Stupid waste of public health resources

[BidingMyTime]

Ok, I hate to complain about people....well, actually I do like to complain about people, but its a character flaw I'm working on. But this was so stupid.

so, parent comes in from the ER with a prescription for an antibiotic for their sick child. So I enter the prescription & ins rejects it for a refill too soon. So I look at their profile, and it turns out they had been to a different ER 3 days before, got a prescription for the exact same antibiotic which we filled.....and which they never came and picked up!!! Not the poor sick child's fault, but it really irks me that my tax dollars paid for 2 emergency room visits (which clearly weren't emergencies, since the parent didn't bother to pick up the antibiotic for the child after the first visit, and didn't bother to go to see a non-ER doctor during the preceding 3 days after their first ER visit.) What is wrong with people???

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[confettiflyer]

Yup...insurance doesn't guarantee people suddenly become responsible people.

 

[npage148]

The only saving grace is if the child is actually sick they would have been admitted. Also, they (the parents) are at least practicing good ABX stewardship. conserve those drugs, slow resistance

 

[ArtificallyFlavored]

What about when they come to pick up benzos and pain meds through Medicaid intended for their elective breast augmentation surgery. I swear, pharmacist should be able to reject those claims.

 

[ExpressMaiL]

Ok, I hate to complain about people....well, actually I do like to complain about people, but its a character flaw I'm working on. But this was so stupid.

so, parent comes in from the ER with a prescription for an antibiotic for their sick child. So I enter the prescription & ins rejects it for a refill too soon. So I look at their profile, and it turns out they had been to a different ER 3 days before, got a prescription for the exact same antibiotic which we filled.....and which they never came and picked up!!! Not the poor sick child's fault, but it really irks me that my tax dollars paid for 2 emergency room visits (which clearly weren't emergencies, since the parent didn't bother to pick up the antibiotic for the child after the first visit, and didn't bother to go to see a non-ER doctor during the preceding 3 days after their first ER visit.) What is wrong with people???

Welcome to Muhhhrica.

 

[Sugoi Travis]

What about when they come to pick up benzos and pain meds through Medicaid intended for their elective breast augmentation surgery. I swear, pharmacist should be able to reject those claims.

Thinking about these kinds of patients on Medicaid just makes me hate Medicaid patients in general, which really is unfair to the ones who use it sensibly.

 

[ChalupaBatman86]

What about when they come to pick up benzos and pain meds through Medicaid intended for their elective breast augmentation surgery. I swear, pharmacist should be able to reject those claims.

A person on Medicaid might be low income but that doesn't mean they don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend/parent/son/daughter/brother/uncle etc. who provides extra money for other things. There is no way to prevent it. The sugar daddy will pay for the elective surgery but not going to waste their own money on the meds associated with it.

 

[confettiflyer]

A person on Medicaid might be low income but that doesn't mean they don't have a boyfriend/girlfriend/parent/son/daughter/brother/uncle etc. who provides extra money for other things. There is no way to prevent it. The sugar daddy will pay for the elective surgery but not going to waste their own money on the meds associated with it.

This is actually utilized at the other end of the age spectrum where a couple will divorce and assets spent down in order for the ailing spouse to qualify for Medicaid.

 

[rph3664]

When I worked in retail, there was a family who would take their 3 children to the walk-in clinic at least once a week, and the clinic would fax us a fistful of prescriptions, which the parents never picked up. After this happened several times, I called the clinic and told them about this, and I never saw anything from them again.

 

[rph3664]

This is actually utilized at the other end of the age spectrum where a couple will divorce and assets spent down in order for the ailing spouse to qualify for Medicaid.

I've heard of this being done when a family had a severely disabled child, too.

 

[BidingMyTime]

The only saving grace is if the child is actually sick they would have been admitted. Also, they (the parents) are at least practicing good ABX stewardship. conserve those drugs, slow resistance

Well, that is the positive way to look at the situation.

When I worked in retail, there was a family who would take their 3 children to the walk-in clinic at least once a week, and the clinic would fax us a fistful of prescriptions, which the parents never picked up. After this happened several times, I called the clinic and told them about this, and I never saw anything from them again.

I really don't get this, why do people want to go to the doctor or the ER? I despise going to the ER especially, part of it is, I don't want to go to work when I'm not at work, but the other part is, I'd rather be sick & miserable at home, then sick & miserable in a crowded waiting room. I would only go to the emergency room if its a true emergency...even then, I'd be tempted to wait until the next day and see my regular doctor. What kind of thrill are people possibly getting from going to the ER or walk-in clinic when they aren't deathly ill?

 

[rph3664]

Some people like the attention, and here's an angle that's come up more in recent years. A very common method of paying child support is having the non-custodial parent cover the kids on (usually) his health insurance, and/or pay the kids' uninsured medical expenses. Most of the time, this is a totally legitimate way to do it, but some people (and I am related to someone who did this) will take the kids to doctors, the ER, etc. just to soak him.

Those kids are grown now, and have nothing to do with their father OR any of his relatives, although they think their mom is da bomb and consider their stepdad to be their "real" father. Nobody will tell me why except that I should not be sorry, it's for the best, and considering that this is the least of the stunts SHE pulled, I probably don't want to know.

 

[npage148]

Good thing we make sure the kid gets the first dose of the ABX in the ER.

 

[rxlea]

I wondered when I would see the next eff Medicaid babies thread.