Medical charges

dragona · 01-07-2006 09:40PM #1

More specifically, ambulance.
If you have to call an ambulance for yourself, say you have chest pains, get to the hospital A&E, are checked over, billed your €50.

Are you charged for having had the ambulance??On top of the €50 or is it all one charge?

Ruu_Old · 01-07-2006 10:06PM

Im not sure but I would say you are charged your check up and ambulance fee seperately.

Huggles · 01-07-2006 10:09PM

dragona wrote:

More specifically, ambulance.
If you have to call an ambulance for yourself, say you have chest pains, get to the hospital A&E, are checked over, billed your €50.

Are you charged for having had the ambulance??On top of the €50 or is it all one charge?

Yes that is correct, its 60 euro for A&E plus a charge for the ambulance call out, its to deter the aul ones ringing them for stupid things.

dragona · 01-07-2006 10:09PM

Thanks - I have just found out the info here

http://oasis.gov.ie/health/ambulance_and_transport_services.html

InFront · 01-07-2006 10:20PM

hah... youre not waiting to find out before you call the ambulance for an emergency are you?

dragona · 01-07-2006 10:25PM

InFront wrote:

hah... youre not waiting to find out before you call the ambulance for an emergency are you?

NO but just in case I start to foam at the mouth, I'll tell my kids to ......
......call a taxi:D

Lust4Life · 01-07-2006 10:49PM

Original post by TheGrooner...
its to deter the aul ones ringing them for stupid things.

Not so. You are basicly paying the papamedics for their skills (used or unused during your trip) and their equipment. They have to keep everything tip top and ready for each call they make because they never know what the next call will involve. It is a "service fee".

Can you tell I work at a hospital??:D

L4L

InFront · 01-07-2006 10:56PM

no way, complete deterrent mechanism! the amount of bull****ters you get in a and e?! imagine if they were all calling for ambulances too:eek:

Huggles · 01-07-2006 10:57PM

Lust4Life wrote:

Not so. You are basicly paying the papamedics for their skills (used or unused during your trip) and their equipment. They have to keep everything tip top and ready for each call they make because they never know what the next call will involve. It is a "service fee".

Can you tell I work at a hospital??:D

L4L

Ah I see, but still though, if it works as a deterent so that the resources are better used then yay!

had to call an abulance last weekend for a neighbour having a stroke and i got teh spanish inquisition on the phone for 5 minutes i **** u not.

Lemlin · 01-07-2006 11:34PM

Don't get me started on medical charges. It cost me €45 a month ago to walk into the doctor, sit down and tell him what prescription I needed.

Worst still, my mate was going to America for the Summer a week later. It cost her €45 to get his signature on a note saying she was healthy. He didn't even bother bringing her into his office. Signed it in the waiting room.

Bloody medical charges :mad:

humbert · 02-07-2006 12:02AM

Lust4Life wrote:

Not so. You are basicly paying the papamedics for their skills (used or unused during your trip) and their equipment. They have to keep everything tip top and ready for each call they make because they never know what the next call will involve. It is a "service fee".

Can you tell I work at a hospital??:D

L4L

yea missing the point, it's not whether the paramendic get payed or not but who pays for them, if if was the health board ever hypochondriac in the country would just call an ambulance

Karoma · 02-07-2006 12:16AM

humbert wrote:

yea missing the point, it's not whether the paramendic get payed or not but who pays for them, if if was the health board ever hypochondriac in the country would just call an ambulance

Um,they do. Stupid calls at 5am for toothaches, or headaches are common enough. Even by people with cars, who offer chase after the ambulance all the way to the hospital too *boggle*
Also, not so much paramedics but rather EMTs.

As for the "spanish inquisition" when reporting a stroke - chances are they were trying to confirm it was a cardiac issue so that they could send someone properly briefed,with equipment, and had dispatched it before the end of that "5 mins" as it was properly prioritised. It's also quite common to receive calls for heartburn and indigestion.

Lust4Life · 02-07-2006 12:24AM

Posted by Karoma:
Um,they do. Stupid calls at 5am for tootaches, or headaches are common enough. Even by people with cars, who offer chase after the ambulance all the way to the hospital too *boggle*
Also, not so much paramedics but rather EMTs.

Oh, I can totally relate to that!!!
I worked today at the hospital in the Emergency room.
Emergency rooms are for emergencies!
A lady came in with an ear infection. I asked how long it was bothering her. She said four days.
She couldn't see a regular doctor in the past 4 days???????

Here in America, Ambulance Service Companies are not part of the hospital. They are independent companies and bill what ever they want to charge (separately) above and beyond the hospital bill.

L4L

Huggles · 02-07-2006 12:31AM

Karoma wrote:

Um,they do. Stupid calls at 5am for tootaches, or headaches are common enough. Even by people with cars, who offer chase after the ambulance all the way to the hospital too *boggle*
Also, not so much paramedics but rather EMTs.

As for the "spanish inquisition" when reporting a stroke - chances are they were trying to confirm it was a cardiac issue so that they could send someone properly briefed,with equipment, and had dispatched it before the end of that "5 mins" as it was properly prioritised. It's also quite common to receive calls for heartburn and indigestion.

Ya didnt doubt that at all but very frightening for those present, she was like that for 15 minutes in the end when a dublin fire brigade ambulance arrived :rolleyes:

Huggles · 02-07-2006 12:33AM

Lust4Life wrote:

Here in America, Ambulance Service Companies are not part of the hospital. They are independent companies and bill what ever they want to charge (separately) above and beyond the hospital bill.

L4L

Broke my elbow in a bicycle crash in the states when i was there. Ambulance bill + hospital bill was mental!!! :mad:

John R · 02-07-2006 12:39PM

humbert wrote:

yea missing the point, it's not whether the paramendic get payed or not but who pays for them, if if was the health board ever hypochondriac in the country would just call an ambulance

They do anyway 'cause they have all got medical cards.

The medical system is **** in this country. The usual lot; dole scroungers and every special interest group going get everything laid on for free and boy do they use it to the max. The rich can afford private clinics at the click of their fingers while the rest of us pay through the nose to que up behind the scroungers for EVERYTHING on top of a huge chunk of taxes paying for the services in the first place.

LOL at the American poster. The only developed country in the world with an even worse medical rip-off system then our own. But it does generate lots of profits for massive corporations so that makes up for it.

CrazySka · 02-07-2006 04:04PM

The usual lot; dole scroungers and every special interest group going get everything laid on for free and boy do they use it to the max. The rich can afford private clinics at the click of their fingers while the rest of us pay through the nose to que up behind the scroungers for EVERYTHING on top of a huge chunk of taxes paying for the services in the first place.

So whats your proposal there man? deny everyone on a low income medical services because a few idiots abuse it? Do you think you ll be denied services when you go to hospital, no youll be seen depending on the severity of your problem.

The medical system is **** in this country.

You ever had to use the system, i have 4 days in with the ambulance and all, apart from the day and a half wait for a bed (understandable when you see the amount of people in), i think they re doing a pretty good job. At the end of the stay i got a bill for about 120 eur, would you call that a rip off? The real problem is the lack of specialists and the price of GP s.

Terry · 02-07-2006 04:29PM

Lemlin wrote:

Don't get me started on medical charges. It cost me €45 a month ago to walk into the doctor, sit down and tell him what prescription I needed.

Worst still, my mate was going to America for the Summer a week later. It cost her €45 to get his signature on a note saying she was healthy. He didn't even bother bringing her into his office. Signed it in the waiting room.

Bloody medical charges :mad:

if it's a repeat prescription, you shouldn't need to pay that much.
afaik, repeat scripts are charged at something like €10.
if it's nothing too strong (asthma medication and the like) your local pharmacist should sell it to you without the script if they know you and you regularly change your script there.

Dermington · 02-07-2006 05:14PM

dragona wrote:

NO but just in case I start to foam at the mouth, I'll tell my kids to ......
......call a taxi:D

And because they are kids he will take them on the scenic route and it will cost you four hundred billion euro just to get from your living room floor to the hospital even though you actually live in the car park of the hospital...

Taxi drivers....cant trust them...thats the real issue here

robinph · 02-07-2006 06:37PM

julep wrote:

if it's a repeat prescription, you shouldn't need to pay that much.
afaik, repeat scripts are charged at something like €10.
if it's nothing too strong (asthma medication and the like) your local pharmacist should sell it to you without the script if they know you and you regularly change your script there.

I've got a long term prescription booklet which once filled out is supposed to be valid for 6 months before needing to get a GP to write out the prescription again. I've not got it resigned now though since 2003 though as I always go to the same chemists and they know me well by this stage.

FranknFurter · 03-07-2006 11:24PM

Anyone who thinks we have it bad here, try getting medical assistance on a average income in the USA.
You will soon want to come screaming home!

It truly amazes me how bad it is there, specially for anyone with a long term illness, unless you have insurance you are fooked, and guess what, with anything that lasts longer than a broken arm, getting insurance itself will cost you an absolute friggin fortune.

b

Medical charges

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