QuestionQUESTION: I am fourty-seven yrs. old and has had two neck surgeries. The first one due to aging and normal working and wear and tear over the years but the same day i was released from the hospital (outpaitent) my driver for the state which picks people up and takes to and from medical appointments slammed on brakes to keep from passing another persons home getting them there. Most definantley....OUCH!!!! in the worst way. I was diagnosed by my neurosurgeon that this time i had a severe case of whiplash and had to have surgery six months later to let the first heal some. I constantly stay in pain which my dr. said that i probably will have to take medication now for the rest of my life. O.K. now this is the problem....the driver for the insuranc co. sent my dr. a form to fill out (7 questions only) and his office sent it back with a note stating that my dr. is NOT going to fill out the form. I am currently still with my dr. which i see every two months and get two months worth of medication until next visit, but i don't want the statue of limitation to run out on me and the insurance co. is in need of my dr. to fill out the form. I was told by other people that Dr.s sometimes have to to fill out a form of seven questions about their patients. My question is.....what do i do about this situation and can a doctor Not fill out the proper form on my medical condition to present to the insurance on me...and if not, why?
ANSWER: Hello Jada,
A doctor can refuse to sign a form. They are not obligated to do something they don't want to do. Your best bet here is to talk to your doctor as to why they are not signing the form. Do they have all the medical releases? is this something about the paperwork? There must be a reason. I certainly do not know why he would not, but he can.
Also, you are strongly advised to talk to a lawyer. If you are worried about statute of limitations and how to deal with doctors and insurance carriers. You really need to consider going to talk to a lawyer. Usually, first consult is free and you will get a wealth of information regarding this.
Talk to them and see how it goes. You have nothing to lose there.
For a lawyer in your area, visit:
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/find-a-lawyer.html
I hope this helps,
Good Luck,
http://www.quirogalawoffice.com/
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you Anne soooo much for that helpful information and i did speak to a attorney about this and like you said a doctor is under no obligation to sign anything and was advised to get a chiropractor good chriropractor to back me up to note that i am still having existing problems with my injury and thus my doctor would have to answer to that. My question is...do you think that will help in any way. Also the chiropractor that i have chosen to see has requested, along with my signature, a release of my medical reports from my doctor so he'll know how to treat me, has not received them yet and it's been over a week now. My next question is....can my doctor also withhold my medical information from another dr. once i sign a release form? And my last question is...if my surgeon/doctor has told me several times that there is nothing else he can do for me but refuses to give me my mmi and release me, can i put in some type of request with someone to get it from him.....and can you give me an example as to what could possibly be wrong with any paperwork as to why he is treating me this way and he knows for a fact that i am going to have problems for a very long time and it shows anytime i have to take certain imaging test. That's what i don't understand????? Anne what do you think is really going on. I am on medicaid and all i can say is that medicaid is paying for all my medical and my visits but like i said he tells me there is nothing he can do for me and has his office to make more appointments anyway. Anne any information on these questions would most appreciated. Thanks, Jada
AnswerHello Jada,
I really don't have a suggestion as to what is really going on here. You may be on the hands of a bad doctor. Since you are not "paying" (medcaid is), then they tend to be much slower on talking to you.
The doctor cannot withhold your medical records if you give the proper releases, they must give them to you. You can call the records office and tell them that you will pick them up directly.
Also, records could take up to three weeks to get, depending on how long you treated and for how much time.
I am not a doctor to say why he is treating a certain way. You need to talk to them directly and if you think there is some kind of mishandling or improper treating, talk to medicaid.
Again, if you don't get straight answers from your medical provider, you really need to talk to lawyer (hire them to represent you).
I hope this helps,
Good Luck
http://www.quirogalawoffice.com/
