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Hospital Charge

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  • 28-04-2017 2:00pm
    #1
    heartofarebel
    Registered Users Posts: 71 ✭✭


    I have been attending the eye clinic in The Mater for the last four years with the same condition. When I first went I was told that if at any time it flared I was to go straight in. I was never charged before. I went in last January with the same complaint but this time I got a bill for €100. I was told that the hospital had changed it's policy since last September in which every time you go without a doctors letter you will be charged. A couple of years ago I ended going in every six weeks with new flare ups, that's not including reviews. My question is, is the Mater allowed to change charging costs as it seems fit? At this rate it could cost me hundreds every year between visits and medication.


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    #2
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    Of course they can charge you for attending hospital without a referral.

    http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health_services/gp_and_hospital_services/hospital_charges.html


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    #3
    heartofarebel
    Registered Users Posts: 71 ✭✭heartofarebel


    But according to the Citizens advice and the HSE site you shouldn't have to pay once it's with the same complaint. Why wasn't I charged before?


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    #4
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    heartofarebel wrote: »
    But according to the Citizens advice and the HSE site you shouldn't have to pay once it's with the same complaint. Why wasn't I charged before?

    There is a difference between the same complaint, such as a laceration that needs stitches and re visits to change dressings or remove stitches, and a recurrence of something weeks or months later.


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    #5
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    heartofarebel wrote: »
    But according to the Citizens advice and the HSE site you shouldn't have to pay once it's with the same complaint. Why wasn't I charged before?

    It's the same complaint but not a chronic, ongoing illness. It's like getting a chest infection and then expecting to get free treatment for the rest of your life every time you get another one.


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    #6
    heartofarebel
    Registered Users Posts: 71 ✭✭heartofarebel


    davo10 wrote: »
    It's the same complaint but not a chronic, ongoing illness. It's like getting a chest infection and then expecting to get free treatment for the rest of your life every time you get another one.

    If untreated quickly it can lead to blindness, quickly. That's not like a chest infection is it and comes with very bad pain.


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    #7
    myshirt
    Registered Users Posts: 5,245 ✭✭✭myshirt


    They should have been charging you in the past, and this is part of the issue in the health service. Opportunity after opportunity missed to bill patients. They really need to pull the socks up.

    You can claim tax relief on it, so keep your receipts.


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    #8
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    heartofarebel wrote: »
    If untreated quickly it can lead to blindness, quickly. That's not like a chest infection is it and comes with very bad pain.

    I'm sorry, I work in the health system and did not mean that your condition is not potentially serious, but it is not an ongoing chronic condition, more an acute condition which needs rapid treatment. But that does not mean it should be free of charge. The chest infection reference was an analogy to show the difference between an ongoing issue an treatment for an acute infection.

    If you do not have the means to pay, you should apply for a medical card, there is no charge for medical card holders.


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    #9
    heartofarebel
    Registered Users Posts: 71 ✭✭heartofarebel


    Oh don't worry I'm not looking for something for nothing as you's seem to be making out. I had a question that others had in the hospital the same time I was. People who had been going for a lot longer then me. I feel your comments and the way you are coming across very condescending. Again I asked a simple question and what I got was a lecture. If I have to pay I have no problem with it. A simple explanation, which I was only after, would have sufficed


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    #10
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    heartofarebel wrote: »
    Oh don't worry I'm not looking for something for nothing as you's seem to be making out. I had a question that others had in the hospital the same time I was. People who had been going for a lot longer then me. I feel your comments and the way you are coming across very condescending. Again I asked a simple question and what I got was a lecture. If I have to pay I have no problem with it. A simple explanation, which I was only after, would have sufficed

    The simple explanation was in the first post.


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    #11
    AnnaStezia
    Registered Users Posts: 289 ✭✭AnnaStezia


    Another analogy for clarification please as I am a bit unclear.

    Suppose a person has a degenerated lumbar disc and it "slips" causing a need, on clinical grounds, to attend A & E. They get a letter from a G.P. referring them to A & E. A & E then refer the patient to Orthopaedics. Orthopaedics see the patient a few times then indicate that no further review is required unless the condition recurs symptomatically.

    The disc "slips" again and the patient makes an appointment directly with Orthopaedics as a follow up. Is that subject to a charge of €100 and, if so, why if the follow up is a flare or recurrence of an established underlying condition that is of a nature that does not resolve fully as distinct from becoming symptomatically quiescent ?

    If OP's follow up was a result of a continuing underlying condition as distinct from a new or stand alone episode why is there a charge ? If the former, can OP get a note from Opthalmology to that effect to send to hospital admin. ?


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    #12
    Arbie
    Registered Users Posts: 879 ✭✭✭Arbie


    AnnaStezia wrote: »
    The disc "slips" again and the patient makes an appointment directly with Orthopaedics as a follow up. Is that subject to a charge of €100...?

    The ortho follow up would be in the outpatient clinic, so there would be no charge.

    The majority of people who attend A&E can and should see a GP before attending. The only way A&Es can work is if GPs triage patients at local level, that's what GPs are trained to do and are very good at. It's also cheaper to see a GP at €50/60 euro and then if they feel you need to go to A&E then the GP referral letter will waive the €100 fee, saving the patient €40+

    I have worked in an A&E where it's free to return with the same issue within the next 12 months and unfortunately a significant number of patients misuse the system. Every day we had people who came in for a free check up: "It feels fine but I was here 3 months ago and I was just passing today and said I would come back in." All patients that turn up have to be seen by a nurse and that means genuine emergencies can be delayed.

    If we tried to triage them and tell them they should see a GP first or make a clinic appointment, many of them would change their story and suddenly become symptomatic! One nurse described it as a reverse Lourdes. Hours wasted.

    We ran an A&E review clinic where we would bring people back for free up to 6 weeks later to check on their progress. At first it was a great service as you were seen on time and it meant you didn't have to wait ages on the outpatient list. But of course we had huge numbers not turning up, not ringing to cancel, etc. Then some patients would turn up hours after their appointment time and demand to be seen.
    heartofarebel wrote: »
    If untreated quickly it can lead to blindness, quickly. That's not like a chest infection is it and comes with very bad pain.
    What condition is it?


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