Advice on american health system
Home › Forums › Melanoma Diagnosis: Stage IV › Advice on american health system
- This topic is empty.
-
AuthorPosts
-
February 28, 2013 at 12:42 pm #21061
lak1
ParticipantHaving watched Veronica Chaing s Webinair I was considering asking for her opinion on my scans. I will be self paying so insurance does not matter. I dont understand how one selects whichoffice you see the doctor in . Will one be cheaper/different to the other .
Her 2 offices are Yale University or Yale New Haven Hospital.
Will one be more suited to self pay? Whats the difference and how do you pick?
If anyone else can recomend a neurosurgeon I would be greatful especially if they are prepared to give opinion based on scan first.
Many thanks
as always
Carpe diem
Lesley
February 28, 2013 at 1:07 pm #59368PatW
ParticipantYes, now that you mention it, this is a confusing system. I guess we Americans are just used to it. Most doctors see new patients in their private offices, not in a hospital. Dr. Chiang’s office is the one at 800 Howard Ave, New Haven, CT 06519 Appointment phone:(203) 785-2808. This will be a one-on-one consult with the doctor.
On the other hand, many hospitals have “speciality clinics” like a melanoma clinic. If you make an appointment at a specialty clinic, you will often be seen by one doctor (like Dr. Chiang) who will then ask you to see other doctors on the team, such as a radiologist and/or an oncologist and/or a dermatologist. You are inducted into a team approach where several doctors meet to share their data and discuss your case. This is more thorough, but also more expensive (anything in a hospital is automatically more expensive than anything in a private doctor’s office).
I hope this helps you.
February 28, 2013 at 1:21 pm #59369rochelle
ParticipantLesley, perhaps Jonathan will see this post and be able to guide you as he has the 411 on Yale..
I worked at Yale years ago and can tell you as far as the logistics of the the doctor’s practice..(billing etc) location of appt does not matter…so whether you see a doctor at the hospital or the physician’s office…billing is the same.
Hope this helps,
Martha
February 28, 2013 at 2:55 pm #59370Francoise
ParticipantI believe the difference is that one is for the Yale University employees, and the other one is for regular patients. Françoise March 1, 2013 at 2:59 am #59371PatW
ParticipantWell, Leslie, as I said– the American health care system IS confusing. Even the Americans disagree about how it works! 😆 Anyway, just call the doctor’s office– either office– and they will get you to the right place.March 6, 2013 at 2:07 pm #59372Jonathan
ParticipantLeslie, I just thought (after sending you an email about how to get to Yale Cancer Center) that you probably want to try to get the second opinion “remotely” from the UK – her email and phone are available on her website – just google her. She will want your doctor’s referral with the records at a minimum. Since your scans are no more than a month old, my guess is she’ll do it without a big charge, unless you (and she) want a finer set of image slices – even then, I’d imagine you can get that done locally.
Best,
Jonathan
-
AuthorPosts
- The forum ‘Melanoma Diagnosis: Stage IV’ is closed to new topics and replies.