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Doctors Office vs BMVThere was a time when going to any branch of the BMV to get a plate, title a car, renew your license, was going to be an all day saga. It seems now going to see a doctor is making those days of long lines and long waits at the BMV short in time. I took my son to see a doctor for a sports physical late this afternoon. His appointment was at 5PM. We got there about 4:45PM. It was a good thing because I had to fill out several forms and releases for this and for that. By the time I got the forms filled out it was close to his appointed time. WRONG. It was almost 5:45PM before they even called him back to one of the treatment rooms. Then it was another 35 mins after that. The doctor did the physical in about 10 mins. The insurance company is being charged $45.00. It was almost 7:00PM before we got back to town. Here is where one of the problems in our healthcare system lies. Doctors are forced to over book. Insurance companies and medicare/medicaid negotiate contracted rates with doctors that aren't enough to maintain their office expenses. This forces doctors to over book so they can make enough to pay for staff, supplies, mal-practice insurance and so on. This means because of the quanity of patients that a doctor has to see for his business to turn a profit, that the quality of care received by the patient takes a hit. Mistakes are made because, they maybe only able to treat one problem if you have more than one issue your dealing with, which means a return trip. A multitude of things could happen. This is all caused by the insurance companies. They more or less tell the healthcare providers what they can do or not do. They decide what treatment they will pay for and which ones they won't. They do the same for pharmacies too. They do this all for profit for them. Insurance companies don't care one bit about your health, even though they try to make you believe they do. The only thing they care about is their bottom line. That they are making money for their shareholders and stockholders. They don't care if you spend 5 minutes with your primary care giver or 30 mins. People are afraid of a government run healthcare system. I can understand why. The government doesn't have a great track record when government gets involved in business matters. I really don't want to see the government run our healthcare system. What I would like to see is that they regulate insurance companies. I would like to see technology find a way to make record keeping available but secure to all healthcare providers. The BMV has found a way to make technology work for them to improve customer service. When I go to the BMV now, if I'm there more than 15 minutes, I've been there too long. I want to go to my healthcare provider, see him/her at my appointed time. Not have too fill out forms, and not have to worry if my healthcare insurance carrier is paying for the services I recieve. When I see my doctor I want to make sure he fully understands the nature of my visit and I receive the best possible treatment because we had time to discuss the problem and not feel rushed in doing so.
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Another problem
Double booking creates another problem for me. When my son's sick, and I call to get him in to see his doctor, I've been told the doc is "booked up" today and can't see him. I've been given the option to come in and wait and see what happens, but that never sounds like a good idea to me (although I've done it when necessary). And occasionally we're actually worked in by appointment. But I would just like to be able to call the office, tell them I have a non-emergency but urgent situation, and be able to see the doctor. It doesn't happen often - maybe 2 or 3 times a year, so it's not like I'm a habitual offender at this. And you can't really call and schedule to have the flu 2 weeks ahead of time. This has become especially frustrating now that the school has started handing out unexcused absences for any school absence that occurs without a doctor's slip.
But I must admit it's better here than when we were down south. Oftentimes at our clinic there, and without fail if it was Monday morning, when you called the phone would be busy or it would just ring and ring without answer. And we NEVER got in for a same day appointment there - not once in 10 years. So perhaps I should be thankful for what I've got here in Logan.
the unexcused absence thing ~
really honks me off. I'm sorry to say that and all, but the thing is, if I'm calling in to excuse my daughter from school, then why in the heck is it unexcused?!?!?! and you know, there are times when she's not sick enough to go to a doctor and w/things the way they are, and insurance being what it is, we don't want to spend money and time at the doctors office just so we can get a slip to excuse her from classes. I've heard the rhetoric about why they've changed the rules, but I still don't agree w/it. when I was growing up, a parent excusing you from school was enough. now we have to present the golden ticket on a platter to the powers that be.
sorry about my rant. sort of off subject, but you know me ;o)
Margo
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
~Edmund Burke~
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Not really off topic
Margo, No you're not really off topic here. This about the healthcare system being over abused by the educational system to proof an excused absense. Like you said there are times when a child is sick, but not sick enough to warrant a visit to a doctors office or urgent care facilities. What this does is over fill waiting rooms and overbooking of appointments. A lot of times there is not much a physician can do, except to tell you to follow the old home remedies and tried and true remedies that we've followed for generations.
The other day I received a letter from the LCSC about H1N1 flu shots being administerd to students. I also received a phone call regarding. Since when is it the schools responsibility to decide when kids should be given flu shots, or even require they be given flu shots. Schools should be in the business of educating our kids, not providing medical services. I realize that they are trying to help and avoid a flu epidemic, which would lead to mass students being out of school. I feel it should be the parents choice if the student should receive a flu shot or not.
I'm ranting now.
James Delp
james_delp901@comcast.net
www.myspace.com/rich1121
glad I didn't ~
stray too far off topic. got the same letter/phone call. we will be declining the vaccine. I've heard some stories that make me wary of it. and so far this season, we've just had run of the mill head colds. why take a chance on getting something worse because of the vaccine and then have to be out of school for that?? my thought is there is so much hype and hysteria over H1N1 that the school corporation is trying to be proactive, but at the same time, it does take away from the educational portion of the day while they are vaccinating kids. I do wonder how many parents will be giving their consent for this vaccine?
Margo
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
~Edmund Burke~
Check out my Blog!!
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First I should let you know
First I should let you know that the schools are not the one's giving the H1N1 shots it is being done by the Health Department they are the only organization receiving the vaccine. Secondly I would suggest that if you need to see a doctor on short notice I have had great luck with express med. Quick in and out and good service. The other good thing is it cost the same as a docotr's visit.
yeah I know ~
the health dept is administering the vaccines. still don't want my daughter getting it. love Express Med!! we've used it a few time. but I don't know if they can provide an excuse for a doctors visit that will be accepted by the school can they?
Margo
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
~Edmund Burke~
Check out my Blog!!
http://osmom93.blogspot.com/
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dr slip from express med
Yes, Express Med can provide a slip to turn in to the school. The slips have been accepted for our student on a couple of occasions.
thank you for the info Cheryl :o)
Margo
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
~Edmund Burke~
Check out my Blog!!
http://osmom93.blogspot.com/
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just for
just for information...express med does NOT accept insurance for school physicals
I have empathy for the parents
I have empathy for the parents who have attempted in the past to follow the rules with regards to a child's absence from school. The real reason the schools have adopted and.or have start enforcing student absences is due to abuse and how this "habit" carries over later in life when they move into the workforce.
Absenteeism may not be the # 1 problem most businesses deal with on a day-to-day basis, but if it is not, I'll certainly bet it is in the top three. When you analyze the costs associated with dealing with these absences and extrapolate the numbers over the thousands of businesses in our Country, the economic losses are staggering. Don't get me wrong; if you are sick stay home and get better. But if there are no checks and balances, some method of validation, people take advantage of the process and take sick time for any number of reasons to include excuses that have nothing to do with being sick. When the time comes when they truly need this time off, they are usually in some type of disciplinary step that puts their job at risk. If they take any additional time-off they lose their job. Then it ends up being everyone's fault but theirs.
One only needed to look at the absences reported by LCSC over the past few years. The numbers were an absolute embarrassment; the number of student days missed in comparison to the total school population indicated there was a huge problem and no one in the administration appeared willing to deal with it. This was to the ire of local businesses who alleged their failure to address this issue sent a message that it was "ok" to not attend school even though we have a state law that says otherwise. The administration and school board's resolve has become all to common place in today's society. Rather than deal with the 5-10% that are the problem, everyone gets punished.
Keep teaching your children the difference between right and wrong and the obligation they have to themselves to attend school and get educated. Once a child finds and.or figures out they can circumvent the process, system by not attending, fullfilling their obligations, then the potential abuse begins. The parents should be responsible for monitoring their child's behavior to include day-to-day attendance not the schools. Unfortunately we seem to be grooming a society that absolutely believes they are entitled to having a living provided to then by others. Thankfully it sounds as if your house is in order and your child will not be one of these statistics.
one of my nephews worked
one of my nephews worked very diligently for perfect attendance. in regards to the schools too strict policies of what is an "excused" absence, he managed the year without missing...which by logansports standards, meant going to school sick and affecting other students. Up until the last couple weeks when he had a dentists app and since most Dr office hours are during school hours. the school counted it against his "perfect attendance record". the result was a disappointed young man who said he would not bother to try again because his efforts where futile in the end. i fail to see where this benefited anyone.is the purpose to discourage children and parents from medical treatment because it interferes with education? the policies are much stricter than in the average workplace, which is a strong factor in why illnesses run so rampantly through schools, and at such an alarming rate. when 9 children are absent because of the flu..chances are high it started with one child that didnt stay home when they were sick.
unexcused absences
Visitor - I just wonder if those "unexcused absences" are going to show up on some college admissions report or a scholarship application process down the road. I don't know and it worries me. My son rarely misses school, gets straight A's, and is active in several extra-curriculars. Once in awhile he misses a single class period due to an orthodontist appointment. And yet, he still gets unexcused absences. I don't agree with the policy, but if it won't cause a problem down the road, I can live with it. However, if some college admissions officer ever asks about those unexcused absences, I will refer him to administration at LCSC for an explanation.
Your concerns are legitimate
Your concerns are legitimate and I am glad to see your son has accepted his responsibility for attending school. The parents and the home life also serve as great springboards for keeping youngsters on track.
As I stated previous, it was a total breakdown of the process that resulted in every kid being penalized. That type of reaction seems to be commonplace by the current School Board and the LCSC Administration. You would think there would be a policy in place that would "punish" the abusers to include enforcement so students / parents understand their lackadaisical behavior will no longer be tolerated.
Clarification
To be fair I need to clarify my previous post. When a child brings a dr's slip after an absence, such as for an orthodontist appointment, he is not given an unexcused absence. However, when he stays home for things like a low grade fever, a night of vomiting due to 24 hour flu, or a sinus attack, which don't require a dr's visit, the absence is considered unexcused. Those are the ones I have complaints about. And I agree with Visitor that the "All for One and One for All" type of punishment/reward system that we have at LCSC is inappropriate. It's not teaching the kids better behavior, it's teaching them that some people screw up the process for everyone, so why bother? Not a lesson I want my son taking through life.
That said, I'll add that there are many other attributes of LCSC I appreciate, and I'm supportive of the school system in general. We've had a very good experience here in our 3 plus years in the system, and I'm fully aware that things could be much worse. I know this from personal experience. If I had to choose between LCSC and the system we came from, there's no doubt who would win out. So despite some problems, I'm grateful for the positive things we have here because some of the alternatives out there are much less attractive.
sorry Terri, i wasn't clear
sorry Terri, i wasn't clear myself, where i meant to go with that was, the policy is set up so that in order to receive the perfect att credit, no days can be missed, its more like a case of... excused, but not forgotten. if your child has maintained perfect attendance, then misses a day, or even leaves early because of any reason, including a dr's app, it can be excused, but will still count against them as far as their attendance. it was not this way when i was in school, an excused absence was not counted against you at all.
you're right
That's true, James. My understanding is that missing any class period, regardless of reason, is counted as an absence and at that point the student no longer has perfect attendance. It wasn't that way when I went to school either. Maybe we're both just old - LOL. But frankly, I can't conceive how a child can have perfect attendance. I know I never achieved it when I was in school, and my child hasn't managed it through his 10 years of public education. He has had years where he's only missed 1 or 2 days, and I can't remember a year he missed more than 5 total. But perfect attendance is quite a feat and your nephew should be commended for at least giving it a go.
I got this ~
from a friend on Facebook. it sort of confirms what I've been feeling about the H1N1 vaccine. still glad we're not getting it. although from what I've read, there isn't enough to go around anyway so......
H1N1
Margo
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
~Edmund Burke~
Check out my Blog!!
http://osmom93.blogspot.com/
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