$35. 00 Physical Exam

The details from my U.S. Healthworks pre-placement physical using the Maxim clinic physical exam form (removing the traces of Maxim):

1) Female receptionist, male physician, same day appointment, one patient on the premises.

2) Vision and hearing tested, although not on the form.

3) Range-of-motion tested, although not on the form.

4) Patient fully dressed except for the hernia check ('drop everything').

5) Genitalia, testes and prostate were clearly on the form. The doctor didn't check the first two but checked them off on the form anyway. He commented to himself re: the prostate, 'they don't need that, so why is it on there?' N/A on the form.

6) Hour at the clinic. Ten minutes for the actual exam which took place in two rooms. One had the scale and other equipment. One was a normal exam room.

7) I had brought in one form. They had four pages of forms to fill out. Two were releases (employer, etc.) and history. Although I had checked off that I needed a physical exam and a urine test, the latter went (unnoticed?).

I guess it's true that you get what you pay for!

For sure that doc was bored of his job or really in hurry, lol

M.

You might've been better off trying one of those "mini-clinics" at the supermarket! 😁

Disappointing examination!

I went to a medical center and I noticed the insurance bill came out around $800 for a physical exam and tests. I didn't have to pay all of it, but it seemed to be an incredibly high amount.

Depending on what was involved in your physical, it does't sound outside the realm of possibility. If you really think that you (and thereby your insurance company) were overcharged, call the insurance company and talk to a review nurse. That's the person that would perform a line by line review of the charges on your bill. It probably won't result. In a reduction in the amount you have to pay, but it could put the provider on a watch list.

I strongly suspect that lots of unnecessary exams are performed in the US simply to get money out of MediMoney and into the pockets of the American medical profession.

[quote author=telephonepole link=topic=51906.msg358496#msg358496 date=1306365984]

You might've been better off trying one of those "mini-clinics" at the supermarket! 😁

[/quote]

Is this something serious or is there some kind of joke involved? I´ve never heard of anything like this, but then again, I suppose I should not be surprised if clinics start springing up at shopping malls.

There's a chain of mini-clinics in London, but you won't be getting anything fro $35. £350 more like.

[quote author=wiseman link=topic=51906.msg377375#msg377375 date=1313840850]

I strongly suspect that lots of unnecessary exams are performed in the US simply to get money out of MediMoney and into the pockets of the American medical profession.

[/quote]

That is to be expected of a profit driven private medical system - a maximization of procedures to enable a maximization of billings.

And i do not think it is a suspicion either. This can be shown by comparing medical health costs in terms of GNP (Gross National Product) per country. In Belgium (being an instance of which I know the statistics), approximately 9% of the GNP is expended on medical health costs per year. In the US the average is between 16-18% of the GNP per year. Calculate the difference in percentages and figure out who benefits from the difference.

I entirely agree. It's a racket. I've never had an annual physical myself and honestly believe they are a waste of time and money. The only case in which I think they are a good idea is if somebody has a chronic health issue and it needs to be monitored.

On a couple of occasions in the past, I have gone to a private doctor, mainly so as not to wait for an appointment on the national health service. The first question they have asked me is: is this being covered by insurance? I say no, because I do not have insurance. If I were to say "yes", you can bet the fee will be much higher, because the doctor will milk the system.