As I ended in my last post, I left my internal medicine consult with the need to get a cardiac clearance before I could be cleared for right shoulder surgery. Once again, Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) left it to me, the injured worker, to make all the necessary arrangements to secure the needed cardiac clearance.

Normally, this is something that’s paid for by the employer; but, oh no not in my case since it would appear that Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) had decided to simply abandon their responsibility and pawn it off on my private insurance and personal physician. Or perhaps Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) decided that if they refused to pay for the necessary medical clearances and thus delaying this surgery long enough as they did with my spinal stimulator permanent implantation that I’d give up on my right shoulder surgery, as well. You see after Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) delayed for almost a total of two years the approval of the spinal stimulator surgery I agreed to forgo the spinal stimulator surgery all together if Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) agreed to approve my right shoulder surgery. I suggested this since the medical literature showed that the effectiveness of a spinal stimulator lessened with time; and by agreeing to forgo this surgery I saved Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) at least $100,000 or even more in associated care.

So, while I thought I was being reasonable I would latter learn from the attorney representing Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) that he believed my cardiac issue was my own fault for having waited “so long” after my last surgical clearance. I guess he was unaware that like many things in life a surgical clearance has a “life expectancy”, and the generally medical acceptable practice is that a surgical clearance has a life span and that span is dependent on the surgeon and hospital. So the likelihood of a competent and ethical surgeon accepting a surgical clearance that was approximately 2 years old was almost nil and as such I had to start the surgical clearance process all over again.

Once again with no help from Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation), but with expert help from my private insurance and personal physician they referred me to a cardiologist four days after seeing the internal medicine physician. Unfortunately, Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) was displeased at the pace set by my cardiologist and filed to have me removed from total temporary disability to permanent and stable – their logic seemed to be that I was refusing surgery – the very surgery I couldn’t undergo until I was cleared to have – I guess that’s the logic Adventist Health (that religious hospital/healthcare corporation) uses to save themselves some greenbacks.

More to follow . . .