Wiki Follow ups

[escorcia16]

Hi everyone. I was not sure where this question would fit in so I decided to post it in this category. Here is the situation, a patient called very upset saying that we cannot order her to do blood work to refill her cholesterol medication. She has been advised in the past that due to her high cholesterol and the fact that she is taking medications an office visit is required at least every 4-6 months. She was constantly saying to explain to her why she needed to come every 6 months. We tried to make her understand the reasons why follow up appointments are needed when taking cholesterol medications and she just couldn't understand. So my question is how can I give her a better explanation about why follow up appointments are important other than what was just said. Maybe she needs some kind of visual to see the importance of her appointments like a handout sheet or video? Thank you in advance.

 

[mhstrauss]

Hi everyone. I was not sure where this question would fit in so I decided to post it in this category. Here is the situation, a patient called very upset saying that we cannot order her to do blood work to refill her cholesterol medication. She has been advised in the past that due to her high cholesterol and the fact that she is taking medications an office visit is required at least every 4-6 months. She was constantly saying to explain to her why she needed to come every 6 months. We tried to make her understand the reasons why follow up appointments are needed when taking cholesterol medications and she just couldn't understand. So my question is how can I give her a better explanation about why follow up appointments are important other than what was just said. Maybe she needs some kind of visual to see the importance of her appointments like a handout sheet or video? Thank you in advance.

This is definitely a clinical issue, and should be addressed by doctors/nurses, not coders. They can better help her understand the risks associated with her health problems, medications, need to monitor labs, etc.

 

[KatHopkins]

Definitely needs to be addressed by the perscribing doctor. If she understands why she is taking the medication, then perhaps she will understand why repeated monitoring is needed.

One example that worked well with an older relative of mine - "You wouldn't expect to get new glasses without having a checkup for any changes, would you?"

Any aspect of one's health can change over time with meds, lifestyle, stress, etc....so the bloodwork is to see if there are any changes...so that meds can be adjusted if needed. No sense taking more or less than is needed!

Hope that helps...