carotid scan

[ely]

im going in to the doc on monday so they can do a sonogram on my arteries in my neck to check for blockages. ive had em before and they were clean even when my heart was not.

anyway i will be back tues. with results. wish me luck.

[Jeff]

Good luck.

[isawlogs]

Bonne chance !   

[Magicman]

Good luck to you ely.  I hope that those results are favorable to you.   

[WDH]

What Marcel said!

[sandhills]

Best of luck, we'll be thinking of you.

[Raider Bill]

That's a easy one. Good luck.

[doctorb]

We used to do this test, and still do, with a stethescope.  Doctors listen for what are called carotid "bruits" (pronounced brew-ees), which is the turbulace a fluid makes as its squeezed through a narrowed area.  Ever tried to have a conversation in a narrow river canyon?  Same deal, except it's in the arteries leading from your chest to your brain.  The purpose of all this is to try to prevent a stroke, i.e., caused by an asymptomatic partial blockage / narrowing of these arteries.  So it's a good noninvasive test for patients at risk for arterial disease.  Good Luck.  Doctorb

[isawlogs]

Doctorb, " Bruits "  is French for < noises >   ;)

[doctorb]

Thanks isawlogs.  Didn't know that!

[clww]

Good luck to you!
Incidentally,  I'm getting a routine sonogram on Tuesday for a tumor.

[Jasperfield]

If you ask for the bill before they do the scan, you can have those arteries "pressure tested" while you're there.

[Raider Bill]

If you ask for the bill before they do the scan, you can have those arteries "pressure tested" while you're there.

That's a fact.

I'm still getting bills from my Dad's death. 3 Dr's charged $863 each for CPR. Not the drugs just plain ol CPR X3! Of course we all know a nurse or tech was doing the compressions and these 3 bill for it.

[ely]

well thanks for the well wishes, and i am back to work today afterthe doc appoint.

all was fine and dandy in the neck, the girl showed me one very tiny speck on the screen, said it was really nothing. i had her show me what something really was, just so i could compare. i guess i am off the hook until feb 15, then i get to do the stress test. :(

[doctorb]

Bill-

Easy guy.  I've pounded on many a dying chest.  I didn't even know you could bill for it!  Doctorb

[Raider Bill]

Looks like you can Doc. 

No offense meant sorry.

[doctorb]

No offense taken.  Just yankin' your chain.  I can't think of a worse way to make a buck.  Despite what you see on TV, the vast, vast majority of CPR attempts are not successful.  Sorry about your dad's passing.  Doctorb

[Ron Scott]

I traveled 106 miles to the VA Hospital in Saginaw, Mi today for an abdominal and carotid ultrasound ordered by the VA doctor, so will now wait to hear the results from him. A lot of hype at the hospital about the pending major snowstorm, but I was able to get back home before any of the storm hit.

It may be good skiing again tomorrow. ;)

[doctorb]

Raider Bill-

Did these bills for CPR come from separate docs or was it included in the hospital or ER bill?  I am guessing that this originated from the hospital.  I have never heard that there is a charge for this.  Maybe if a private doc was in the hospital and helped, I can understand.  But to get a bill, I assume simultaneously, from 3 docs for CPR is unusual.  These docs may have been hired by the hospital, like hospitalists on the patient floor or ER docs, and this is the way the hospital trys to recoup their costs.  I may have to look into it further.  Certainly, CPR often is attended by more than one physician, especially when an anesthesiologist is involved for intubation.  But three?

Once again, I would like to extend to you my sympathies for your dad's death.  I reread my posts and I think I approached the line making a joking comment about that subject.  Forgive me as a parent's death is very tough, and certainly not something you can laugh about for a period of time.  Doctorb

[ely]

i had a ganglian cist removed from my right hand about 7 years ago. it was giving me problems and very painful when disturbed.... you could forget about using doorknobs or screwdrivers.
anyhow i had a specialist do the work, they put me out at 635 in the am, i was waking up at 702 am with my hand bandaged. no muss no fuss... the hand healed great. no regrets.

i get the bill and there was my doctor and an assistant and an anesthesioligist those i get, but also on the bill was 4 other doctors... . i was hot... i went back to my doctors office and had a discussion about them. didnt do any good still cost me the 6k that was on the bill.

i ask him wth the were doing, did they bring coffee and doughnuts and set around telling jokes while he was fixing my hand. :

[doctorb]

Again, I don't understand and have never heard of this.  I certainly have seen confusion over medical bills as some things just don't make sense.  For instance, if I manipulate, set, and cast your wrist fracture, you get billed for that.  The actuakll bill comes from a list of "surgical" codes, which describe what I actually did.  So, occasionally, I have to explain to a patient why they think they have been billed for surgery when they actually didn't have surgery.  It's becasue of the code that corresponds to that medical procedure is contained in a list of srguical codes.

It doesn't take 4 doctors to remove a ganglion!  I have got to think this is hospital generated.  If your surgeon was in private practice, his is the only surgeon's bill you should receive.  Occasionally they have an assistants fee.  Yes, the anesthesiologist gets paid.  The final component is the "fascilities" fee, which rents the OR room and covers the supplies used.  I am in "go figure" mode on this one.

[Raider Bill]

Doc, It was 3 separate Doctors. The Surgeon, Anesthesiologist and a Doc that came when the code was called with the Calvary.

Here's just a couple and are not part of the hospital bill.

CPR insert airway 31500 @ $307
CPR [spelled out] 92950 3@ $863
Critical care Cath lab code 99  99291-25 @ $785

Theres pages of billing. Just shy of $100k for less than 3 hours total time in the hospital from Dad WALKING in for Stent work till the Dr. telling me he had passed.

It's a good thing he never got to see these bills trust me there would have been no reason for a stent.

And don't worry about crossing a line Doc with me you didn't.  Someday hopefully we will meet and I'll tell you the whole story.