August 27, 2007
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Shingle Jingle
Disclaimer: The following may or may not have happened but probably did.
Yesterday morning I woke up and noticed the spot where i thought I was bit by a spider must’ve had an alergic reaction. It had spread across my arms and chest. There were many raised red bumps on my skin…
I went into the Kaiser E.R. in Hayward and they sent me to Union City.
Union City Receptionist: “I’m sorry we don’t have you in the system as being a member”
Me: “You’re joking right?” “I just went in to see a doctor last monday”
Union City Receptionist: “I don’t know what to do. I can charge you as a non-member”
Me: “how much would that cost?”
Union City Receptionist: “100 dollars.”
Me: “how much would a prescription cost?”
Union City Receptionist: “I don’t know whatever the drug costs. You’ll have to see member services tomorrow or I’ll have to charge you like a non-member.”
Me: “Is there anything else you can do? Can you bill me? So I can take the bill to my HR?”
Union City Receptionist: “Let me ask the nurse”… “The Nurse says she’ll see you and make some notes on your chart. But she won’t be able to prescribe you medicine.”
Me: “okay. I’ll try to take care of the member services tomorrow.”
Union City Receptionist: “Okay”
Nurse: “So let me see what is wrong… okay… You have shingles. Now if you want to wait till tomorrow to get a prescription so it doesn’t cost you like a non-member, then I’ll fill out the information on your chart. This is time sensitive. The time window for your treatment must be completed within 48-72 hours of the onset of your rash. So make sure you take care of this as soon as possible.”
Me: “Okay. Once I get things settled with my member services first thing tomorrow morning.”
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At member services:
Me: “I went in for treatment yesterday, and they said my membership here was not valid.”
Member Services Rep: “Yes, we show that we have no receipt of enrollment through the website from X security”
Me: “What can I do to get this resolved?”
Member Services Rep: “You’ll have to contact your HR person and have them enroll you on the website”
Me: (phone rings) Hey (boss) yeah, I’m trying to figure this thing out right now.
(Boss): Have you called the hub?Me: Yeah , I left a message with (X security HR).
(Boss): I’ll call the VP of X security and see if that helps.
Me: Thanks (Boss)
Member Services Rep: “Sir I can’t have you in the office on the cell phone while others in the waiting room waiting for member services.”
Me: “um… Okay” (exit)
At Fremont Urgent Care
Me: “Hi, I need to see a doctor for a follow up from yesterday’s visit to the E.R.”
Reception: “Okay take this to the 3rd floor” (hands me a pink slip)
Me: “Thanks”
3rd floor urgent care
Me: “Hi, I need to see a doctor for a follow up from yesterday’s visit to the E.R.”
Receptionist: “The earliest someone can see you is at 3:30pm.”
Me: “Is it possible they can see me earlier than that? It’s pretty urgent”
Receptionist: “well if it was pretty urgent, then why did the last nurse let you leave without treatment?”
Me: “Because something was wrong with my Kaiser membership. I told her I would get that fixed today. She said she would write notes on my chart so I could get treatment after I fixed my Kaiser membership this morning.”
Receptionist: “Let me talk to the doctor and see if there’s anything earlier that I can schedule you for.”
Me: “thanks”
Recpetionist: “Sorry the doctor doesn’t have anything until 5pm.”
Me: “I don’t think you understand the urgency of this”
Receptionist: “what is the urgency?”
Me: “I was told I have shingles. If I don’t get treatment within a 48 – 72 hour window, it could end up taking months to get over.”
Receptionist: “well if it was that urgent then why did the last nurse let you leave without treatment?”
Me: “Because of the Kaiser membership issues. Look. I don’t care about them anymore. I just want treatment and I’ll follow up with my employer afterwards.”
Receptionist: “Well who told you about a time window?”
Me: “The last nurse practitioner who saw me in Union City”
Receptionist: “Let me get a second opinion” (She goes and talks to the charge nurse)
Charge nurse: “I’m sorry, the earliest time she can see you is 5pm”
Me: “Could you call her and ask her to see me earlier?”
Charge nurse: “She has patients all day”
Me: “Could you please tell her it’s shingles? That I only have a small time window?”
Charge nurse: “okay.” (to the receptionist) do you want starbucks? Yeah? (walking away talking about coffee.)
Me: “Ahem! Could you transfer me to somewhere where there is someone available to see me? Maybe Union City or Hayward?”
Receptionist: “No, we can’t transfer or refer patients. You’ll have to call this number” (Hands me a business card)
Me: “Thanks I’ll try this”
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Meanwhile, Memebership is fixed
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When I tried the number, the only appointments it would allow me to get were for 2 days later and some time in september.
So I went back to the 3rd floor “urgent care”
Charge Nurse: “Hi Philip? The doctor says that she doesn’t have to see you. She can just prescribe you the medicine. You can go downstairs to the Pharmacy and pick it up. Just use your Kaiser card.
Me: “Thanks”
At the Pharmacy
Me: (hands cashier the kaiser card)
Cashier: I’m sorry, I don’t have anything here prescribed to you.
Me: “are you sure?”
Cashier: Yeah, did they give you a receipt? Or do you know the doctor’s name? or perhaps the prescription?
Me: I don’t remember.
Cashier: “go back to the 3rd floor and get that info k?”
Me: “okay”
Back at the 3rd floor
Me: “The cashier said she did not have any prescriptions for me.”
Charge Nurse: “Let me check… You can pick it up later today.”
Me: “Later today? Like when?”
Charge Nurse: “In the evening”
Me: “Evening? like what time?
Charge Nurse: “Let me check… goes to the back”
Receptionist: “Sir could you please sit down and wait in the waiting area?”
Me: “Geeze”
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15 minutes
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Charge nurse: “The doctor says you can pick it up after 5pm.”
Me: “5pm!?”
Charge nurse: “You can pick it up at the Pharmacy.”
Me: “Why can’t she write me the prescription now?”
Charge nurse: “She’s with patients right now and she’s busy till 5.”
Me: “Could I have the pharmacy call her to confirm the prescription so I can start the treatment now?”
Charge nurse: “No, because she’s with patients till 5pm.”
Me: “Okay.”
Back to the Pharmacy
Me: I don’t know the name of the prescription and I don’t have a receipt. but I do have the name of the doctor.
Cashier: ”okay, (fills out a form) would you like to have a seat?”
Me: Actually, could you call me? I’d like to go back to work.
Cashier: “Sure”
Me: “Thanks”
So now I’m at work, trying to wait it out until 5pm wondering what new Kaiser blunders I’ll deal with next.
Please rate your Kaiser visit from 1 to 10. Ten being the best
For the record… I
hatedispise you Kaiser.~Oneazn2nv
Comments (9)
kaiser sucks. i should know.
wait.. so did it happen or not?
btw shingles suck. months after, you’ll still feel painful jabs in your lower chest like someone stabbed you with a knife and twisted it.
just wanted to let you know what you can expect. but heh.. .it’s not that bad
Crazy…hope you feel better.
OMG.. that sucks.. get well soon!
hey u spelled despise wrong
that sucks man- Can’t rate kaiser- have ppo with blue shield and i love it.
praying for you bro.
eeewwwww… you have HERPES!!
good thing i’m not anywhere close to you.
(you know i’m joking right babe. i still love you… herpes and all. go take your viagra, i mean vicodin.)
aren’t you glad that you keep the kaiser patients safe and secure from other kaiser patients who go ballistic and shoot people?
Dude. I JUST cancelled my Kaiser membership yesterday now that I’m benefitted with a much better insurance company under my new employer. Your story is soooo typical. I was feeling angry even as I was reading it! I rate them a 2. It would have been a 1, but my mom still works for them.