![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by scatterbrained on June 10, 2004, at 18:48:11
I got the name of this apparently great doctor who has helped many people with treatment resitant cases like myself. The thing that's a bit worrysome's that the inicial medication evaluation is 1 hour, costs $400(doesn't take insurance) and the followups are once a month for twenty minutes.I've gone to a million doctors and the inicial consultation usually has lasted 3 hours!I have to wait until mid july to see him so I guess he must be, if not good, busy;and I guess busy usually equals good,right? Anyway, I just can't understand how such an expediant doctor can be therough enough to be good. Does anybody have any thoughts on this?I'm in total desperation, I'm not by any means rich, but I'm willing to pay any amount of money for a remission, even if I'm in debt for the rest of my life;I just don't want to get ripped of though.Maybe I just have to take that chance, even if I can't afford it.
Posted by Racer on June 10, 2004, at 20:15:28
In reply to expedient doctors, posted by scatterbrained on June 10, 2004, at 18:48:11
Can't answer whether or not you should take the risk, but when you say he doesn't take insurance, I suspect you have insurance? Is it an HMO? Or a PPO type set up, where you pay one price for in-network providers and another for out-of-network providers? If it's the latter, you can get reimbursed for a good deal of your out of pocket costs. You have to do the paperwork yourself, which is always a daunting idea when you're depressed, but it is likely to make going into debt for the rest of your life much less likely. ;-D
I've never had a three hour initial consultation, by the way, so that wouldn't worry me, but it might also explain why *I'm* hard to treat? What would worry me, though, is that part about "once a month" follow ups: does that mean during the initial treatment period? Or only after you've gotten stabilized on a treatment that works well for you?
Anyway, check with your insurance, and best luck.
Posted by King Vultan on June 10, 2004, at 20:24:42
In reply to expedient doctors, posted by scatterbrained on June 10, 2004, at 18:48:11
My initial consultations have always been one hour and followups 15 or 20 minutes. With my present doctor, there is about a week and a half delay to see him for a followup, but it might be three weeks or something for an initial consultation. I can make appointments at will and could see him every couple of weeks if he and I felt there were a need to. I don't know if this means he's not very busy or is, but I think he's a very good doctor in any event.
I guess I would be put off about the doctor you describe not accepting insurance. Apparently, he just caters to rich people for which this is not an issue? Unless I were completely uninsured anyway, there is no way I would see a doctor who wasn't somehow covered under my insurance plan. Beyond that, not accepting insurance just seems rather arrogant and inconsiderate, which are particularly poor qualities for a mental health professional to have IMO.
Todd
Posted by partlycloudy on June 11, 2004, at 6:51:45
In reply to Re: expedient doctors » scatterbrained, posted by King Vultan on June 10, 2004, at 20:24:42
More and more doctors are going into private practice - that it, they are not signed with any insurance companies as providers. This does not mean anything regarding the quality of care. It means that the doctor does not want to have his treatment options and fees dictated by an insurer. PPO plans as mentioned above usually allow for "out of network" doctors. I have one doctor who, althought she's not on any insurance plan, prints out the claim forms for her patients as a courtesy. I get reimbursed (albeit, as a reduced rate) by the PPO.
The frequency of visits/treatment followups would be a concern for me, though. I would check to see if the once a month visits are after you're stabilized on meds.
I would also Google the p-doc to see if there's any other information out there on him.
Best of luck
Posted by Racer on June 11, 2004, at 11:31:14
In reply to Re: expedient doctors » scatterbrained, posted by King Vultan on June 10, 2004, at 20:24:42
I know, but I'm a recovering accountant, remember?
Anyway, the unaffiliated with insurance part doesn't bother me, as long as I can get a PPO plan. See, I know from doctors I know and doctors I've seen in the past that accepting specific insurance plans is a real pain in the you-do-know-where for doctors. HMOs are the worst, of course, but even the PPO plans are problematic for them. The problems range from the amount of overhead they have to invest in paperwork, to the reduction in payments they receive -- to the point many complain they can't provide adequate care to their patients, because the insurance restrictions force them to overbook in order to cover the overhead of the insurance paperwork, let alone support the dr and the employees -- to the interference from the insurance companies in patient treatment and even diagnosis. Out here (CA), there are growing numbers of doctors -- particularly specialists -- who are opting out of insurance plans. PPO plans will reimburse members for a percentage of the costs, even though the provider is not part of the network.
Anyway, between your lack of objection to the initial session length, and my lack of objection to the insurance, I think we add up to a cautious vote to check this guy out. Or maybe not.
Posted by Emme on June 11, 2004, at 11:52:09
In reply to expedient doctors, posted by scatterbrained on June 10, 2004, at 18:48:11
> I got the name of this apparently great doctor who has helped many people with treatment resitant cases like myself. The thing that's a bit worrysome's that the inicial medication evaluation is 1 hour, costs $400(doesn't take insurance)
As the others noted, you may be able to get reimbursement for an out-of-network provider.
> and the followups are once a month for twenty minutes.
I'd hope there would be some flexibility in the scheduling. Maybe that's just an average. Ask if she/he schedules according to how you're doing.
> I've gone to a million doctors and the inicial consultation usually has lasted 3 hours!
Wow. I've never seen that. Though it would be kind of nice, if tiring.
> I'm in total desperation, I'm not by any means rich, but I'm willing to pay any amount of money for a remission, even if I'm in debt for the rest of my life;I just don't want to get ripped of though.Maybe I just have to take that chance, even if I can't afford it.
Yeah, as the others said, see what kind of reimbursement you might get. My impression is that going to an independent doctor increases your chances of getting good care, free from the constraints of managed care. I know my pdoc wants to practice medicine the way *she* sees fit.
The 20 minute follow ups seem a bit short though. After having 30 minute appts for the last few years, I've come to appreciate how much better it is to have a little more time. Even 30 minutes is pushing it a lot of the time. But if this person has superb expertise, then hey, you might get a lot out of the 20 minutes.
Emme
Posted by King Vultan on June 11, 2004, at 12:20:58
In reply to Drs and Insurance » King Vultan, posted by Racer on June 11, 2004, at 11:31:14
Perhaps you're right, and I'm being too hard on the guy regarding the insurance issue. In my own case, I've noticed how insurance companies will sometimes pay quite a bit less then the amount billed, and the provider just has to accept it. The place I go to is a good sized health center that can probably accomodate this because of quantities of scale, but for a doctor working by himself in his own practice, I can see where it would be a much bigger deal.
I typically have a PPO but opted this year for an HMO because both my GP and pdoc are in it, along with the health center which has multiple other specialists, too. Appointments to see my pdoc or other specialists in the network are only $15 instead of the $25 it costs in the PPO. Contrast that with $400 and the fact that I am basically a huge cheapskate, and you get a better idea of why I was initially rather turned off at seeing the aforementioned stupendous pdoc.
Todd
Posted by Racer on June 11, 2004, at 14:06:00
In reply to Re: Drs and Insurance » Racer, posted by King Vultan on June 11, 2004, at 12:20:58
LOL! I am laughing, now, and I thank you profoundly for making me laugh. It's such a relief to be able to -- even silently.
My husband and I just opted for a PPO rather than an HMO, despite the pre-existing condition exclusion that's gonna keep me tied to Dr EyeCandy for another six months. In our case, the HMO involved has a separate Behavioral Health HMO which not only dictates the payments to the doctors, but the treatments allowed. Basically, the HMO decides what treatments are appropriate, and only doctors who comply with their models remain in the network. Choosing the PPO was pretty easy once I'd spoken on the telephone with the only pdoc in our area who did med management only for adults. They do the generic SSRIs and CBT, and anything else creates a problem with the HMO. Then again, that HMO also limits other treatments -- including having strict, unbendable rules about how much insulin my husband can use in a month, if you can believe that! (Honest injun, he just got a notice that, from the first of May this year, the insurance company's policy allowed for only 2/3 of the insulin he's used each month for the past two years. That helped us decide, too.)
If I'm ever well enough again, I cross my heart and swear to LIVE that I will get involved in fighting this sort of idiotic policy based treatment boondoggle. Maybe if I tell Dr EyeCandy that, he'll get more aggressive with trying to treat me?
Posted by snapper on June 11, 2004, at 15:36:50
In reply to Re: Drs and Insurance » King Vultan, posted by Racer on June 11, 2004, at 14:06:00
Racer , sorry if I sound ignorant, but what do you mean by "DrEye Candy". Is that another way of saying "young, attractive-freshly out of the mill-run of the mill psych MD" ? Just curious. If so. You make me laugh.
snapper
Posted by Racer on June 11, 2004, at 17:43:43
In reply to Re: Drs and Insurance » Racer, posted by snapper on June 11, 2004, at 15:36:50
Why do I call him Dr EyeCandy? Because he EARNED it, of course!
I'm glad that makes you laugh, today is the first day in a long time I've felt like laughing, so I'm glad to share that.
OK, so Dr EyeCandy is about my age -- but looks maybe 14 -- tall, thin, with that stick straight hair you just want to muss up, perfect teeth and skin -- I have to carry a Dixie cup into our little visits to catch the drool. So, that's why he's Dr EyeCandy. Unfortunately, for reasons too long to go into here, that's the only benefit he has provided me so far.
Some days, though, I think it's almost enough -- but it's also very hard to look at him without wanting to muss up his hair.
Posted by snapper on June 11, 2004, at 17:53:33
In reply to Re: Dr EyeCandy? » snapper, posted by Racer on June 11, 2004, at 17:43:43
thanks, it is humorous, :)....too bad his looks aren't more therapeutic for what ails you.
take care
snapper
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.