Word: kidneys
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...meantime, when I'm next visited by a kidney stone, I plan to ask for more than a quick death. I'll also request a cost rundown...
That's helping to drive costs through the roof. I had no idea when they wheeled me into the CT salon to detect my kidney stone that I was getting not one but two CAT scans performed - abdominal and pelvic - at almost $3,500 a pop. I've since learned from medical experts that one would have sufficed. And even if my insurance provider did end up paying closer to $2,000 for each scan, that's still well above the less than $1,500 average CT screening cost...
...physician's care. It was coded on the bill as Level 5 - the highest, what you would think would be charged for, say, shooting victims or massive coronary patients. While I was admittedly in epic pain during those few hours when the stone drilled its way from kidney to bladder, my case was nowhere near life-threatening. Again, I was simply told, "The doctor determined your care was of the nature reflected by the level that's on the bill...
...fair, the E.R. care level often has less to do with the severity of the case than with the diagnostic work required of the physician. Still, $3,000 for diagnosing a kidney stone "is unfortunately all too typical in Miami," says one South Florida healthcare expert - a big reason the average annual private healthcare provider costs for a family of four in the city is a remarkable...
...patients up with personalized healthcare teams in their communities, which in turn provide more focused, efficient and less costly medical services. An important PCMH feature is making non-emergency care - like less expensive urgent care - more 24/7 accessible to patients who really don't require emergency-level attention. (My kidney stone hit me at night, when my local urgent-care clinic was closed, leaving me with little choice but an E.R.) PCMH "is something we need to encourage because it redirects health care in ways that can save us a lot of money," says Dr. John Rock, dean...