Does your doctor bill you for a phone follow-up?

[NewJeffCT]

With my old primary doctor, I would often call them up and either one of the doctor's would get back to me, or the Nurse Practioner. They would then recommend something to me, or have me come into the office. Often, they'd call in a prescription. If I had a blood test (or other test), I would call & get the results.

I never got billed for this.

However, due to insurance reasons, my old primary doctor was not in the new insurance plan I had, so I had to switch to a new primary doctor or else pay out of pocket to see my old one.

I decided to switch to a new one that was closer to my work, and also had evening & Saturday hours. Plus, they had free parking at their suburban office, rather than $1 per half hour at the one on the other side of Hartford.

Some time in late December, I went in to see this doctor as a follow-up to a lingering ear infection I had caught from my daughter.

During that appointment, I had mentioned to the doctor that we had just gotten back blood test results (on another subject) that had indicated my triglyceride level was a bit high and wondered if it could be due to any of the antibiotics I had been taking, as well as any OTC medications (cough drops, Drixoral, cough suppressants, etc). He said it was possible, but we should have another blood test to verity.

So, I took the blood test and called the doctor back the next week to get the results. However, during the time of my in-person appointment after Christmas and my calling into the doctor's office, it was after the new year. The conversation was maybe 3-4 minutes and was basically left with me saying, "I will think about it and get back to you."

After Jan 1, my wife's company changed their medical insurance, so the new primary doctor was no longer on this new company's list. I found this out because I got a $55 bill for a phone consultation.

But, $55 to recite the results of a blood test? Is this standard practice? Or, is my old doctor's office unusual for not billing for something like this? If this is NOT standard practice, should they not tell you up front that you are being billed for the call?

[Gormy Cuss]

1. Standard practice or not, they should be clear about charges upfront.

Some docs do charge for phone calls, especially younger ones. Others insist you should come in for the consult and bill you for it that way.
They are getting squeezed by insurers but that's no excuse for bad manners or failure to disclose billing practices.