Today was my first day in residency.  I am a bit fried. But I had to post this experience because it was directly related to my last post about United Health Care, which owns Oxford.

I had to do get a phone number of a psychiatrist for my patient (new to me) who was being discharged tomorrow.  She needs follow up after discharge and preferred to go through Oxford because she was already planning to pay out of pocket for a psychotherapist.

I was on the phone for, no joke, half an hour, listening to various menus to find a way to speak to a live person. I just wanted to find out the extent of her coverage and get 1-2 psychiatrists names so I could contact them. No I didn’t have a provider number, I didn’t know what the hospital’s provider number was, I knew her number but the phone number for patients was not listed online.  The provder’s number said I should call such and such 800# to speak with a representative….  Well that didnot happen.

The Oxford menu was the most in depth, detailed and confusing thing I have ever dealt with.  My senior resident said to me, you were a social worker get resourceful (ie: in finding a way to get in touch with them)… I only dealt with Medicaid, which was much easier to deal with… al least THEY picked up the phone after a while! Well I tried many permutations of extensions… and said aloud for the other first years- “this voice menu system is crazy making”, they laughed…. and I then thought about their 62% reimbursement rate…. and now understand everything.

This part of medicine is really going to suck.