Implant now a maybe after 4 years trying to get one.

[Gronnos]

Today my nerves are about shot. 17 days trying to get an answer, 2 phone calls to Phyllis at Dr. Millam's office 21srt and today and many messages she tells me she finally knows what kind of surgery he wants to do but now she has to send a note to Andrea to send a letter to my insurance company and get an approval letter from them before a surgery can be scheduled. I asked if there is any possibility of getting this done before the end of the the year and I am told she is not sure. She cannot say that it is possible.
Aug 3rd I call for an appointment and told Dr Milam does not do implants, Aug, 10 I call and told he nolonger does surgery. Aug 12th I am told after I find out he still does surgery that Vanderbilt does not accept United Healthcare. Local bookkeeping services heries site Your Books On Time. I Call the Vanderbilt bookkeeping dept and they tell me Vanderbilt does accept it and Dr. Milam is a provider so I call back and finally get a nice young man who says absolutely we can get it done by Dec, maybe in Nov. Earliest appointment date is Oct 12th. Travel to Nasheville, see doc, discuss it and he says he ill have Phyllis call to schedule it but he is "twitchy" if he can get it done by the end of the year once the calendar rolls into October. Several calls and messages left for Phyllis. Talk to her on the 21st. She says there are no notes in my file that Dr. Milam wants to do surgery nor what kind of surgery he might want to do. Several more calls and messages, I get her to today. They will send a letter to my insurance company likely tomorrow. I told her we are going to St. Louis Monday to schedule surgery for my wife and need to make sure we will not have conflicting dates so I really need to have the answer I have been looking for for months. I'd put the chance I'm getting an implant about 4% now. Dr. Milam is the 17th doctor in 4 years. I told her if there is a reason they do not want to do it, tell me. This has messed around so long now there is no chance of getting in to someone else this year. At this point I say screw it. What is the use of trying? I had a cardiac stress test, oral surgery, lab work and everything possible to make sure there would be no issues to prevent this from happening. Dirt work with the crawler did not settle my frustrations last week, A track came off the machine 1 1/2 minutes into it. Today I'm going to cut firewood.. Maybe beating wood to death with a maul will help. d

Yes, it's a typical story ... accounting, phone calls... That's how their system works.

[Lost Sheep]

Today my nerves are about shot. 17 days trying to get an answer, 2 phone calls to Phyllis at Dr. Millam's office 21srt and today and many messages she tells me she finally knows what kind of surgery he wants to do but now she has to send a note to Andrea to send a letter to my insurance company and get an approval letter from them before a surgery can be scheduled. I asked if there is any possibility of getting this done before the end of the the year and I am told she is not sure. She cannot say that it is possible.
Aug 3rd I call for an appointment and told Dr Milam does not do implants, Aug, 10 I call and told he nolonger does surgery. Aug 12th I am told after I find out he still does surgery that Vanderbilt does not accept United Healthcare. Local bookkeeping services heries site Your Books On Time. I Call the Vanderbilt bookkeeping dept and they tell me Vanderbilt does accept it and Dr. Milam is a provider so I call back and finally get a nice young man who says absolutely we can get it done by Dec, maybe in Nov. Earliest appointment date is Oct 12th. Travel to Nasheville, see doc, discuss it and he says he ill have Phyllis call to schedule it but he is "twitchy" if he can get it done by the end of the year once the calendar rolls into October. Several calls and messages left for Phyllis. Talk to her on the 21st. She says there are no notes in my file that Dr. Milam wants to do surgery nor what kind of surgery he might want to do. Several more calls and messages, I get her to today. They will send a letter to my insurance company likely tomorrow. I told her we are going to St. Louis Monday to schedule surgery for my wife and need to make sure we will not have conflicting dates so I really need to have the answer I have been looking for for months. I'd put the chance I'm getting an implant about 4% now. Dr. Milam is the 17th doctor in 4 years. I told her if there is a reason they do not want to do it, tell me. This has messed around so long now there is no chance of getting in to someone else this year. At this point I say screw it. What is the use of trying? I had a cardiac stress test, oral surgery, lab work and everything possible to make sure there would be no issues to prevent this from happening. Dirt work with the crawler did not settle my frustrations last week, A track came off the machine 1 1/2 minutes into it. Today I'm going to cut firewood.. Maybe beating wood to death with a maul will help. d

Yes, it's a typical story ... accounting, phone calls... That's how their system works.

Gronos,

Welcome to the forum and know that you have my respect and admiration for going through old threads. There is a LOT of good information there, still relevant today but would not be forthcoming from present members for a number of reasons. One, you get a timeline of history all at once and not just a snapshot of the present time.

But I have to point out that you responded to a 4 1/2 year old post. Alibaba has had a lot more history since then. Having said that, your comment about bookkeeping services is all too true. Accountants and bookkeepers speak a different language and even when we do speak English (I am a number-cruncher myself) we/they tend to have a slightly different view than "normal" people. A lot of detail (and solutions to misunderstandings) get lost in translation.

My advice when dealing with situations such as yours is

Take names and notes. Date/Time and summary of what was said by you and them. Don't make a point of it, but use their names with them at least twice during any phone call, the last time in a "thank you for your efforts/patienct/help" sentence, even if they were not helpful. A good thought is the last thing they will remember about you and the fact that you know their name will do two things. 1) Everyone loves to feel recognized and to hear their own name in a good way. 2) Leaves the impression that you will remember them )for good or ill) if their supervisor and you connect. If you get into an impasse, do not beat it to death, but ask, politely (and even apologetically) to ask to a supervisor or manager. I usually acknowledge something like this, "I understand that you are not allowed to {do whatever it is I am asking you to do}, so, please, may I talk with someone who go above the usual authority?" They don't feel disrespected and will remember you more fondly than other people they have denied.

One experience I had pertinent to FrankTalk, implants and the advice above: I was seeking to go to the East Coast to get my implant and the travel agent at the V.A. said it was not possible. Brick wall. But I was persistent and assiduously polite. Eventually, she called me and clued me in to the fact that a highly experienced urological surgeon had recently been assigned to the local Air Force Base Hospital. And, he had even toured around and TAUGHT the procedure. Dr. Shaw and I had an interview and I chose him, with very pleasing results.

Good luck