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

I found out yesterday in Cleveland that the urgent care clinic near the student dorms in the Podmurvica area has been shut down. Now, emergency cases are being diverted solely to the ER departments at the Cleveland and Sušak hospitals, while children are being sent over to Kantrida. Since they closed that urgent care unit, has anyone else noticed this happening in other cities?
As it stands, without an urgent care clinic, you can't get a prescription, meaning you're forced to pay out of pocket because the hospital ERs don't handle prescriptions. It feels like the government has become an insatiable beast, systematically lowering our standard of care.

Does anyone know where I can go to get tested for a clotrimazole allergy? Does anyone have any ideas? I’ve been using Plimycol vaginal suppositories for two days now, but everything feels incredibly red and it's stinging like crazy. Instead of things calming down, I don't feel any improvement at all 😢

Hey there.
I need some advice... I live in Chicago.
I've had the same primary doctor for 10 years here in Chicago.
I only see her occasionally when I need something specific—blood work, urine tests, referrals, various checkups, stuff like that.
The usual routine...
But recently, I was down by the coast and my back seized up so hard I couldn't even get out of bed. They took me to a general practitioner out there in Sibenik... they gave me an injection and prescribed Tramadol and Praxiten. They told me that since everything is on our computer system,
they just wrote me an e-prescription and uploaded the meds for me.
That was back in February. I went back for a follow-up two weeks later and mentioned I had to head back to Chicago. She went ahead and wrote me another box of Praxiten and more Tramadol. She said just pick them up in Chicago once
you run out. She told me to take one Praxiten before bed and use the Tramadol as needed if my spine or neck starts acting up again.
If things don't improve, she said to check in with my regular doctor in Chicago.
So now I'm back in Chicago, and the pain hit me again. Things were fine for three months, but
now it's starting all over again...
On Tuesday, I'm planning to go see "my" doctor in Chicago...
My question is: Is she still officially my doctor? Like,
am I still listed in her digital records as her patient?
Am I still under her care, even though those doctors in Sibenik
entered me into their system as their patient and issued
prescriptions to me?
Is there any chance my doctor will turn me away once she sees in the system
that I was seeing someone in Sibenik?
Can she just continue treating me regardless
of what happened in Sibenik? Or do I need to call the clinic there and
deregister myself so I'm not their patient anymore, since I'm back in Chicago?
And so on...
Maybe this is a silly question, but I honestly DON'T KNOW, and I'm worried that
on Tuesday in Chicago, I'll show up only to be turned away at the door.🤷

Does anyone have any insight on this...? please ..
I'm heading in tomorrow, and honestly, I have no idea what to expect...

wiredmarlin29 said:Hey there.
I need some info... I live in Chicago.
I've had the same doctor for 10 years here in Chicago.
I only go in occasionally when I need stuff—blood work, urine tests, referrals, various checkups, you name it.
The usual routine...
But I was down by the coast on vacation and my back seized up so hard I couldn't even get out of bed. They rushed me to a GP (in Sibenik)... they gave me an injection and prescribed Tramadol and Praxiten. They said since we all use the same system,
they'd just put in an e-prescription and those pills were good to go.
That was back in February. I went back for a follow-up two weeks later and mentioned I was heading back to Chicago. She just went ahead and wrote me another box of Praxiten and Tramadol. She told me to pick them up in Chicago once
I finish these ones. She said to take one Praxiten before bed and then the Tramadol as needed if my spine or neck starts acting up...
If it doesn't get better, she said to see my regular doctor in Chicago.
So now I'm back in Chicago, and the pain flared up again. Things were fine for three months, but
now it's starting up again...
I'm planning to see "my" regular GP in Chicago this Tuesday...
My question is: am I still officially her patient? Like,
am I still showing up in her computer records
as her patient, even though they saw me in Sibenik,
added me to their system, and issued
prescriptions for me?
Is she going to turn me away when she sees in the system
that I was being treated in Sibenik?
Can she just keep treating me regardless
of what happened in Sibenik, or do I have to call that clinic over there and
unregister myself as their patient so I can be back in Chicago properly?
And so on...
Maybe this is a silly question, but I honestly DON'T KNOW, and I'm worried that on
Tuesday in Chicago, I'll show up only to be turned away at the door.🤷

Don't sweat it. The doctor had to enter you into the system just to issue that e-prescription. They just logged you as a temporary patient. Your regular doctor hasn't changed. Honestly, I'm more worried about why your back pain and stiffness are hitting you so frequently. Ask your doctor for a CT scan of your spine to see if you might have a herniated disc causing the trouble.

So, I went to see an endocrinologist over at the Vineyard hospital, though I actually live out in the suburbs near Columbus.
The doctor told me I need to get some hormone levels checked, so I set up an appointment at the Vineyard facility to get the bloodwork done and then head back to see her for a follow-up.
Quick question: since I'm heading to the Vineyard location for the labs, do I actually need a referral from my primary care doctor, or am I good to go?
Oh, and one more thing—could I have just gotten these tests done locally here at home, or is it mandatory to do them at the Vineyard place?

You're going to need a referral, and your primary care physician will let you know where to go for the blood work.

Sandra Brooks91 said:You’re gonna need a referral, and your primary care doc will tell you where to go for the blood work.

Thanks, so I gotta hit up my doctor with that paperwork of hers to get the referral.
They actually scheduled me over at the Vineyard facility right away, but then it hit me—maybe it'd be way easier if I could just get it done closer to home...🙂

Look, if you've already got an appointment for your shoulder, just take it. You can't just walk into any clinic and demand every scan imaginable; maybe this specific one is only available at the hospital, but either way, you start with your primary care physician first. Once those results are in, you go back to her to get the referral for the follow-up 🙂

Sandra Brooks91 said:Look, if you've got an appointment for your shoulder, just take it. You can't get every single scan done everywhere—maybe this one has to be at the hospital—but either way, you hit up your primary care doctor first. Then, once you have the results, you go back to her to get a referral for follow-up 🙂

Alright, thanks a ton 😉

I’m looking for some guidance on what the options and rights are regarding a patient who;

1) Has Category A supplemental insurance

2) Is battling a malignant tumor with no specific primary site. After six cycles of chemo, the tumor itself shrank significantly, but the carcinoma has spread throughout the body, and their overall condition is worsening.

3) The specialist treating them has run out of therapeutic options and has basically "given up."

4) Wants to go abroad for treatment.

Is there any way Medicare can fund—or at least partially cover—this trip overseas? We are looking at Germany.

If that’s an option, what does the procedure look like?

Thanks.

I don't really know where else to ask this (yeah, yeah, I know, I'm embarrassed 😁) so I'll just post it here.

Does anyone know if there's a complete list out there of all the drugs covered under the basic and supplemental plans through Medicare?

melloworca6 said:I honestly don't even know where to start asking this (yeah, yeah, I know, I'm embarrassed 😁) so I'll just drop it here.

Does anyone actually know if there’s a master list out there for all the medications covered under the basic and supplemental plans by Medicare?

Just check the Medicare drug list.

I emailed Unknown Organization to sign up and they gave me an appointment for January 2013. 😲
Over at Rebu, they offered me October 2012.

Where else can I get this screening done? (Not looking for private clinics—I don't have the cash, and since I pay for supplemental insurance, I want to use Medicare)
I'm trying to see if I can snag an earlier slot than what they offered.

melloworca6 said:I’m honestly not sure where else to ask this (I know, I know, don't judge me 😁), so I figured I'd try my luck here.

Does anyone happen to know if there's a master list somewhere of all the medications covered by Medicare under the basic and supplemental plans?

There are actually a few different ways you can dig up a drug search tool; here is one of the links that should help you out.

http://www.medicare-gov-search.us/drugs

vividsailor7 said:Just check the Medicare drug list.

swiftbear86 said:There are several ways to access the drug search tool; this is one of the links.

http://www.medicare-gov-link.us/search

Thanks, guys. Their site wouldn't load for me at all yesterday, and I wasn't sure if those other lists I found were actually complete.


swiftbear86 I have a question for you. I realized yesterday that my health insurance expired back in September last year. I’ve been calling my doctor regularly, and she’s been writing my prescriptions—I think I’ve picked up three boxes of Euthyrox and one measure since then. How on earth was my doctor able to issue a prescription (I didn't go in, just called), and better yet, how could the pharmacy even give me meds when they take my card every single time and clearly type in that it's expired?
I'm low-key panicking because I don't know if my coverage is actually valid right now or if it's totally dead (there was some talk about old cards staying valid until the chip ones arrive, but apparently there's no funding for them yet). I'm not crazy, and I wouldn't let my coverage lapse like this—I need it because I'm sick, and I actually threw up yesterday when I realized this. I don't know how closely pharmacies watch these things; the nurse used to warn me it was expiring soon, but now nobody's said anything about it being invalid.

edit: Okay, I found the answer to why it worked: http://www.medicare-gov-link.us/info_on_insurance_validity.pdf, so if anyone else needs this info, don't freak out like I did or lose your mind thinking your insurance is gone. 😁 God, I'm going to kill myself with this kind of stupidity. I seriously thought I had completely lost it, thinking I could just ignore something as vital as an insurance expiration for nine months while still picking up my regular meds.

melloworca6 said:Thanks, everyone. I couldn't even get their website to load yesterday, and honestly, I had no idea if those other lists I dug up were actually complete or just missing half the info.


swiftbear86 I have a question for you. I realized yesterday that my health insurance coverage actually expired back in September of last year. Even so, I’ve been calling my doctor regularly, and she’s been calling in my prescriptions—I think I’ve picked up three boxes of Euthyrox and one Misar since then. How was my doctor even able to issue those prescriptions if I wasn't physically there? And more importantly, how on earth did the pharmacy let me walk out with my medication? Every single time, they take my insurance card, type everything into the system, and it's like they don't even notice it expired. It's wild.

I'm really glad you finally tracked down an answer.
Panic can really mess with your head sometimes. It’s one of those things that just hits you out of nowhere and leaves you feeling completely drained.
Look, there’s just no way around it: if you don't have active insurance, the pharmacy can't fill an e-prescription for you. It’s not like we have a choice in the matter. When someone's coverage—whether it's their basic plan or supplemental insurance—has lapsed, a red cross pops up right on our screen. When that happens, we usually just tell the patient they need to head over to the Medicare office to get their info sorted out. The system automatically checks the validity of your insurance the moment you try to pick up a prescription, so there's no bypassing it. It actually happens more often than you'd think. Sometimes people switch jobs and the new employer doesn't get them registered in the system right away, or maybe their supplemental coverage expires and they just don't realize it. In those cases, we try to double-check their status through Cezih, but if that doesn't clear things up, we still have to send them straight to the Medicare office to fix it.

That’s exactly what I was thinking—that both the pharmacies and my doctor would be notified that they can't issue a prescription because I don't have Medicare coverage. But honestly, this whole system is such a mess that it's better to double-check now than to deal with some nasty surprise down the road.

Anyway, thanks for getting back to me. 😘

I, I totally panicked recently when I realized my insurance card had expired (based on the date printed on it), but they told me it doesn't even matter what it says since it just automatically renews and stays valid anyway 😁

I've got a question, not sure if this is the right spot 😁

Besides pajamas and the toiletries listed on that paper for the hospital, do I actually need to bring things like towels or a hair dryer? Or does the hospital provide stuff like that in the bathroom? Thanks! 🙂