"Administrative fee" for school medical forms!

[KirstenB]

GRR!!! This is one of my pet peeves. Our younger dd needed a record of immunizations to enroll in special ed preschool. Her birthday is September, and her school year starts in August. You guessed it, I got to pay the fee at the doctor's office, on top of all the other fees not covered by insurance for people with autism, grrr!!!!

 

[disneysteve]

I'm sorry but I believe the filling out of that form the first time under a regular visit DOES very much fall within the job description, but that's only my opinion...

Absolutely! I agree with you there. There should NOT be a charge for the form done as part of the visit. We only charge for forms not done as part of a visit.

 

[disneysteve]

Even if I'm there for a physical, policy is they will take my forms and give them back to me within a certain number of days

That wouldn't make sense in my office since if you come in with a physical form, I record the results of my exam on that form as I'm doing it, so the form gets filled out in the course of the visit. Maybe if the doctor uses electronic medical records I could see that since they need additional time to fill out the form.

I sometimes won't do disability and family leave forms at the time of the visit because they take a little longer and if I'm busy, I will ask the patient to come back for them, but I still don't charge them since there was a visit involved.

 

[MrsPete]

Absolutely! I agree with you there. There should NOT be a charge for the form done as part of the visit. We only charge for forms not done as part of a visit.

That sounds reasonable. The doctor should be paid EITHER for an office visit (and the forms are filled out during the visit ) OR for doing the forms during some down-time. Not both. He shouldn't be expected to pull the file and complete the form for free. Likewise, he shouldn't charge two fees for one service. EITHER OR.

As for forms being different, I say ignore it. My girls go to summer camp every year, and that's the form that I usually have filled out. Around here the rule is that the doctor's visit must have taken place within the last two years, so I only have to pay for a well-visit every two years -- and a growing child should have that well-check every two years anyway. I xerox that form a bunch of times, and when they need a doctor's form for something else, I turn in an already-had-it-in-the-file copy. No one's ever complained about it.

 

[dis-happy]

Sorry, but that seems extreme. Part of doing business is filling out the paperwork. I find it to be squeezing every penny out of people. Since creating report cards takes time from my teaching and I have to do it at home, should I charge for report cards as well?

And how about high school teachers who are asked to write letters of recommendation for college applications? I bet they'd love to get $25. per child for doing that. Maybe just mention the fee to children of doctors, lol.


FWIW, our peds office is great in this respect, but I usually bring the forms during well visits (and have as much filled out as possible ahead of time). Recently I needed a copy of my ds' immunization schedule and they had it waiting at the front desk in 24 hours, no charge.

 

[genius118899]

I spent my summer working at a doctor's office, and here's how it worked...
Immunization records were free.
Complete copies of medical records (often well over a hundred pages) for switching doctors were free.
Medicine forms to turn into the school nurse were free.
We charged $5 for all camp and school physical forms past that.
I didn't think that was unreasonable at all.

Also, please remember that your pediatrician has been swamped with older children well child visits (which take longer than babies) from August - October, trying to fill out school forms. It may take a few days. If it's that big a deal to you, schedule your well child's for June. You know it's coming up anyways.

 

[disneysteve]

If it's that big a deal to you, schedule your well child's for June. You know it's coming up anyways.

Very good advice. At least around here, so many people wait for the last minute. Then we are swamped with calls at the beginning of September. Everyone wants their child's physical done right away because the schools will sometimes not allow a child back if he isn't up to date on vaccines. Unfortunately, we can't see everyone instantly.

The one problem with going early is that your insurance company usually only covers one physical per year, so if the last physical was in September, you can't get the next one in June as it wouldn't be covered.

 

[genius118899]

Very good advice. At least around here, so many people wait for the last minute. Then we are swamped with calls at the beginning of September. Everyone wants their child's physical done right away because the schools will sometimes not allow a child back if he isn't up to date on vaccines. Unfortunately, we can't see everyone instantly.

The one problem with going early is that your insurance company usually only covers one physical per year, so if the last physical was in September, you can't get the next one in June as it wouldn't be covered.

That's very much true. Even scheduling in June for an appointment in September is a huge help, though. There were 2 doctors and 2 NPs in the practice; one doctor had been practicing in the area for forever, and would be booked solid for 2 months ahead of time for well children exams. The other one had been there for "only" 7 years, and we could usually schedule exams with him with as little as 2-3 weeks notice. The NPs basically did overflow work. Still, the week before the public schools started was completely booked, and we had parents calling in and yelling at us because we couldn't see their kid and give them shots that same day.

 

[mjkacmom]

That's very much true. Even scheduling in June for an appointment in September is a huge help, though. There were 2 doctors and 2 NPs in the practice; one doctor had been practicing in the area for forever, and would be booked solid for 2 months ahead of time for well children exams. The other one had been there for "only" 7 years, and we could usually schedule exams with him with as little as 2-3 weeks notice. The NPs basically did overflow work. Still, the week before the public schools started was completely booked, and we had parents calling in and yelling at us because we couldn't see their kid and give them shots that same day.

I always schedule checkups months out - my pediatricians will always see you if you are sick, but checkups get booked far in advance. I have no problem paying for forms - I want the practice to stay in business, and if they have to charge more for incidentals, so be it.