Yes, some do. Mine does. Didn't used to, but now does. There are 3 or 4 Docs in my cllnic's practice and I heard the PA once say that one of the Docs won't prescribe anything until the UA comes back. The others will prescribe on the first visit and if you fail the UA, additional appts are canceled.
My PM doctor does for all his new patients, and as he continues to treat them, he does unanounced UA screenings as well. You never know if it will be your turn when you come in for an appointment. He also requires you to bring all meds to every appointment as well. He always checks them, sometimes does a pill count and sometimes not- again you never know if it will be your turn.
The two PM docs I have seen did not, but neither do they prescribe opiates for more than a couple of days after injections, it's injections, anti-depressants, or anti-convulsants ONLY. My PCP prescribes my meds and so far she has not, but if she ever requests it I will be more than happy to have whatever tests she asks for. She has been wonderful about working with me to find what works and is available now and I will cooperate with whatever she asks.
My PM Dr did at my first visit and continues to do them every other visit. it is very common to have to pee in the cup at every visit, so be prepared for that.
I have been tested. My primary care dr. is one of the VERY FEW who are taking the risk of prescribing pain meds. Due to the main reason being fibro pain, pain mgmt drs will NOT prescribe fentanyl, and have "kicked me out" so to speak. I suppose I could be seen by a fibro dr. but since I have so many other ailments, I like to go to one dr. and one pharmacy to make sure there is no interactions. I have been asked by my primary care dr. to take a pee test and did so gladly as I realize that the govt. is pressing hard on drs. thanks to drug addicts ruining it for people who genuinely need the medication.
i have been in PM for a little over a year and i have never been tested. my doctor seems to have incredible trust in me. signing the contract was just like 'oh, here, can you sign this real quick?'
In my PM practice they use random testing unless they suspect there is a problem. However, once per year every patient in the practice is required to have been tested. This is a large practice with over 3,000 patients. If you were not tested on the random days - you have to do the test when they decide. For the random testing they choose a day a week and only the doctors know the day, and then there is some random selection. If your appointment falls on that date and you fall in the thing they chose (like patients with chart number ending in 9, or all patients born before 1980, etc. you get tested.
blood test prtotects me,,urine protects nobody,, 'cept the loophole police.
what can he say,,no?
i doubt it.im gonna call his medical expertise,,,blood must give better results,, and being n hospital,he cant fib out of it.
I don't mean to disagree, but actually urine tests have longer detection periods (18-36hrs). Blood tests are more accurate, but have very narrow windows (4-6 hours), and thus, miss things....Much higher chance of false negative.
Regards,
Ex
The Following User Says Thank You to Executor For This Useful Post: Kerrysqueaky (07-18-2012)
At my first three visits i was tested and i think the only reason they stopped because there was an issue with my insurance. My insurance co told me i could go there because there wasnt a pm clinic within 25 miles of my zip but then they refused to pay for the visits to the doctor. i appealed and appealed and they finally paid the bills, only after requesting them to review the call ( i had kept very good notes and knew the exact time of my contact with the insurance company). I guess my point is that i think they were only testing me so they could get more money out of the insurance company and then when they thought the insurance company wasnt going to pay they stopped doing them. Which shortly after that my job switched companies and was covered. I am sure the first one was to be sure i didnt have anything in my system but doing one every month for three months seems excessive. I just had one over a year later. sorry to ramble. have a great night
My doc tests everyone the first time he sees them. My contract states that the doc can call me at any time and ask me to come in for a urinalysis and/or pill count. I've not been asked to take a test or provide a pill count since the very first visit. I've been with him for about a year now.
I guess my point is that i think they were only testing me so they could get more money out of the insurance company and then when they thought the insurance company wasnt going to pay they stopped doing them.
Doc's don't make any money on UAs. When you have a UA, they send it out to the lab and they bill you. The lab may be part of the hospital network, but not part of the Doc's fee. You normally get a separate bill for any type of lab work.
I think your tests were just part of the screening process. Most PM Docs test new patients regularly. The DEA meets with all the PM Docs and strongly suggest they implement an overall risk mgt plan, which UAs are just one part of. For the obvious reasons, Docs comply. The stopping of UAs may have just been coincidence. And just because you don't have insurance, doesn't mean you won't have any UAs moving forward. If you do a search on these boards, you'll see where many in PM (without insurance) have been left with huge UA bills...Some in the thousands, believe it or not. Believe it or not, most Docs don't are....They're gonna administer the UAs in order to protect their practice. Very few will care if you don't have insurance. I've actually read many stories where patients are dropped when they lose insurance.
Doc's don't make any money on UAs. When you have a UA, they send it out to the lab and they bill you. The lab may be part of the hospital network, but not part of the Doc's fee. You normally get a separate bill for any type of lab work.
I think your tests were just part of the screening process. Most PM Docs test new patients regularly. The DEA meets with all the PM Docs and strongly suggest they implement an overall risk mgt plan, which UAs are just one part of. For the obvious reasons, Docs comply. The stopping of UAs may have just been coincidence. And just because you don't have insurance, doesn't mean you won't have any UAs moving forward. If you do a search on these boards, you'll see where many in PM (without insurance) have been left with huge UA bills...Some in the thousands, believe it or not. Believe it or not, most Docs don't are....They're gonna administer the UAs in order to protect their practice. Very few will care if you don't have insurance. I've actually read many stories where patients are dropped when they lose insurance.
Take care,
Ex
Ex - you probably are right but my pm doesnt send the ua's off to a lab, they do the dip test in the office and thats it. so i do not receive a bill from a lab its just a bill from the office. the test are 540 and i made a comment at my next visit after i got the bill from the previous one about how they must send them to a lab because of the cost (which i know some tests can be in the thousands, but i was just starting pm so i didnt know if that was a lot or not at the time, i just knew that 540 was a lot of money) and the nurse told me no that they just do the dip test there and thats it. that just seems like a lot of money for them to just put a "stick" in urine lol.
i do have insurance just with a different company than when i first started. i did have a test last month after a little over a year of starting pm. Thats really bad that people are dropped when they dont have insurance, thats just wrong.
i just knew that 540 was a lot of money) and the nurse told me no that they just do the dip test there and thats it. that just seems like a lot of money for them to just put a "stick" in urine lol.
I couldn't agree more....You're probably right then. That cost is not just excessive, but in the "fraud" category. That's like the story of the military paying $300 for a hammer. Those dip tests are as cheap as they get, and they're not even that accurate. All they do is test for opiate presence period.
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Thats really bad that people are dropped when they dont have insurance, thats just wrong.
I would agree...But, we see it here all the time. Whatever happened to the oath "do no harm"?
