News Do doctors know if a prescription has been used?

[leroyjenkens]

I got a prescription for compression hose for varicose veins. I'm going to have the procedure that will take care of it, but for insurance to pay for the procedure, the doctor first needs to prescribe compression hose 3 months in advance. I have no need for it, because the vein isn't causing pain or discomfort, it's just for aesthetics and because it will get worse over time. So will they know if I show up to the office in November without having used the prescription?

 

[phinds]

A prescribing doctor could call a pharmacy, if he knows which one you use, and ask, but I can't imagine that they ever do.

 

[Medicol]

The hose is helpful in lessening your veins enlargement. You should use it if you have to stand on your feet while working in a long duration everyday. It will get worse if you are pregnant, for example. The prescription includes also drugs that help modulate your blood flow. Your veins would appear almost indifferent in November if you follow the procedure.

 

[SteamKing]

So will they know if I show up to the office in November without having used the prescription?

It's not clear who 'they' is referred to here, the doctor or the insurance company?

It seems like if you want to get reimbursed by the insurance company for the vein procedure, you need to show that a doctor's prescription for compression hose was obtained so many days before the procedure took place. The insurance co. may not particularly care if you ever filled the prescription (and from personal experience, these things require careful fitting and are expensive w/o insurance), but at least they have on file some
sort of an indication that the problem was serious enough that your physician thought compression hose necessary. With all of the different schedules for reimbursement that insurance companies have, it could be that an insurance claim for vein procedure which did not require a prescription won't be paid at the same amount (or any amount) as one which does.

Fill the prescription for the hose. There's a record it was filled if anyone checks. You get reimbursed for the vein procedure (and the hose) by your insurance. No one has to know if you ever wore the hose unless you want to tell them.