Doctor charging for an email?

[qbkilla]

I recently got a physical and called with a question and was told to email the doctor in " my portal". He emailed back, sent a referral to an endo and called it a second visit and issued a visit summary for a non face to face visit ( answering an email in the patient portal).

IMO this is shady as anything but I'm not going to make a big deal because I have good insurance. But my question, does most insurance cover these email ",visits"? I just don't want to be left with a large bill

 

[Wonton]

Seems kinda shady but something they will eventually transfer to , phone , email charges.

Hopefully he discloses the charge up front - if insurance company doesn't cover it - I'd follow their lead and dispute it. If it wasn't disclosed in any way

But if you switch docs I'd ask about these things up front , so you won't be roadsided

 

[buck]

I am guessing it will be normal at some point as people do it more. Years ago if your wanted to ask a question about a blood test you had to go into the Dr for an appointment and get charged. If emails weren't charged for as you know people would be writing in all the time with questions as opposed to going in.

 

[TrippplePPP]

Ha, I would report that to your insurance and also call and complain to the office. Let them know you will leave reviews online for the company and doctor. I would be pissed if a doc tried to do that to me. Don't let him/her get away with that dude. I work in a doctor's office and find this upsetting.

 

[Gunsmith]

Lawyers have been doing it for years.!
With today's age of tele-confrence , tele-health and everything else that has prevented human to human contact the last couple years it's no surprise to me at all that they are changing for emails , prescription call in , and everything else

 

[qbkilla]

Ha, I would report that to your insurance and also call and complain to the office. Let them know you will leave reviews online for the company and doctor. I would be pissed if a doc tried to do that to me. Don't let him/her get away with that dude. I work in a doctor's office and find this upsetting.

I plan to, I see under my visit tab

Billing encounter
Office visit
Patient message
Orders only.

But the orders only says inside " today's visit"

I want to ask if they know my insurance covers this. If not I would have just walked in for a follow up visit if needed because my insurance covers that.

For what it's worth I have major insurance company and this is a large reputable medical system I use for my PCP. Not some little doctor that isn't backed by a large hospital. Hopefully that means they aren't doing anything shady will all this " telehealth" people are pushing.

 

[j4ever]

that sounds like BS to me, i have been using patient portal for at least 15 years, over that 15 years or so i have used with 3-4 different docs and never have had a charge for answering a question, now if you were to have a vid visit that would be different.

 

[TrippplePPP]

I plan to, I see under my visit tab

Billing encounter
Office visit
Patient message
Orders only.

But the orders only says inside " today's visit"

I want to ask if they know my insurance covers this. If not I would have just walked in for a follow up visit if needed because my insurance covers that.

For what it's worth I have major insurance company and this is a large reputable medical system I use for my PCP. Not some little doctor that isn't backed by a large hospital. Hopefully that means they aren't doing anything shady will all this " telehealth" people are pushing.

I have worked for major hospitals since I graduated college 15+ years ago. Patients call in all day long and some more than others and it does take away from the doctor and staff's time. There are people that try to get a full visit squeezed out of a phone call. I never heard of anyone actually ever being charged for this with exception of a specialty where you need to review a person's chart for an extended period of time and the actual visit is brief, but in this case the doctor is actually studying the patient's chart with purpose.

So if you called in with a simple question its reasonable to expect this for free as this is what doctors do. Acting as if this process is now a billable service takes balls and is very off putting.

I have worked half my career for a large hospital system that was corrupt. I felt ashamed to actually work there as I knew every patient I interacted was getting ripped off. They purposely would bill in a way that is illegal and also bill for procedures that were not done. The owner who orchestrates this does not go to jail rather gets a small fine so the government gets there share when all this came to light. So this stuff happens. Hospitals fear more so a newspaper running an article about their shady business as this decreases their bottom line.

 

[alfresco]

I have been emailing (patient portal) my doctors for years and have never been billed . . . that I am aware of.

Of course I have never asked for a diagnosis. (That is not what it is for and doctors know that.) It’s usually for a clarification, med. dosage change, simple things like that.

Yes, lawyers have been billing for phone calls, emails, etc. for years. It is part of their business model. Maybe we will see the medical establishment adopting more of this, another way to separate you from your money, to cover the cost of doing business.

And cost is a factor in the absence of value.

qbkilla, the only thing that sounds plausibly odd is the lack of transparency, full disclosure but if covered by insurance maybe they don’t feel the need. If it’s covered, what do you care?

But if you think about it, time is money, be it a doctor or lawyer or a scientists time. I don’t know what you do for a living but if you are taking your work home with you, you should be compensated. Similarly, if a doctor is answering questions on his or her own time, I would think compensation would be in order OR it could part be of the job in which case it just gets absorbed.

Further, I do not know how insurance handles this but would be interested in the answer. Could prevent a misunderstanding down the road; this insurance company or another.

 

[qbkilla]

I have been emailing (patient portal) my doctors for years and have never been billed . . . that I am aware of.

Of course I have never asked for a diagnosis. (That is not what it is for and doctors know that.) It’s usually for a clarification, med. dosage change, simple things like that.

Yes, lawyers have been billing for phone calls, emails, etc. for years. It is part of their business model. Maybe we will see the medical establishment adopting more of this, another way to separate you from your money, to cover the cost of doing business.

And cost is a factor in the absence of value.

qbkilla, the only thing that sounds plausibly odd is the lack of transparency, full disclosure but if covered by insurance maybe they don’t feel the need. If it’s covered, what do you care?

But if you think about it, time is money, be it a doctor or lawyer or a scientists time. I don’t know what you do for a living but if you are taking your work home with you, you should be compensated. Similarly, if a doctor is answering questions on his or her own time, I would think compensation would be in order OR it could part be of the job in which case it just gets absorbed.

Further, I do not know how insurance handles this but would be interested in the answer. Could prevent a misunderstanding down the road; this insurance company or another.

I agree with most of what you said, would be interested in knowing.

I think though saying people should be comepnsated for their time is a slipped slope. Lawyers have got away for charging for emails looks like doctors are trying for it next.

But everyone's time is valuable. Would trainers then charge if they offer you their number when recruiting clients and you ask them if artificer sweeteners are allowed?

Could Walmart charge Someone's store account if you call them to ask if a TV is in stock? Would teachers charge for replying to a parent email after school hours? Would the exterminator charge if I email him a picture asking if it's a bed bug?

Most positions are paid hourly, then some salary. If they think their time is worth money they should disclose this and risk losing patients to a doctor/company that doesn't charge for normal communication IMO.

 

[buck]

I agree with most of what you said, would be interested in knowing.

I think though saying people should be comepnsated for their time is a slipped slope. Lawyers have got away for charging for emails looks like doctors are trying for it next.

But everyone's time is valuable. Would trainers then charge if they offer you their number when recruiting clients and you ask them if artificer sweeteners are allowed?

Could Walmart charge Someone's store account if you call them to ask if a TV is in stock? Would teachers charge for replying to a parent email after school hours? Would the exterminator charge if I email him a picture asking if it's a bed bug?

Most positions are paid hourly, then some salary. If they think their time is worth money they should disclose this and risk losing patients to a doctor/company that doesn't charge for normal communication IMO.

To be fair i have never been charged to talk to a salesman or to a teacher. So i would certainly be surprised to receive a charge for an email for what is normally a free service when done in person.

 

[buck]

The lawyers i have dealt with charge by the minute from my experience and keep track of all their time. Dr.s charge for their time as well. Doesn't matter if i like it or not. I can try to go elsewhere if i choose but good luck on what that will get me. I am not sure i would want to go to a Dr. or lawyer that charged per the service done like a car repair shop. As then going fast and getting things done as quick and as cheap as possible would be the norm, and i might not like that type of medical care.

 

[marssel]

I recently got a physical and called with a question and was told to email the doctor in " my portal". He emailed back, sent a referral to an endo and called it a second visit and issued a visit summary for a non face to face visit ( answering an email in the patient portal).

IMO this is shady as anything but I'm not going to make a big deal because I have good insurance. But my question, does most insurance cover these email ",visits"? I just don't want to be left with a large bill

Sounds shitty but as others say in here it’s prolly the new norm and if he’s a good doc an you get what you need from him I’d just eat it. There are sooooo many awful docs out there. How many times have we had to explain our blood work to average PCPs who just treat sick people day in day out….?

 

[qbkilla]

The lawyers i have dealt with charge by the minute from my experience and keep track of all their time. Dr.s charge for their time as well. Doesn't matter if i like it or not. I can try to go elsewhere if i choose but good luck on what that will get me. I am not sure i would want to go to a Dr. or lawyer that charged per the service done like a car repair shop. As then going fast and getting things done as quick and as cheap as possible would be the norm, and i might not like that type of medical care.

What country do you live in where doctors charge by their time? Not in the USA id assume. I would never go to a doctor who charges by time. Who wants to sit in there and talk with him all day to get a script so he is racking up the minutes and seconds to send you a nice big bill?

 

[Delt123]

I’ve been lucky enough to email my doctor on his private adress with no extra cost. Wouldn’t do it if I need to pay for that lol. Don’t expect a nicely written email though hahah.

He is 80+ years even.

 

[buck]

What country do you live in where doctors charge by their time? Not in the USA id assume. I would never go to a doctor who charges by time. Who wants to sit in there and talk with him all day to get a script so he is racking up the minutes and seconds to send you a nice big bill?

I live in the US. Most every Dr. I have used has a set rate of pay for a service such as an office visit. And they plan on the office visit taking X amount of minutes and schedule patients accordingly so they get paid for their tiem but average it out over the day. And if i take to long they start to hurry to get to the next patient. If they are talking to an old person for example they know it can take longer and charge a higher rate for that same office visit. Same for surgeries they have the operating room booked for a certain amount of time and plan surgeries to get done during that period. How do your Dr.s do it where you live?

 

[qbkilla]

I live in the US. Most every Dr. I have used has a set rate of pay for a service such as an office visit. And they plan on the office visit taking X amount of minutes and schedule patients accordingly and if i take to long they start to hurry to get to the next patient. Same for surgeries they have the operating room booked for a certain amount of time and plan surgeries to get done during that period. How do your Dr.s do it where you live?

The same way yours do. From your first post I thought you meant they charge by time (how many minutes it takes) which IMO would be reduculous. I've never felt rushed at the doctor but have felt like I had to wait too long. One reason why I'm for private insurance (how we have it now) vs socialized or government medicine because then wait times will increase.

Overall I'm more than happy with my medical care just questioning if they are going to try and pull a fast one and charge me for an email without informing me. But if my insurance covers it no big deal.

 

[buck]

The same way yours do. From your first post I thought you meant they charge by time (how many minutes it takes) which IMO would be reduculous. I've never felt rushed at the doctor but have felt like I had to wait too long. One reason why I'm for private insurance (how we have it now) vs socialized or government medicine because then wait times will increase.

Overall I'm more than happy with my medical care just questioning if they are going to try and pull a fast one and charge me for an email without informing me. But if my insurance covers it no big deal.

If they didn't really charge for their time you could see them once and keep coming back till you are cured. Some states didn't allow tele visits before Covid and are changing policies i believe.
I like my insurance as well. I have friends from Canada that like the socialized medicine for they everyday stuff, as it is easy to get an appointment and is free, but complain how long it takes to get an appointment for anything out of the ordinary. And their choice of Dr. is limited and there may only be one they can go to no matter how good or bad the Dr. is. They also have private Dr's there which i would assume are probably the better ones as they can charge more then the government Dr. I like when the premier from Canada has come down to the US to see a Dr. cracks me up.

 

[qbkilla]

I wouldn't want them to charge by time. If someone is a hypochondriac and goes to the doctor for every little thing, their going to have to pay a co-pay, and they are missing out on their own personal time for goin to a doc for a hangnail. So there are reasons why people don't do that. Also, the doctor can just repeat what he told them last time and bill the insurance and get $$ for a visit so the only loser is the idiot who goes to the doctor repeatedly and the insurance company, the doctor isn't missing out he is making $$.

If they charge you for minutes in the doctors office now your going to be in a rush to get out or get mad when they take too long, or rush the doctor. And he will have incentive to drag it out (like a tattoo artist that charges by the hour). So basically you and the doctor will be working against each other you will want to get in and get out he will want to take his sweet time and make sure your in his office for as many minutes as he can keep you there, it would be illogical IMO and ruin medical care.

 

[marssel]

I’ve been lucky enough to email my doctor on his private adress with no extra cost. Wouldn’t do it if I need to pay for that lol. Don’t expect a nicely written email though hahah.

He is 80+ years even.

Is he 80 and a super anti ped old school doc or is he actually smart enough to roll with the ped game.