, and she did great for the cleaning & exam.
I am dumbfounded by this whole thing, office manager better call me back, or I am writing to the local paper. Absolutely ridiculous. Regardless, we will be getting our records and leaving the practice. Even if they take the charge off (more like WHEN, lol), it is an intentional charge since they found a note on her chart.
Oh, it gets better, BECAUSE, P didn't even shed a single fing tear during that visit!!!!
Like I said, livid.
I called and the receptionist said their is a note on the chart from the dental assistant saying something about non-compliance (I was too angry to listen) and I asked to speak with the office manager, and was sent to her voicemail. I really tried to keep it together but at the end of the voicemail you could tell I was furious. You market yourself as a pediatric dentist and as an office that caters to children with special needs?!?!
I'm sorry but that does not equate to $150 fee's. It's not like she bit the dental assistant and ran away! They attempted to do xrays even though it wasn't time for them, because she has 2 insurances and the 2nd will pay. After about 3 mins they gave up, because P wouldn't bite down. She has had them in the past, but I don't blame her, they suck. And, they weren't necessary, they just wanted more money basically. But the dentist didn't spend any extra time with her, and she did great for the cleaning & exam.
I am dumbfounded by this whole thing, office manager better call me back, or I am writing to the local paper. Absolutely ridiculous. Regardless, we will be getting our records and leaving the practice. Even if they take the charge off (more like WHEN, lol), it is an intentional charge since they found a note on her chart.
DD1(4):VSD & PFO (Closed!), Prenatal stroke, Mild CP, Delayed pyloric opening/reflux, Brachycephaly & Plagiocephaly, Sacral lipoma, Tethered spinal cord, Compound heterozygous MTHFR, Neurogenic bladder, Urinary retention & dyssynergia, incomplete emptying, enlarged Bladder with Poor Muscle Tone, EDS-Type 3. Mito-Disorder has been mentioned
DD2(2.5): Late term premie due to PTL, low fluid & IUGR, Reflux, delayed visual maturation, compound heteroygous MTHFR, PFAPA, Bilateral kidney reflux, Transient hypogammaglobulinemia, EDS-Type 3
http://justthetipblogg.blogspot.com, The Neglected Blog.
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Re: I AM LIVID. **final resolution at bottom**
That really sucks and I would be pissed too.
DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
Good for you for calling them out on that BS. Let us know how it turns out. I can see adding a charge for sedation, but anything else is crap.
Lets hope for my sake & their's, that it does.
As far as I'm concerned, they have wack policies, and we won't be going back, and I just really hope not to receive a bill from them for $150 in the next month!
She's had a couple spinal xrays done for her scoliosis, her wrist a couple of times, and a couple chest xrays for pneumonia, plus multiple VCUGs and upper GIs so yeah..kind of a lot of radiation lol!
Digitial photography + Reddit + your local paper.
I don't wish ill on a professional or a business trying to make a profit, but $150 for 3 minutes is gouging, plain and simple.
And they didn't really give me a chance to say no to the xrays, I had both girls and they were making me pay for dd2's flouride treatment ($50!) so between that, and DH being with M I wasn't with P when they took her back to attempt the xrays. It was more of a, we are going to do this because insurance will cover it type deal. Then the dentist asked why they were trying to do it since it wasn't time after they said she wouldn't cooperate. I walked over to the doorway for the xrays and was about to pull the plug (literally had my mouth open) when they gave up.
I don't think they can x-ray without your approval. It's possible you were distracted because you were dealing with both daughters at the same time?...but someone must have asked about the x-rays and someone must have agreed to it, just like they have to ask about any procedure. Maybe your H agreed without you knowing? If not, you could dispute the charge...if nobody truly asked for permission.
Maybe that's something you guys can discuss before dr's appointments next time (what you will allow and what you will not - and if you are on the fence, talk to each other - it's ok to stop the Dr./nurses for a moment). I know I prep myself before any appointment because truth be told, doctor offices are a business (even though we don't want to believe it) and they sometimes push unnecessary stuff on us to our detriment, just to make a buck....because as you said, the insurance will pay for it, so why not pin it on the patient (even though it's technically harmful). I may sound cynical, but that is my experience. Nobody has your kids' best interest at heart like you do. You are their best advocate. There is such a thing as over-exposure to radiation from x-rays. Radiation is cancer-inducing. The dental office can sugar coat it all they want, yeah yeah, I heard it, too - "they're digital x rays" or "it's like taking a picture or walking in the sun"...etc. - ask them why they feel the need to protect themselves by leaving the room and why they're putting the heavy anti-radiation coat on a patient every time, if it's just "like taking a picture"? There was a published study, which made it on national TV about six months ago, which concluded that the climbing U.S. cancer rate may also be caused by frequent (mainly dental) x-rays - which the frequency is outrageous compared to Europe, for example. Why - EU insurance doesn't pay for x rays every six months. The study also stated that it is recommended not to have dental x-rays done more than once per five years, routinelly (if something's amiss, that's different, of course).
FWIW, my 8-year old has never had dental x-rays done and I strictly follow the 5-year rule for myself (unless in pain). The dentist is not happy with me (they don't say anything, but I can tell). They probably think I'm a BAAAD mother. I give exactly zero fucks.