posted
Anyone know how long it is supposed to take for our medical records to arrive? I'd call the clinic but, of course, the doors are closed and the "information line" Dr. J promised us remains a mystery to me. No updates on his website.
Anyone have the information line number? Has anyone that ordered their records actually received them? I'm sorry, but for how much the clinic is charging us, I feel Dr. J himself should be hand delivering my records (maybe that's what's taking so long).
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
ConnieMc
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 191
posted
I ordered records on several clients I am representing in their SSA claims and I received them within about 2 weeks. I sent requests not too long before the deadline that was set by the clinic.
The rates they are charging now for records are the same they have always been over the past few years. Just for clarification, rates they charge are typical rates most doctor's offices charge for medical records. They may seem high, but they are typical based on my experiences obtaining medical records from physician's offices and hospitals.
While I haven't had a reason to try to contact the clinic (they closed just last week) I would assume that if you called the main number you would probably get a message telling you how to contact them. After all, many, including me, are still active patients and plan to follow him to his new location.
If I learn anything specific I will be glad to PM you with the info.
Good luck...
Posts: 2276 | From NC | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
I realize that his fees are what many doctors charge, but am entitled to complain, what, with all the other complaints about the fees many others have incurred for their medical records over the years.
FYI: (for all who have PM'd me about what a horrible person I am for saying what I have)
I was a very loyal patient to Dr. J for some time. I owe him my life, and realize that he is not the only one that makes the decisions in his practice (it's my opinion that this is what got him in to trouble in the first place). Dr. J has always remained to be a wonderful and caring physician. It was a hard decision to not follow him to his new practice, but the summary that he sent me from my visit back in July made the decision for me. It lacked organization and was a literary portrait of a man who'd been stretched to the limits. I feel like I have every right to be bitter about things (in a nutshell, the letter accused me of not doing everything within my power to get better - which, for lack of better terms, is blasphemous). I feel betrayed, and I am sure that I'll feel this way for a long time.
My recent experience has not dissuaded me from recommending Dr. J to others. I was literally hanging on by a thread when I met him about 18 months ago, and now I'm almost better than new. It's nothing less than magical what he did for me, and I believe that he can and will do the same for many more.
For me, the trust has been broken. I wish him all the best.
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
You're scaring me. I saw/see Dr. J, too. I requested my medical records by written form and called to make sure they got the request, so far nothing has been sent to me and they got my request pretty long before the deadline. Maybe they are short-staffed and overwhelmed. That must be the case.
I am also confused. You say you owe him your life & that he is a wonderful & caring man and that you are better than new. But that you have lost trust in him and something about a letter accusing you of not doing everything in your power to get better, but you are better, much better. I don't understand. Perhaps Dr.J, who has gone through something none of us will ever know could use a little bit of grace from all of us. Sometimes I wonder why he is continuing to treat us Lyme patients. What really is in it for him? He's lost his practice, his home, his reputation. The bottom line is he does care about us and helping us to get well.
I hope this didn't offend you because that is not intended at all. I am saying this with a very gentle tone and deep concern. Maybe after he is settled the two of you could sit down and talk about whether or not the patient/physician relationship has been damaged beyond repair or if because of all the stress things were said that normally would not be. Maybe a gentle reminder from you listing all the things you did for treatment would help (when the time is right, of course).
These are very unusual and stressful times in which we live.
Kayda
Posts: 582 | From midwest | Registered: Nov 2006
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I hope this didn't offend you because that is not intended at all. I am saying this with a very gentle tone and deep concern. Maybe after he is settled the two of you could sit down and talk about whether or not the patient/physician relationship has been damaged beyond repair or if because of all the stress things were said that normally would not be. Maybe a gentle reminder from you listing all the things you did for treatment would help (when the time is right, of course).
These are very unusual and stressful times in which we live.
Kayda
Didn't mean to scare you. Just looking for my records and wanted to know if anyone else had gotten thiers.
I'm afraid it's too late for Dr. J and me. Sometimes, we have to know when to walk away. I honestly think that he has done all that he can for me. He hasn't been my "treating" LLMD for the better part of the year because of his legal woes. I continued to go to him for input and to get suggestions on how to tweak my treatment plan to make me better. He did his job.
I'm moving back out west and I've got an appointment with a new LLMD. I've made great leaps and bounds - like I said before, Dr. J gets all the credit. It's time to leave the life I've lived (kind of weird to think of what I've been doing the past 3 years as living) and move on with life. Cutting my ties out here is as big a step to heal myself as my daily infusions and the 70+ pills I swallow.
It's time to move on.
Like I said. I still refer many people to Dr. J. I would be selfish not to. I still think he's an exceptional human being and wish him no ill will. I am grateful for the chance to be his patient. I understand that right now is not the best time for him. He's held up exceptionally well considering.
Kayda, maybe you are right. Maybe Dr J and I will sit down one day and discuss things, but it won't be anytime soon. It's time to open a new chapter in my life and see where it takes me. It's not about me proving myself to him. After all that I've been through with him (we all took a shot in the dark when he put me on a regimen that consisted of more antibiotics than he'd ever prescribed to anyone in hopes that things would clear up for me) I feel that trust should be the last thing I should worry about.
A lot of this is my own lack of confidence. I don't know how to be sick. My sister was diagnosed with Munchausen's when I was really young and every time a new symptom appeared, I thought I was making it all up (I know that sounds far fetched, but I'd never been sick before). Nothing seemed real to me, though to the outside world my health rapidly declined. I found ways to convince myself that all of the tests that came back showing something else was wrong with me were mistakes. In my mind, there was no way a 23 year old female who was training to run in marathons, travelling the world, and in love for the first time was literally sitting around waiting to die. (With meningitis, encephalitis, and a horrible case of anemia that provoked doctors to keep bags of O+ bedside I really was waiting to die.)
Every time a doctor looks at me funny, it reiterates what I already believe: I am not sick. This is all a bad dream.
I bust my butt everyday to get down all those pills, to swallow that nasty yellow paste, to infuse - all are things I know will eventually make me feel a million times worse. I've watched my thyroid suffer, my liver, my kidneys, my heart... I now have genetic diseases that could have stayed buried deep inside had I not pushed(Narcolepsy and Celiac's). I've seen blood come from places that it should not, I've had seizures, blood clots, countless allergic reactions, the list goes on for days.
Why? Because this is my marathon. This is what I was training for. I push myself to the limit then push myself some more.
To have someone you trust come along and say you're not doing enough is worse, to me, than having Lyme.
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
posted
Just an FYI: the clinic should be able to give anyone else with questions about thier medical records answers during regular business hours. They'd already left for the day when I called today.
-------------------- Sometimes when I say �Oh, I�m fine� I want someone to look me in the eyes & say �tell the truth�
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