|
By: Paul S Cilwa |
Occurred: 6/26/2024 |
|
Page Views: 591 |
| Hashtags: #Autobiography |
| If I were bleeding from the eyes and Oak Street Health was the only doctor left in the world, I would stay home and get better care. |
| Estimated reading time: 4 minute(s) (740 words) |
All I needed was a blood draw, an EKG, and a physical. Sounds simple, right? But first,
Oak Street Health required the request for this from the surgeon (who does not
work for Oak Street). So the surgeon faxed the request.
However, faxes don't do directly to the doctor's office. Apparently they go to Ohio
where OSH's corporate offices are, and are put into the system from there.
Except when they're not.
I wound up having to drive to CORE Institute, who was going to be doing the surgery,
to get the request, then drive it 30 minutes away to the doctor's office to give it to them
in person.
They then gave me the physical, and the EKG. The nurse said it came out fine.
But the nurse who does blood draws there just couldn't
manage to get any blood out of me. So they gave me a prescription to go to Sonora Quest
to get it drawn there; but I had to drive back to Oak Street because the doctor
had neglected to sign the order!! Sonora Quest got the blood drawn, at least, without
a problem.
I then had to go to another place for a chest X-ray.
(And the place Oak Street sent me to turned out to not be on my insurance, even though
they said it was, so I had to pay out-of-pocket for that.)
So by yesterday, two days before the scheduled surgery, CORE still hadn't received the
clearance. The scheduler there, Lana, told me she had tried to contact them by phone but
the corporate switchboard wouldn't put her through. So I drove to Oak Street again.
(The round trip takes an hour, by the way.) They promised to put it through as soon as
they were done working on it
.
This morning Lana called to tell me she still hadn't gotten the clearance.
So I made another trip to Oak Street, but just as I was about to get out of the
car, Lana called. It just came in!
she exclaimed. Give me a moment to
look it over.
There was a pause, and she said, This says you still have to get a
clearance from a cardiologist.
No,
I corrected, They gave me an EKG and told me my heart was fine.
I'm sorry,
Lana apologized, but since the clearance says you still need
to see a cardiologist, they won't let you into surgery without your having done that.
And now it's just too late in the day to put you on the schedule. I'm sorry.
So I looked them up (something I so should have done before I ever went to see
them the first time).
Oak Street Health, a network of primary care centers for adults on
Medicare, has faced several legal challenges in recent years. Notably, the company
has been under scrutiny for its billing practices and the quality of care provided
to patients. Federal investigations have been launched to examine whether
Oak Street Health has engaged in fraudulent billing practices, particularly
concerning Medicare. These investigations aim to determine if the company has
been improperly inflating bills or charging for services that were either
unnecessary or never provided.
Additionally, Oak Street Health has been accused of neglecting patient care
standards, resulting in numerous complaints and negative patient outcomes.
Allegations include inadequate staffing, poor management, and failure to
address critical patient needs, leading to compromised patient safety and
satisfaction. These legal and operational issues highlight significant
concerns about the company's commitment to providing high-quality healthcare
and maintaining ethical business practices. As a result, patients and their
families have been left questioning the reliability and integrity of
Oak Street Health's services.
So now, instead of getting the hip replacement, I'm back to square one, trying
to find a health care provider who isn't part of a corporate money machine
with no interest in, you know, getting actual patients medical care they need.
Oak Street Health, thanks for nothing.