Just yesterday I called my cable company for the 3rd time in 2 weeks to say I was leaving. The first 2 times resulted in bad customer service telling me the grass was not greener and to make sure I returned their equipment. Third time was a charm ( I was determined) and I am now paying $47 less a month with no added contract for the next 12 months. That is over $500 in savings.
As an RN having worked in both ER and Urgent Care, your article is well written. Urgent Cares were created to help take some of the burden off the ERs, since aprox. 90% of the pts. seen there do not have life threatening emergencies. Despite the growing number of Urgent Cares, our ER's are busier than ever with people that could have taken care of their problems with their own MD's, drug seekers, those with no insurance and those with no comprhension of our medical system. Their wait times are up more than ever. In our city it took my daughter 4 hours to be seen with a kidney stone; there were too many chest pains that kept coming in and were bumped ahead of her, understandable, but didn't help with her pain.
Urgent Cares can have long waits also. Try to come at times that are not so busy for faster care. Don't come right at 5PM and expect to be seen right away, and don't come 5 minutes before they close. You might get through faster, but won't get as good care by the tired staff. And please don't come in for refills on narcotics, you're wasting your time and everyone else's. An Urgent Care is not the replacement for your own personal health practioneer and common sense.
If you truly need to go to an ER, please go there instead of trying to save money by going to an Urgent Care. It will end up costing you more because you not only pay for Urgent Care but an ambulance trip and the ER.
Otherwise, an Urgent Care can save you a lot of time and money taking care of minor health problems that arise when you can't wait to get in to see your MD for minor injuries and illnesses, if you're out of town, etc.
One problem with urgent care (at least the one here) is they charge $100 upfront, while ERs can never do that. That puts urgent care out of the reach of many uninsured, even if they'd be more able to pay the bill later.
Also, wait times in urgent aren't always better than hospitals. ER waiting lines are worse when urgent care is closed (because everyone who would have been at urgent care is at the ER), but when it's open it's the luck of the draw which one would have been quicker. It varies a lot. My quickest wait was halloween in the ER. I guess everyone was at a party or taking their kids trick or treating, because there was no one in the waiting room and they took me right back and it was test test diagnoses prescription discharge just back to back and I was out in no time. Of course not everyone likes that. My friend had a very similar experience in the same hospital, but instead of being happy she was out the door she was mad because she thought they didn't take the time to listen to her. Not everything is best for everyone.
We have a fairly good insurance plan but we are on a no-deductible PPO plan where we don't have an annual deductible as long as we stay with in network providers. That's normally not a problem but a glaring omission is that there aren't urgent care facilities on the list. So, our alternative in this case is to either wait until our doctor opens or go to the ER, which as you pointed out is much more expensive. I know one time on different insurance I went to urgent care when I had a nasty poison ivy rash at a time where the doctor wasn't able to see me for a couple of days, and it was considerably cheaper than had I gone to the ER for what would have amounted to the same treatment.
So, for those with insurance I'd make sure that your plan covers urgent care if you decide to go this route.
Yeah...no comparison in terms of cost. I love our Urgent Care! They are usually open weekends and late on weekdays, which is usually when my body likes to get sick.
I have only been to the ER once in my life, and I really thought I was dying, so there was no way around it (turns out it was a very bad allergic reaction, but no big deal).
I have never spent more than an hour at an Urgent Care from walk-in to walk-out.
@Tracey - Our insurance has a special line item for urgent care (I think it's a $50 copay). Our ER copay is like $200, so I'm guessing if you do have one, it would be something like $25?
I've never been to an urgent care center. Are they treated by insurance as ERs or as Dr. visits? My copay for a doc is only $15 but a visit to the ER is always $50. Any idea which this would fall under? I have previously had to go to the ER when I got or discovered an infection on a Friday and my regular doc couldn't see me. It was never life threatening but bad enough to make me scared to wait until Monday. I would love to use an urgent care center if it would save time and $.
You raise very good concerns Lucille. However, errors are still prevalent, if not more so, on paper based records. While a doctor's handwriting is the butt of a lot of bad jokes, it can result in drastic mistakes because of its lack of legibility. I've had the wrong prescription given to me a few times because the pharmacy misread the doctor's handwriting.
The beauty of a PHR is that you get control of your medical records. You can check your medical record to ensure its accuracy. A doctor or nurse could misclick something in your record, human error will always be part of the equation. But with a PHR you have the opportunity to view your medical records and correct these errors.
Your medical records are also protected under HIPAA. You have the right to access and view your medical records. With a PHR this may be easy as sending an electronic request. You also have the right to make corrections to your medical records. This information may be transmitted to other doctors only to help administer care and treatment. If this happens you have the right to be notified and receive a report of everyone who has received your medical record and why.
If a doctor was using your medical record for inappropriate purposes, you may file a complaint with the state medical board. All of these complaints are public record and current and/or potential patients of said doctor may view these. If you feel your privacy rights may have been violated you may also file a complaint with the Federal Office of Civil Rights. Anyone is entitled to do this if they believe their rights have been violated.
I'm sorry to hear about how your medical records may have been abused, but they are protected under federal law. If the doctor was abusing these records, hold him accountable for his actions.
Living is dangerous. There's a 100% mortality rate (well, depending upon your beliefs it might be slightly less than that, but that's a discussion for a different forum). There are things that we can all do to minimize the risks of injury and death, but there is no way to completely eliminate that.
Yes Toyota has gotten a lot of news because of some safety issues with some of the vehicles. And it does look like the company tried to deny/cover up/downplay those issues. This is nothing new in industry. To quote BSG, "All this has happened before and will happen again". It's not good but it's the way that things are and, while new laws can be enacted and regulations put in place, as long as there are unethical people in business, there will be these situations. These people and companies they run should face the consequences, especially if the issues were covered up. But I don't believe this is a good reason not to buy a Toyota vehicle ever again.
For me (and, really, for everyone, whether they admit it or not), it's all about balancing living our lives vs dealing with the risks inherent in living out lives. In general, Toyota vehicles have a pretty good safety record. The percentage of vehicles which have the accelerator or other issues is very, very small. The percentage of Toyotas which get into accidents not related to the accelerator issues is much greater. As a Toyota driver, I'm not thrilled that the company which I chose to purchase my vehicle from (Toyota Matrix, made before the accelerator issues. I really, really like my Matrix and would purchase another one) is involved in what appears to possibly be deception when it comes to safety issues. But I would not be surprised if in a year or two another auto manufactuerer had similar issues. Firestone tires delaminated on Ford trucks which also had cruise control cables which stuck and caused fires while I was driving a Ford Ranger. When I was very young, my parents had a Ford Pinto (which had issues with the gas tanks exploding during certain collisions). Airplanes fall out of the sky. Restaurants make mistakes and feed people improperly handled food which makes them sick. People get struck by lightning and runover crossing the street. But none of those things keep most people from flying, eating out, being outside or crossing the street. It's about weighing the risks of doing certain activities vs the benefits of doing those activities.
This in no way is meant to downplay the injuries and deaths caused by these issues. Those deaths are tragic (my high school journalism teacher often said that all death, save that of Hitler and Stalin, were tragic). And my heart goes out to the families and communities affected. But living in this world is a dangerous thing. And if we were to avoid all companies which have had issues with their products we'd be hard pressed to find consumer goods to fill our daily needs.
Yes as long as Toyota discloses all problems and recalls all affected vehicles. With the lower prices, i'd consider it. But currently i wouldn't buy a new or used Toyota. If it weren't for the superb overall reliability of Toyota's, i would not likely buy a Toyota based on styling, cool factor and practicality. Right now, Hyundai, Ford, and Kia are hot as cakes. Lexus on the other hand, i'd buy their cars because they are great in all areas including styling.
Yes as long as Toyota discloses all problems and recalls all affected vehicles. With the lower prices, i'd consider it. But currently i wouldn't buy a new or used Toyota. If it weren't for the superb overall reliability of Toyota's, i would not likely buy a Toyota based on styling, cool factor and practicality. Right now, Hyundai, Ford, and Kia are hot as cakes. Lexus on the other hand, i'd buy their cars because they great in all areas including styling.
I find it hard to fathom - perhaps partially cultural? I am a kiwi, and our vacation time (4 wks minimum by law) and sick leave (5 days minimum) are fiercely guarded. Everyone I know tends to take ALL of their vacation, and often people take more unpaid. I am a school teacher, so naturally we get more paid vacation and more sick leave, yet I am aware of a number of school staff taking extra, unpaid days to enable them to get cheaper flights or longer vacations etc - so long as you book a reliever in advance and its okayed with the school board! I have also heard of people taking a whole term, or two terms off (unpaid) to enable extensive travel. I do a combination of substitute and shorter term contracts to enable me to travel more often. I cannot comprehend how so little vacation time is even allowed - it bothers me that people are not allowed to have experiences outside their 9-5, due to harsh expectations. How is it legal that one can be indirectly fired through use of vacation days?
I'm all for great benefits. However, I think money wins over benefits. We need a good mix of both, but there's nothing like straight cash! Employers should provide excellent healthcare as a top priority.
I've played runescape for a long time now. Another addition is the grand exchange which mimics the stock market with rising and falling prices based on supply and demand.
I have to big issues with my service provider in the last six months. Both times I said I was fed up and ready to leave and both times I was offered Showtime for a year. The first time I held out for a month free of service. You want to speak with the retentions dept.
I'd like to add another way of reducing expenses that you may not have thought of. I've not seen this mentioned in any of the money saving sites I've read and thought I'd pass it along.
I recently called my local trash collection service to inquire about "renting" a smaller sized container for garbage and thereby reduce my monthly rental cost. I was told that I was already renting the smallest size they offered (32 gal), but, the representative suggested I reduce the number of "garbage" pick ups per month. My original service included weekly "garbage" pickup and biweekly "recycle" pick. I don't pay for yard waste pickup as I don't really have much to justify the cost.
But, since it's just me living in this house and the fact that most of my waste goes into the recycle bin I can easily get by with filling just one garbage bin per month.
I reduced my monthly garbage pick up to once a month and in the process I cut my yearly waste bill by $120.00! I still have the option of putting the garbage out any week I feel I need to, they'll just add the extra pickup fee for that week onto the bimonthly bill.
This may not be feasible for families of three or more, but for those of us with only one or two in the house it may be an option.
The positive side is that doctors have more clear information at hand. One hospital & clinic group in the area has moved to completely electronic records and I can already see the benefits of the system.
The cons can be if someone puts a mistake or other bad data into the system. I had someone type an error on a medication I take and put down one of our young kids as having a history of smoking and drinking by hitting the wrong check boxes. I had a doctor a few years ago that made some rather chauvinistic and inaccurate commentary in my medical records. The copies of this doctor's records caused issue with some other doctors who assumed this guy was right. It contributed to me not getting needed medical treatment for about four years. With an electronic system controlling or removing such a thing could be harder if your records are freely passed between doctors electronically.
Makes me wish I had an iphone. I have a blackberry storm- great phone, but definitely not as cool as the iphone.... someday verizon will get rights to sell use it. Guess I'll have to wait. bummer.
Didn't realize the low flow showerhead would be such a sore spot for people. =)
I use the Alsons low flow showerhead, and it's absolutely fantastic. Feels BETTER than a high flow, and is adjustable. I'm perfectly happy on the 1.8 gpm setting, but you can bring it up to 2.5 gpm if you'd like. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Yeah, there's low flow and no-flow. When I first moved into an apartment, I was nearly late for work the next day, because I had to go to the kitchen sink to rinse my hair. It was a no-flow showerhead. It misted - and I've had plant misters that got things wetter faster. Hit a hardware store and got one of those heads with dial-a-shower-type deals - including low-flow and pause. Works a lot better. Hell, I could wash myself and my hair - and even better yet, rinse off in the shower, instead of traipsing out to the kitchen.....
Too many times from my own personal experience and those in the field often come across people who choose to learn it on their own, which often becomes costly and sometimes unmanageable. Always ask for references, levels of experience, and don't skimp on what a person is worth. Ultimately the money is better spent on doing it right the first time, than costly taxes, interest and penalties.
Just yesterday I called my cable company for the 3rd time in 2 weeks to say I was leaving. The first 2 times resulted in bad customer service telling me the grass was not greener and to make sure I returned their equipment. Third time was a charm ( I was determined) and I am now paying $47 less a month with no added contract for the next 12 months. That is over $500 in savings.
As an RN having worked in both ER and Urgent Care, your article is well written. Urgent Cares were created to help take some of the burden off the ERs, since aprox. 90% of the pts. seen there do not have life threatening emergencies. Despite the growing number of Urgent Cares, our ER's are busier than ever with people that could have taken care of their problems with their own MD's, drug seekers, those with no insurance and those with no comprhension of our medical system. Their wait times are up more than ever. In our city it took my daughter 4 hours to be seen with a kidney stone; there were too many chest pains that kept coming in and were bumped ahead of her, understandable, but didn't help with her pain.
Urgent Cares can have long waits also. Try to come at times that are not so busy for faster care. Don't come right at 5PM and expect to be seen right away, and don't come 5 minutes before they close. You might get through faster, but won't get as good care by the tired staff. And please don't come in for refills on narcotics, you're wasting your time and everyone else's. An Urgent Care is not the replacement for your own personal health practioneer and common sense.
If you truly need to go to an ER, please go there instead of trying to save money by going to an Urgent Care. It will end up costing you more because you not only pay for Urgent Care but an ambulance trip and the ER.
Otherwise, an Urgent Care can save you a lot of time and money taking care of minor health problems that arise when you can't wait to get in to see your MD for minor injuries and illnesses, if you're out of town, etc.
Most of these suggestions can get you fired, not laid off!
One problem with urgent care (at least the one here) is they charge $100 upfront, while ERs can never do that. That puts urgent care out of the reach of many uninsured, even if they'd be more able to pay the bill later.
Also, wait times in urgent aren't always better than hospitals. ER waiting lines are worse when urgent care is closed (because everyone who would have been at urgent care is at the ER), but when it's open it's the luck of the draw which one would have been quicker. It varies a lot. My quickest wait was halloween in the ER. I guess everyone was at a party or taking their kids trick or treating, because there was no one in the waiting room and they took me right back and it was test test diagnoses prescription discharge just back to back and I was out in no time. Of course not everyone likes that. My friend had a very similar experience in the same hospital, but instead of being happy she was out the door she was mad because she thought they didn't take the time to listen to her. Not everything is best for everyone.
We have a fairly good insurance plan but we are on a no-deductible PPO plan where we don't have an annual deductible as long as we stay with in network providers. That's normally not a problem but a glaring omission is that there aren't urgent care facilities on the list. So, our alternative in this case is to either wait until our doctor opens or go to the ER, which as you pointed out is much more expensive. I know one time on different insurance I went to urgent care when I had a nasty poison ivy rash at a time where the doctor wasn't able to see me for a couple of days, and it was considerably cheaper than had I gone to the ER for what would have amounted to the same treatment.
So, for those with insurance I'd make sure that your plan covers urgent care if you decide to go this route.
Yeah...no comparison in terms of cost. I love our Urgent Care! They are usually open weekends and late on weekdays, which is usually when my body likes to get sick.
I have only been to the ER once in my life, and I really thought I was dying, so there was no way around it (turns out it was a very bad allergic reaction, but no big deal).
I have never spent more than an hour at an Urgent Care from walk-in to walk-out.
@Tracey - Our insurance has a special line item for urgent care (I think it's a $50 copay). Our ER copay is like $200, so I'm guessing if you do have one, it would be something like $25?
I've never been to an urgent care center. Are they treated by insurance as ERs or as Dr. visits? My copay for a doc is only $15 but a visit to the ER is always $50. Any idea which this would fall under? I have previously had to go to the ER when I got or discovered an infection on a Friday and my regular doc couldn't see me. It was never life threatening but bad enough to make me scared to wait until Monday. I would love to use an urgent care center if it would save time and $.
You raise very good concerns Lucille. However, errors are still prevalent, if not more so, on paper based records. While a doctor's handwriting is the butt of a lot of bad jokes, it can result in drastic mistakes because of its lack of legibility. I've had the wrong prescription given to me a few times because the pharmacy misread the doctor's handwriting.
The beauty of a PHR is that you get control of your medical records. You can check your medical record to ensure its accuracy. A doctor or nurse could misclick something in your record, human error will always be part of the equation. But with a PHR you have the opportunity to view your medical records and correct these errors.
Your medical records are also protected under HIPAA. You have the right to access and view your medical records. With a PHR this may be easy as sending an electronic request. You also have the right to make corrections to your medical records. This information may be transmitted to other doctors only to help administer care and treatment. If this happens you have the right to be notified and receive a report of everyone who has received your medical record and why.
If a doctor was using your medical record for inappropriate purposes, you may file a complaint with the state medical board. All of these complaints are public record and current and/or potential patients of said doctor may view these. If you feel your privacy rights may have been violated you may also file a complaint with the Federal Office of Civil Rights. Anyone is entitled to do this if they believe their rights have been violated.
I'm sorry to hear about how your medical records may have been abused, but they are protected under federal law. If the doctor was abusing these records, hold him accountable for his actions.
Living is dangerous. There's a 100% mortality rate (well, depending upon your beliefs it might be slightly less than that, but that's a discussion for a different forum). There are things that we can all do to minimize the risks of injury and death, but there is no way to completely eliminate that.
Yes Toyota has gotten a lot of news because of some safety issues with some of the vehicles. And it does look like the company tried to deny/cover up/downplay those issues. This is nothing new in industry. To quote BSG, "All this has happened before and will happen again". It's not good but it's the way that things are and, while new laws can be enacted and regulations put in place, as long as there are unethical people in business, there will be these situations. These people and companies they run should face the consequences, especially if the issues were covered up. But I don't believe this is a good reason not to buy a Toyota vehicle ever again.
For me (and, really, for everyone, whether they admit it or not), it's all about balancing living our lives vs dealing with the risks inherent in living out lives. In general, Toyota vehicles have a pretty good safety record. The percentage of vehicles which have the accelerator or other issues is very, very small. The percentage of Toyotas which get into accidents not related to the accelerator issues is much greater. As a Toyota driver, I'm not thrilled that the company which I chose to purchase my vehicle from (Toyota Matrix, made before the accelerator issues. I really, really like my Matrix and would purchase another one) is involved in what appears to possibly be deception when it comes to safety issues. But I would not be surprised if in a year or two another auto manufactuerer had similar issues. Firestone tires delaminated on Ford trucks which also had cruise control cables which stuck and caused fires while I was driving a Ford Ranger. When I was very young, my parents had a Ford Pinto (which had issues with the gas tanks exploding during certain collisions). Airplanes fall out of the sky. Restaurants make mistakes and feed people improperly handled food which makes them sick. People get struck by lightning and runover crossing the street. But none of those things keep most people from flying, eating out, being outside or crossing the street. It's about weighing the risks of doing certain activities vs the benefits of doing those activities.
This in no way is meant to downplay the injuries and deaths caused by these issues. Those deaths are tragic (my high school journalism teacher often said that all death, save that of Hitler and Stalin, were tragic). And my heart goes out to the families and communities affected. But living in this world is a dangerous thing. And if we were to avoid all companies which have had issues with their products we'd be hard pressed to find consumer goods to fill our daily needs.
Yes as long as Toyota discloses all problems and recalls all affected vehicles. With the lower prices, i'd consider it. But currently i wouldn't buy a new or used Toyota. If it weren't for the superb overall reliability of Toyota's, i would not likely buy a Toyota based on styling, cool factor and practicality. Right now, Hyundai, Ford, and Kia are hot as cakes. Lexus on the other hand, i'd buy their cars because they are great in all areas including styling.
Yes as long as Toyota discloses all problems and recalls all affected vehicles. With the lower prices, i'd consider it. But currently i wouldn't buy a new or used Toyota. If it weren't for the superb overall reliability of Toyota's, i would not likely buy a Toyota based on styling, cool factor and practicality. Right now, Hyundai, Ford, and Kia are hot as cakes. Lexus on the other hand, i'd buy their cars because they great in all areas including styling.
I find it hard to fathom - perhaps partially cultural? I am a kiwi, and our vacation time (4 wks minimum by law) and sick leave (5 days minimum) are fiercely guarded. Everyone I know tends to take ALL of their vacation, and often people take more unpaid. I am a school teacher, so naturally we get more paid vacation and more sick leave, yet I am aware of a number of school staff taking extra, unpaid days to enable them to get cheaper flights or longer vacations etc - so long as you book a reliever in advance and its okayed with the school board! I have also heard of people taking a whole term, or two terms off (unpaid) to enable extensive travel. I do a combination of substitute and shorter term contracts to enable me to travel more often. I cannot comprehend how so little vacation time is even allowed - it bothers me that people are not allowed to have experiences outside their 9-5, due to harsh expectations. How is it legal that one can be indirectly fired through use of vacation days?
Making the Yakezie Clan proud.
Keigu,
Financial Samurai
"Slicing Through Money's Mysteries"
I'm all for great benefits. However, I think money wins over benefits. We need a good mix of both, but there's nothing like straight cash! Employers should provide excellent healthcare as a top priority.
I've played runescape for a long time now. Another addition is the grand exchange which mimics the stock market with rising and falling prices based on supply and demand.
I have to big issues with my service provider in the last six months. Both times I said I was fed up and ready to leave and both times I was offered Showtime for a year. The first time I held out for a month free of service. You want to speak with the retentions dept.
I'd like to add another way of reducing expenses that you may not have thought of. I've not seen this mentioned in any of the money saving sites I've read and thought I'd pass it along.
I recently called my local trash collection service to inquire about "renting" a smaller sized container for garbage and thereby reduce my monthly rental cost. I was told that I was already renting the smallest size they offered (32 gal), but, the representative suggested I reduce the number of "garbage" pick ups per month. My original service included weekly "garbage" pickup and biweekly "recycle" pick. I don't pay for yard waste pickup as I don't really have much to justify the cost.
But, since it's just me living in this house and the fact that most of my waste goes into the recycle bin I can easily get by with filling just one garbage bin per month.
I reduced my monthly garbage pick up to once a month and in the process I cut my yearly waste bill by $120.00! I still have the option of putting the garbage out any week I feel I need to, they'll just add the extra pickup fee for that week onto the bimonthly bill.
This may not be feasible for families of three or more, but for those of us with only one or two in the house it may be an option.
The positive side is that doctors have more clear information at hand. One hospital & clinic group in the area has moved to completely electronic records and I can already see the benefits of the system.
The cons can be if someone puts a mistake or other bad data into the system. I had someone type an error on a medication I take and put down one of our young kids as having a history of smoking and drinking by hitting the wrong check boxes. I had a doctor a few years ago that made some rather chauvinistic and inaccurate commentary in my medical records. The copies of this doctor's records caused issue with some other doctors who assumed this guy was right. It contributed to me not getting needed medical treatment for about four years. With an electronic system controlling or removing such a thing could be harder if your records are freely passed between doctors electronically.
Love your input :)
Linsey Knerl
Makes me wish I had an iphone. I have a blackberry storm- great phone, but definitely not as cool as the iphone.... someday verizon will get rights to sell use it. Guess I'll have to wait. bummer.
Cloth is cheaper :-)
I'm a really big fan of your roundup. I wish I had enough time to go through the PF blogosphere but I don't!
Thanks for the shortlist!
Didn't realize the low flow showerhead would be such a sore spot for people. =)
I use the Alsons low flow showerhead, and it's absolutely fantastic. Feels BETTER than a high flow, and is adjustable. I'm perfectly happy on the 1.8 gpm setting, but you can bring it up to 2.5 gpm if you'd like. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
Yeah, there's low flow and no-flow. When I first moved into an apartment, I was nearly late for work the next day, because I had to go to the kitchen sink to rinse my hair. It was a no-flow showerhead. It misted - and I've had plant misters that got things wetter faster. Hit a hardware store and got one of those heads with dial-a-shower-type deals - including low-flow and pause. Works a lot better. Hell, I could wash myself and my hair - and even better yet, rinse off in the shower, instead of traipsing out to the kitchen.....
Too many times from my own personal experience and those in the field often come across people who choose to learn it on their own, which often becomes costly and sometimes unmanageable. Always ask for references, levels of experience, and don't skimp on what a person is worth. Ultimately the money is better spent on doing it right the first time, than costly taxes, interest and penalties.