More Wheelchair Delays
A month ago on February 04, 2010 we received an email from Rehab Tech, in response to our email asking when we could expect the wheelchair to be shipped from the manufacture, stating the manufacture gave them an estimated ship date of February 22, 2010. On Friday February 26, 2010 we sent Rehab Tech an email asking if they had received the wheelchair. We were shocked to receive a response stating the wheelchair hadn't been shipped and that the manufacture was not able to give an estimated ship date.
We decided to call Rehab Tech and discuss this problem with the branch manager. When he called us back he told us that the order for the wheelchair had been place on January 13, 2010 roughly two weeks after P. and I thought it had been ordered. It turned out that the delay was supposedly caused by a dispute with the insurance company about some labor charges in the paperwork Rehab Tech had submitted to the insurance company. Both P and I remember calling Rehab Tech and asking our contact person at Rehab Tech about that labor question because it was in the copy of the information the insurance company sent us. However, the contact person said that it wasn't a problem and had been resolved. After talking to Rehab Tech earlier this week, we now have no idea when to expect the wheelchair to be shipped from the manufacture.
On February 16, 2010 P contacted the Rehab Tech technician asking him what the process would be once they received the wheelchair. He responded by telling us that once they received the wheelchair it would be put in their work queue and when they got to it, they would make the additional modifications adding the special features I would need. He requested that I travel to their Naperville, IL office with an external ventilator battery, and the humidifier I must use, so they could make certain the additional modifications would be correct. Then after all their work on the chair is finished we would have to make an appointment with the Rehab Institute of Chicago so their physical therapist could make certain that everything was done correctly.
When I asked if we could make the appointment with the Rehab Institute of Chicago as soon as Rehab Tech received the chair, I was told "Typically, they didn't do that." They would only make that appointment after all their work was finished. However, because of the all the delays getting this wheelchair ordered I am still going to push with setting up the appointment with Rehab Institute of Chicago as soon as the wheelchair and all the additional parts arrive at Rehab Tech. I feel that because it took Rehab Institute of Chicago a month to get their letter of medical necessity to Rehab Tech and then it took Rehab Tech a week of faxing that letter to my doctor and my doctor telling me that they never received it nor had they heard from Rehab Tech. We finally had them fax that letter to P. at her work and we hand carried it to my doctor to get it signed.
It is because of all these delays and apparent lack concern on both Rehab Institute of Chicago and Rehab Tech that we are going to really push for special attention once they receive my wheelchair. So I have no idea when I will receive this new wheelchair. However, once I have it I plan on submitting some letters of complaint to Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JACHO) about both companies. I also intend to ask to see where my medical information was being faxed to during that week when my doctor never received it until we hand carried it to the doctor. I believe that under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) I am allowed to see where they sent my information. If they sent it to the wrong fax number I am going to submit a letter of complaint to HIPAA.
I feel that I have been more then patient with both companies. My first appointment was on October 15, 2009 and now almost 5 months later I still do not have my new wheelchair and no one can give me an idea when I might expect to receive it.
We decided to call Rehab Tech and discuss this problem with the branch manager. When he called us back he told us that the order for the wheelchair had been place on January 13, 2010 roughly two weeks after P. and I thought it had been ordered. It turned out that the delay was supposedly caused by a dispute with the insurance company about some labor charges in the paperwork Rehab Tech had submitted to the insurance company. Both P and I remember calling Rehab Tech and asking our contact person at Rehab Tech about that labor question because it was in the copy of the information the insurance company sent us. However, the contact person said that it wasn't a problem and had been resolved. After talking to Rehab Tech earlier this week, we now have no idea when to expect the wheelchair to be shipped from the manufacture.
On February 16, 2010 P contacted the Rehab Tech technician asking him what the process would be once they received the wheelchair. He responded by telling us that once they received the wheelchair it would be put in their work queue and when they got to it, they would make the additional modifications adding the special features I would need. He requested that I travel to their Naperville, IL office with an external ventilator battery, and the humidifier I must use, so they could make certain the additional modifications would be correct. Then after all their work on the chair is finished we would have to make an appointment with the Rehab Institute of Chicago so their physical therapist could make certain that everything was done correctly.
When I asked if we could make the appointment with the Rehab Institute of Chicago as soon as Rehab Tech received the chair, I was told "Typically, they didn't do that." They would only make that appointment after all their work was finished. However, because of the all the delays getting this wheelchair ordered I am still going to push with setting up the appointment with Rehab Institute of Chicago as soon as the wheelchair and all the additional parts arrive at Rehab Tech. I feel that because it took Rehab Institute of Chicago a month to get their letter of medical necessity to Rehab Tech and then it took Rehab Tech a week of faxing that letter to my doctor and my doctor telling me that they never received it nor had they heard from Rehab Tech. We finally had them fax that letter to P. at her work and we hand carried it to my doctor to get it signed.
It is because of all these delays and apparent lack concern on both Rehab Institute of Chicago and Rehab Tech that we are going to really push for special attention once they receive my wheelchair. So I have no idea when I will receive this new wheelchair. However, once I have it I plan on submitting some letters of complaint to Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JACHO) about both companies. I also intend to ask to see where my medical information was being faxed to during that week when my doctor never received it until we hand carried it to the doctor. I believe that under Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) I am allowed to see where they sent my information. If they sent it to the wrong fax number I am going to submit a letter of complaint to HIPAA.
I feel that I have been more then patient with both companies. My first appointment was on October 15, 2009 and now almost 5 months later I still do not have my new wheelchair and no one can give me an idea when I might expect to receive it.
posted by UP at 9:09 AM
1 Comments:
I wonder how many more companies will have to learn the hard way not to mess with my dad.
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