Question by Missy: Dr. tried to sell me an “MLM” juice; didn’t provide care requested. Should I report him?
This is a repost because I didn’t get but one answer in the category I placed it so I will try again!
I made an appointment with my long time physician for a flu shot. Upon arriving, the nurse confirmed my reason for the visit; i.e. Flu Shot while taking my blood pressure, etc. When the Dr. came in, he informed me they were out of flu shots because they had not yet received any! I asked why I wasn’t told this before taking 2 hours of my day to see. He apologized and then asked if I had any other concerns. I told him jokingly “Only if you have a miracle cure for getting old. This old body is slowing down”. He took out his script pad, wrote something, and then told me to take it to the front desk. Upon handing it to the receptionist, she pulled out a bottle of “juice” and asked for $ 45. I was confused and asked her what it was and why it wasn’t billable to my insurance. She said it was a new product the Dr. strongly believed in. A miracle juice high in antioxidants, replaces my vitamins, and has been known to prevent certain types of cancers. It’s not medicine and therefor, not billable”. In addition, they were only accepting cash payments- no checks, no credit cards. I didn’t buy it.
I had my daughter look up the name and found out it is an MLM juice product.
I feel ripped off- violated by my doctor. I felt he took advantage of an opportunity to push his side business by not letting me know from the start that the flu shot was not available. I don’t think my Dr. should get any money for this office visit. Do I have a recourse that will make him realize that patients don’t go to office visits to participate in his new MLM venture? Aside from not returning to him, would calling my insurance carrier do any good? How about a complaint with the medical board? Or is this a case of “He owns his own practice and he can do what he wants?”
Best answer:
Answer by David
you should have just said no. my wifes’ eye doctor tried selling her “eye” vitamins. we don,t use him any more.
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3 Comments
Cody
on 11th Feb, 12 01:02am
He did not do as you requested and I don’t know anything abou this Juive, but I think you may need to report him for selling you some thing you had not requested treatment for.
CB
on 11th Feb, 12 01:02am
I would definitely call your insurance carrier. This is a terrible conflict of interest. If he believe in the product, then he can (and should) recommend it. But to be selling it via a MLM out of his office definitely looks weird.
If I were the doctor and I really believe in this product, I would hand the info to my patients and say: “Hey, I think this is a great thing, and I highly recommend, especially for someone in your situations. But, you need to know that if you buy it from me, I am making a small profit on it. I’m selling it for less than the normal retail, because I do think it is good for my patients, but there are certainly many other ways to get it.”
This removes the cloud of suspicion to a great extent. Honestly, I don’t think I’d be comfortable selling it out of my office at all, but if I did, I would do the above.
Diane A
on 11th Feb, 12 01:02am
Your best recourse is to just not go there any more. There is nothing to report. The medical board only looks at acts of malpractice, inappropriateness, misconduct etc. There are no laws for telling you ahead of time about no flu shots (although it was certainly not a bright thing to do) or selling their own product (some doctors sell their own products especially in dermatology)–you just say “no”. Your insurance carrier will probably not do anything either, as there really is nothing to do.
Just don’t return–that makes a statement.