Should I refuse FFDE?

[dozitgetchahi]

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Seeing this thread pop up again, if anyone is ever in the position of needing to pick a facility/evaluator and has Acumen Institute as an option, that's the one that my physician patients attended. They write very thoughtful, reasonable assessments and both physicians came to actually appreciate/find value in their process.

PHP's that shop for overdiagnosing institutes sound awful. And the cash outlay is also really unfortunate.

I’ve heard bad things about Acumen also. I think anyone involved in the PHP business is dirty, almost without exception.

 

[TulaneUnderdog]

I’ve heard bad things about Acumen also. I think anyone involved in the PHP business is dirty, almost without exception.

I want to tack on to that and say any 3rd party evaluator not designated as PHP-approved will likely have their final assessment of you disregarded by the PHP. I dont know if they specifically are approved or not but if they are what you say; they likely are PHP-affiliated. My PHP only recommended 4 or 5 evaluators they approve of across a 1000 mile span (ridiculous) and warned against going to anyone else.

Not that you shouldn’t - as I noted earlier in the thread before I waved the White flag, my lawyer encouraged to have my own private evaluation done. People just need to weigh risk:benefit of that and follow what their attorney suggests. At worst; it may put you up to a year out of work and you end up paying for 2 evaluations ($3000-$5000 times 2).

 

[FlowRate]

I’ve heard bad things about Acumen also. I think anyone involved in the PHP business is dirty, almost without exception.

What have you heard that's "bad," exactly? There's a spectrum of things that could be "bad" about that sort of company and those factors matter to varying degrees.

 

[Apollyon]

18-mo (actually 16ish to be precise) update: on final stretch. Have not received a lab in a long time, about 2 months. Does not seem random to me; conveniently this happened after I emailed them complaining about the back to back blood draws for the same 3-mo marker test. Anyways, have remained negative in over $10,000 worth of labs wasted. Some may say congrats its a sign that PHP methods worked; I may say that its a bit easier when you are not a f***ing alcoholic from the start.

Notwithstanding your aggro (which sounds appropriate), you sound like the ER patients that said "they didn't do anything" after labs, X-ray, and CT were all negative.

Do you ask for your money back after you don't win the lottery?

Or would you rather your labs were positive, so that your money wasn't "wasted"?

 

[TulaneUnderdog]

Notwithstanding your aggro (which sounds appropriate), you sound like the ER patients that said "they didn't do anything" after labs, X-ray, and CT were all negative.

Do you ask for your money back after you don't win the lottery?

Or would you rather your labs were positive, so that your money wasn't "wasted"?

Well; for one, those patients likely are covered for the $10,000 worth of labs, etc with many not paying a single dollar; meanwhile, I had to pay my $10,000 entirely out the pocket since Blue Cross Blue Shield wouldnt ever cover it. I guess they see the lack of evidence in it too. And its not the urine draws; I can live with that - its the follicle pulling and the blood phlebotomy that they dont even spread out monthly-quarterly; but do weekly biweekly which there’s no evidence for and a frivolous as these detect substances back 3-6mo so why make me overpay for that. There is no evidence, the insurance is right. Their pattern of draw isnt “random” but “pseudorandom” where I get a bolus of $1000 lab tests 4 times in one month of football season, then 2 months of none. A problem drinker can game this and they could punish this by actually randomizing Peths/UDS but they truly dont care.

I admit that Im that guy that orders all those blood counts and blood chems on patients on the daily and hearing from them every time that its wasteful. The difference is: I’m ordering a diabetic’s quarterly A1C (poor control), a vasculopath’s yearly lipids, an ESRDs weekly bicarb phos and K. weekly INRs on warfarin pts. Even alcoholic’s LFTs Mag and B12. See the difference now?