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If Called by the Insurance Company, Call in the Patient on the Call

If Called by the Insurance Company, Call in the Patient on the Call To the Editor. —Health insurance companies and their managers or administrators in our area have taken up the practice of calling the attending physician, allegedly to get information on why a patient whom they insure needs to be in the hospital, but in actuality, to pressure the physician for early discharge. I believe that these conversations compromise my primary function as a patient advocate. I have recently started to refuse to speak with any representative of an insurance company unless the patient or a patient surrogate (a family member, for example) is simultaneously on the line. This has served the valuable purpose of incorporating the patient into such decisions; it has also made the insurance companies deal with those they insure, and it has been enlightening to me and to the patients. Insurance companies either refuse to talk under these circumstances (to their own insured!) or adopt a hard line http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

If Called by the Insurance Company, Call in the Patient on the Call

Whittaker, C. Keith
JAMA , Volume 268 (24) – Dec 23, 1992
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If Called by the Insurance Company, Call in the Patient on the Call

Abstract



To the Editor.
—Health insurance companies and their managers or administrators in our area have taken up the practice of calling the attending physician, allegedly to get information on why a patient whom they insure needs to be in the hospital, but in actuality, to pressure the physician for early discharge. I believe that these conversations compromise my primary function as a patient advocate.
I have recently started to refuse to speak with any representative of an insurance...
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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved. Applicable FARS/DFARS Restrictions Apply to Government Use.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.1992.03490240042031
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

To the Editor. —Health insurance companies and their managers or administrators in our area have taken up the practice of calling the attending physician, allegedly to get information on why a patient whom they insure needs to be in the hospital, but in actuality, to pressure the physician for early discharge. I believe that these conversations compromise my primary function as a patient advocate. I have recently started to refuse to speak with any representative of an insurance company unless the patient or a patient surrogate (a family member, for example) is simultaneously on the line. This has served the valuable purpose of incorporating the patient into such decisions; it has also made the insurance companies deal with those they insure, and it has been enlightening to me and to the patients. Insurance companies either refuse to talk under these circumstances (to their own insured!) or adopt a hard line

Journal

JAMA – American Medical Association

Published: Dec 23, 1992

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