Info Desk [Paperwork, ordering, wait times, procedures, booklets, prescriptions...]

Hey, so I wiped out a few days ago and landed mostly on my right arm. It’s been 5 days now and the pain has mostly died down, but I’ve still got bruising on my elbow... plus my pinky is still a bit swollen and I can't really bend it. Thinking I should probably get an X-ray. Since I'm living in Washington, D.C. right now, but my actual doctor is back in my hometown (I just study here), can I just show up at the trauma center over at Johns Hopkins Hospital to get it checked out and imaged? Like, without a referral... just walk in?

driftingheron4 said:Hey, I slipped and fell on my right arm a few days ago. It’s been five days and most of the pain has gone away, though I still have some bruising on my elbow. My pinky finger is still a bit swollen and I can't really bend it, so I want to get an X-ray done. Since I'm living in Washington, D.C. right now, but my doctor is actually back in my hometown (I just study here), can I just show up at the trauma center over on 14th Street and have them look at it and take a picture? Like, without a referral, just walking in?

You can't do that without a referral. Your only option is to show up at the ER during the evening hours, and even then, you need to go to the hospital assigned to your area of residence. For example, if you're staying in a neighborhood near downtown, you should head to the Mayo Clinic.

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Where would Savica fit in? Somewhere near downtown, then maybe over by Holy Spirit?

http://www.washingtondc.gov/default.aspx?id=463

Here's the link. Honestly, you should probably head over to Johns Hopkins Hospital.

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Thanks 😉

Just head to any ER and get it sorted. You can show up whenever you want—just tell them you took a fall and now the pain is unbearable.

Sandra Brooks91 said:Just head to any ER and get it sorted out. You can show up whenever you need to—just tell them you took a fall and now you're in agony..

Actually, you can't just wander into any ER... they're going to ask where you live first—your neighborhood and street. And it’s not true that you can just show up at any hour. Hospital emergency services usually wrap things up around 8 PM. There. Done.

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She isn't even from NYC, and Emergency services operate 24/7. They've got plenty to do starting at 8 PM...

Sandra Brooks91 said:She's NOT from NYC, and the ER runs 24/7. They actually have plenty of work to do starting at 8 PM...

You clearly aren't reading for comprehension. I'm not from the city either, and based on where I live, I ended up getting admitted to the ER at Mount Sinai. It says right there in plain English that they start their shift at 8 PM. End of story.

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Since I actually live in NYC, I’ve spent plenty of time in ERs—mostly during the day—so I’m speaking from direct experience here. Whether or not you personally had a bad experience at an emergency room is on you. At a major hospital like Mayo Clinic, they aren't going to turn you away just because it's daytime. I’ve even been to ERs outside of the city, and before 2020, everything was seamless; if I didn't have a local address, what was that supposed to change? It’s not like they check your residency before saving your life. And frankly, I highly doubt this girl changed her legal residence to NYC just for college; your current location shouldn't matter when it's an emergency. Besides, the idea that people with broken bones are supposed to wait until 8:00 PM? Give me a break!

lonefalcon41 said:Are you talking about an electronic prescription? You can't just keep picking those up. Usually, the only way to keep buying the same medication repeatedly is if you have that white paper slip (meaning you're paying out of pocket) because then there isn't a digital track limiting you.

Just to clear things up,you can't just buy any medication an unlimited number of times.

If she had an e-prescription and it was only written for a single box without any refills, that's the end of the line.
But if she has a private prescription, she can buy it as many times as the doctor authorized via refills. Even then, it's limited by how long that private script is valid—which is usually a maximum of 180 days.

So, I just got a letter from Medicare stating that I need to provide proof of my education😕 to the local office to verify the basis for my insurance coverage (under my previous plan). I already went down there after finishing high school, and frankly, I have no idea what they were doing with my paperwork back then, yet now I’m being forced to prove something all over again.

My current status: unemployed

What specific documentation do I need to bring them?

Once you wrap up school, the first thing you need to do is register with the unemployment office. They’ll officially list you as unemployed, and once you have their paperwork in hand, you can take it over to Medicare to get your health insurance sorted out. There’s usually a specific legal window of time you have to get this done, too. Honestly, you’d probably get a much clearer answer if you just pulled up the PDF regarding legal and social rights—take a look at that and maybe give them a call to confirm.

I think they used to keep things separate, you know? Like, you could actually keep your Medicare coverage even if you weren't officially registered with the unemployment office—especially back when they started aggressively cutting people from the rolls—but you had to get your paperwork sorted within a specific window... I believe it was something like 30 days.
If you miss those deadlines, though, you’re basically left hanging without any health insurance. A buddy of mine just found out the hard way recently; he missed his cutoff and suddenly had zero coverage.

Hi there.
Does anyone know which hospitals in Washington, D.C. offer cardiac ultrasounds and renal artery Doppler scans?
I did a little digging online and I think they might be available at the main city hospital or maybe out in a suburb... but I'm not entirely sure.
Does anyone have an idea of what the rough cost would be if you don't have Medicare coverage?
Thanks

Every hospital has a dedicated email address for centralized patient scheduling. You just scan your referral, dig up the specific hospital's contact info on their website, and follow their instructions regarding what details to include in the body of the email. Attach the scanned referral, and you're good to go. They’ll either confirm an appointment time or let you know if they aren't handling searches through that channel. Usually, you'll hear back within 24 hours.
If you don't have supplemental insurance, you're stuck paying $8.25 copays for every visit, plus $8.25 extra if they run any specialist tests (something simpler, like an ultrasound, would fall under that category).

I don't have any supplemental insurance, just my basic Medicare
how much am I looking at for a routine doctor's visit or a standard blood panel?

Also, I remember hearing about one hospital where you could just walk in for thyroid blood work without an appointment, but I can't for the life of me remember which one it was... please help!

You’ve already had your $8.25 checked by a specialist, and as for blood work, I haven't a clue—though it could be similar... As for the thyroid, I'm thinking maybe it's a rib issue or the Holy Spirit, unless someone wants to correct me if I'm wrong..

Sandra Brooks91 said:You’ve gotta get checked out $8.25 by a specialist

They told me it would be 50 bucks. 🤷
My primary care doc $3.25, plus another 50 for an X-ray... they even said bloodwork would be 50 too, but then—get this—they didn't charge me a dime! The nurse just mentioned it all depends on whatever diagnosis you end up with... crazy, right?

A consultation isn't the same thing as diagnostic testing. For instance, an EEG or an ADG requires $33. A consultation is just a sit-down with a specialist...