Quote:
Originally Posted by DrJ
The current amount of MRI scans is already in excess...now you want to fund a bunch of them to go to private clinics?! The reason why you aren't getting your MRI within the month is probably because you don't need one in the month! So the Wild Rose is going to pump every back pain patient through an MRI just to have them follow up with a surgeon to say that they can't be operated on. Great use of money for sure.l.
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Interesting thing happened to me . . . I guess a little back story is in order:
I broke my back
years ago, and received great treatment back then. Fast forward ~8 years, my leg went partially numb just out of the blue, I hadn't lifted anything heavy or fallen down or anything.
I was worried, because I was told that if I ever became incontinent or couldn't use the washroom or my legs went numb, I should high-tail it to the doctor.
I phoned the neurosurgeon's office I had seen, and was told that I'd have to get a referral because it had been longer than 18 months since I'd last seen him. Thinking this was bull####, I went to the Foothills hospital the next morning at about 5:00 a.m. because I was told that was when it was least busy.
At triage, I told the nurse my story and what was happening, and the look got from her honestly led me to think she thought I was there for a handful of painkillers. I got sent to the non-emergency department in the emergency room.
Saw the doctor there, he did a quick exam, sent me for an x-ray, and when it came back, he'd said something like, "you really did a number." I asked him what the hell I was supposed to do, and he said I should try and get into the spine clinic, gave me 18 Percocets and sent me home.
Next day, I made appointment with my family doctor, he refereed me to spine clinic (which is called Caleo) and booked me for an MRI, after pestering the MRI clinic with phone calls every few days, they booked me one for
nine months from then.
I said '#### this,' went went back to my family doctor and told him I wanted a private MRI, which I did the
next day to the tune of $770, which I put on my Visa because I am a student with no money. A Radiologist's report was sent to my family doctor that listed a bunch of things wrong with my back, but also that my bladder was ginormous. My family doctor sent that report to my old neurosurgeon--whose office told me to bugger off--and suddenly I had an appointment in three weeks.
The whole point of my story: why would AB Health not reimburse me for this MRI, when I clearly needed it. Having waited nine months could have been disastrous for me, as I've received a ton of effective treatment in the meantime. I cancelled the MRI that was booked for me nine months later.
Had the private MRI shown that I am a whiny cry baby and that nothing was wrong with me, I think I'd be level-headed enough to accept that the money came out of my pocket.
It's interesting to me, when I asked my family doctor about the possibility of getting reimbursed, he said with a laugh, "who's going to reimburse you?" My point was that I did not get the second MRI, it would be as though the government was still only paying for one MRI.