Gee Whiz! What Happened?

[chasbatl]

Rumor has it that in the Memphis area NW had called all the doctors to tell them to report any "suspicious" sick employees. Sounds like a rumor (a really retarded one) but is it really true? .

I dont know about MEM but in ATL at my doctors office, the office manager was the wife of a former NW tech and there was a lot of disgust for NWA there so i doubt the doctor would even talk to NW much less try and help them. I for one did get a certain satisfaction knowing that when they shut down ATL i had over 600 hrs of sick time on the books and by the time of the strike i had 8 hrs.

The way i see it is that doctors note Finny seems to think is so hard to get let me keep what i would have lost otherwise to the tune of $21K +. Add that to my severance of 10 weeks and it was a nice parting gift. I bet that really busts your chops huh Finny... 😛

 

[700UW]

A Dr by law cannot discuss a patient with the company unless the patient signs a waiver.

HIPPA regulations.

And finny if the company fired someone for not bring a note in on a holiday that person would have a nice paid vacation.

A termination has to follow and adhere to all the steps of just cause.

 

[eolesen]

A Dr by law cannot discuss a patient with the company unless the patient signs a waiver.

True, but even with HIPPA, there's still a paper trail that can't be avoided here.

The company does not have the right to discuss the purpose of the visit without a waiver, but if it is an employer funded health plan, they do have the right to look for a corresponding insurance claim being filed for the office visit.

I don't know too many people who are willing to pay office visits out of their pocket. I also don't know too many doctors who would be willing to state they examined a patient they never examined. Granted, I only know a few doctors, but if they write a note and the guy dies the next day, they're now liable for malpractice in addition to fraud...

Doctor Accused of Writing Fake Excuses

(Fort Wayne-AP, June 25, 2003) -- The state attorney general says a doctor charged employees at Fort Wayne's G.M. plant $40 each to write fraudulent excuses so they could claim sick pay. Dr. Milton Melvin Morgan says the accusation isn't true. He says the people who come to his office are sick. General Motors says two internal audits showed Morgan wrote nearly 200 doctor's slips between 1999 and 2001. That's far above average for other doctors. G.M. hired private investigators to visit Morgan's office to see if they could get fake excuses. It says all three succeeded. Morgan's wife, Gwendolyn Morgan, says her husband uses a holistic approach to medicine that takes into account more than just physical symptoms, and some people misunderstand. The Indiana Medical Licensing Board will hold a pre-hearing conference Thursday in Indianapolis.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)