Hilo med clinic resorts to gofundme to stay open

[brad edwards]

Truth is treason in an empire of lies.

brad edwards

[glinda]

Looks like I will be banned..

Out of curiosity.. is that what you want?

[Kelena]

Wow. I revisit Punaweb for a bit and it looks like MMA is breaking out. Anyway I had a good experience with Dr. Mitchell. Yes, a bedside manner that is....hmmm...unique but for me the results are what matters and she has addressed my health issues with precision and care.

There is problem with the Wild West system of healthcare in Hawaii and elsewhere. There is no system. We are all the worse for it.









Since it looks like we are gratuitously adding spaces to our comments, I'm giving that a try. Sometimes saying nothing is best anyway.

[SBH]

Always enjoy Kelena’s writing. We need all the doctors we can get here.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

a bedside manner that is....hmmm...unique but for me the results are what matters

Doctors attend university and medical school for at least 8 years. Their student loans are probably in the neighborhood of half a million dollars. Their malpractice insurance can be more than 25% of their income. Take out taxes, take out school loan payments...

Then, they see a fair number of patients who come to them for help, but are not altogether truthful with the facts. I knew someone who resorted to accompanying her sick relative at all doctor appointments. She positioned herself directly behind the patient, and nodded or shook her head with the correct answers to the doctor's questions, so the patient could receive the proper treatment.

Sometimes for a doctor, determining what's wrong with a patient can be crap-shoot. "Do you smoke cigarettes? How many? It's just that your chest x-ray looks like - - well did you work in a coal mine before you moved to Hawaii? Do you consume any alcohol on a regular basis? Only socially and then limited to two bottles of beer? All right. Because you'll have to stop drinking all alcohol before the minor surgery we have scheduled for you next week, otherwise you could experience excess bleeding. Do you understand?"

???

"Now, statistically sir, you might be in the range of what we categorize as middle-range obesity. You have high blood pressure, and diabetes. Do you often eat at fast food restaurants, or consume high fat foods? OK, once a week? Is that right?"


Then, given the financial situation in East Hawaii, it's almost guaranteed doctors won't always get paid for their services.

All of that might affect my bedside manner too, if I were a doctor. As Kelana points out though, the results are the main reason we see a doctor. Given the shortage of medical professionals in East Hawaii, it's not in our best interest to scare any of them away.

[glinda]

Then, given the financial situation in East Hawaii, it's guaranteed they don't always get paid for their services.

I can not remember the last time I saw a doctor before they were paid. As such I can not imagine how that would happen.

What is real is the rate at which the insurance companies reimburse the doctors. I am sure many have seen the reports from their insurance carriers where they show the amount a doctor bills verses the actual amount paid. The insurance companies are screwing us all.

Single payer, all of us, doctors and patiences on the same page.. and no more insurance companies, and maybe a private practice doctor would have a chance.

The problem with East Hawaii medical is the Bay Clinic (BC). They are criminal in many ways. I know many are grateful for them, but have no idea how they are screwing all the other medical facilities here. There are several federal grant programs that the BC has become a sole provider for. Programs that should be evenly distributed throughout East Hawaii but that the BC has monopolized. I am sure Dr. Mitchell can tell you all about it.

As to the negative reviews. How many people actually take the time to go to a web site specifically to leave a positive review? I have a friend that has a medical condition and before doing some very invasive procedures went online to find out about possible side effects etc. She found reams of people posting negative stuff and almost no positives. When in fact the negative reaction to the procedure rates as 1 - 2% nationally.

[kalakoa]

reports from their insurance carriers where they show the amount a doctor bills verses the actual amount paid

The doctor has to "overbill" the insurance company to cover the cost of billing the insurance company and only receiving the "negotiated rate".

Insurance billing often needs to be resubmitted multiple times. If you don't use exactly the right coding, the claim will be denied. Claims processing is a skilled occupation, those people make more than minimum wage.

This is why some doctors are only offering "concierge care".

[dan d]

So glinda,hmm if u need brain surgery u would be ok with a dr that averaged 1.0 out of 5.0 to do ur brain? She has only one 5.0 and that was a friend of hers that she paid to enter it named Mark on the review. She almost killed my dad with sepsis twice. A friend used to do her billing and she never had a clew, and she hopes peps show up late for appt,asks you to take ekg for stubbed toe etc.Thats how u do constructive billing to quest,medicare etc.A lot of Dr.s do that to some extent, its still a crime.

All the Dr.s that were with her left the practise as soon as they could. Dr Shreean was the last, she was paid peanuts for a Dr.

As my mom says " shes earning her deserts now eh"
Wonder how any patients have perished in her care, kinda like swimmin at pohoiki.

I like tbose odds better.
Aloha


HPP

[glinda]

So glinda...

Hey, I don't know Michelle other than as an aside. I used to go to a pulmonary specialist that would come in from Honolulu and used her office to hold clinic in Hilo. Otherwise all I was doing was pointing out the fallacy (as I see it) of online reviews in general.

As far as doctors screwing up, I can name a few here in Hilo/Puna that have brought loved ones, and myself, to the edge of death. If we start a thread to list doctors of such I have a few to add. Though I suspect a thread of that kind would end up listing every doctor here. They all screw up occasionally, don't you think?

[dan d]

Safety wise ,I will tell anyone even thinking of going there to go to a clinic instead.
Speaking from much experience of 4 years of monthly going to her office, its not safe
Medically. Just like the pond swimming at pohoiki, i will put the safety of others #1
You might have a good experience, but you will be a minority. She left a shunt in my dads arm for 20 + days. He turned septic, only the er saved his life. Nuff said.Sorry if that makes me a bad person to keep others from the same experience.
Aloha


HPP