
Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
Anyway, I'm back home.
Before I left, I did talk to that PA. They chose not to do the uric acid test because they said it "wouldn't change treatment either way" no matter what it read.
But it was a conscious choice to refuse to do it. There was no "technicality" preventing it, and they wouldn't have been under any liability had they done it. It was also extremely fast and cheap to do, since they already took my blood. The results of the uric acid test would have informed all of the other results, because it would increase or decrease the likelihood gout was the cause of the problems.
The refusal was actually the misapplication of a general policy to avoid allowing patients to use the ER as a substitute for their general doctor. For example, if I were to say, "While you've got my blood, can you check my testosterone? I want to know if it's still normal for my age", they'd be correct to refuse, because that would have nothing to do with the reason I was there.
However, they did the standard metabolic panel, of which uric acid is often part anyway. For example, they checked my potassium, which also had no direct correlation with treatment.
I'm going to ask some doctors I know to give me their opinion. If they agree with bottomset and say I was out of line, then I will not complain. If they agree with me, then a complaint is forthcoming.