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Letter: Patient with chest pains complains of denial of treatment Investigating problem, he finds two agencies to complain to: Office of the Inspector General in Frankfort, KY; and JCAHO, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Organizations Dear Editor: Recently, I was denied health care because my provider could not find my chart and I refused to recite my lengthy medical history in a public part of the office to someone whom I did not know. That day I was so proud when I showed up to my appointment. Over the previous 3 months I had followed the doctor's instructions, changed my eating patterns, lost 52 pounds, had my blood pressure drop so much that I was able to stop taking medicine, and went from jogging half a mile at a time to over 5 miles. My doctor asked me to keep track of my blood pressure and I had remembered to bring in the form. The one thing that worried me, however, was that I had been feeling chest pains. I was turned away from treatment before figuring out the problem. As I left the facility I felt humiliated and like I never wanted to go there again. I was bothered to hear that I wouldn't be able to see the doctor without providing a complete medical history. After all, I can't remember every broken bone I've ever had, or how many times I have had stitches, or what shots I've had. That's why the doctor's keep the records, right? Because you and I would never remember everything. I asked the office worker if maybe we could wait a day and see if they could find my chart. I said, "do you think that you could find it within 24 hours?" With little enthusiasm and a shrug of the shoulders she said "I don't know." I told her that I wasn't giving my medical history there where everyone could hear it and that she should just call me if an when she found it. On my way out I talked with the billing person and told her to make sure that I wasn't billed for this appointment since it never happened.# She told me that they were looking for the chart.Looking back, I wish that I had stayed and asked to speak to someone higher up. I wish that they had asked me to sit down while they solved the problem. In the parking lot I called my wife and explained that I wouldn't be allowed to see the doctor today. She reminded me that if the records were truly lost that anybody could have all of my personal information.Fortunately, by the end of the day the doctor had found the chart, apologized, asked me to come back in for my appointment, and provided me with treatment. My problem was that I felt upset that no one seemed to "take care" of me at the beginning. Between when I was there the first time and the second time that day I had decided that maybe this should all be reported to some agency outside of the health provider. I found 2 different groups that you can contact if you feel that you have been treated improperly at a health care facility. The first is headquartered in Frankfort, Kentucky. They are the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). They have a specific office that handles problems with health care facilities. The OIG may be contacted at: 275 East Main Street 5E-A, Frankfort, Kentucky 40621, Phone: (502) 564-7963, Fax: (502) 564-6546. The other organization is the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Organizations. For complaints about a health care facility contact JACHO at 800-994-6610 or by email at complaint@jointcommission.org. Most doctors provide excellent treatment. Mine did. But sometimes health care organizations don't treat you like they should. It is great if you can work something out with the health care provider. If you cannot its great that organizations like the ones above exist. I've lost faith in my doctor's organization. I'm also worried that I will be treated differently now. My doctor is good but I'm not comfortable with the way the office is run. I'm changing health care providers. Its important that your doctor knows when you feel that you haven't been treated right. Most doctors are great Mine is great. But her office needs work. s/Dan Phillips This story was posted on 2008-05-12 16:40:57
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