Is it legal for an endocrinologist’s office to turn away a patient that has type-1, and explains that they have been out of insulin for over a week because they don’t have insurance? Just curious if anyone knows about these types of situation; it happened this morning to a friend of mine.
I don’t know if it is legal or not, but I would think morally it is wrong if the person had been a patient of that office and had a relationship with them. A doctor can discharge a patient from their practice if the patient has been noncompliant in their treatment and has missed/failed appointments, continually not doing lab work, etc. I would think there might be something to this other than just out of insulin for a week.
Not sure about the legality of it but its definitely immoral!!
I’m wondering if your friend has be continually non-compliant and the docs office has discharged him/her as Anna described?
How could a T1 go without insulin for a week?
No insulin + no doc to get it from = a trip to the ER for a script.
He went to the local endo here on campus, he’s actually from Cincinnati and I don’t think this is his regular guy.
i’m not really sure what happened with the visit, he was kind of out of it when he stopped by 
I totally, illegally, gave him a bottle of lantus SHHHH haha 
I’m looking on Google. I will let you know if I find something.
I know that my doc gave me insulin for free a few times over the past 11 years. There was a four year stint where I had no insurance through my job and I was getting too old to be covered on my dad’s plan, so I was poooooooor. Docs usually keep extra vials in their refrigerator for trials on new patients and such. They most always have back ups.
If I were him, I’d be going to find a new doc.
I’d also be going to the ER and asking for a shot there. I’ve done that before and it was also free. They have to draw up the needle and inject you behind a curtain, but at lest he wouldn’t be wheeled into the ER on a stretcher.
Wow I can’t imagine what his BG is running right about now…or how hes not in a coma!
Kudos to you for giving up a bottle of Lantus 
And it was a campus doc?! Yikes, that sort of changes my view on things…so your friend is student and he needed some insulin while at school and the campus doc wouldn’t give it to him? Am I figuring that out the right way? Cause if I am I’d, after I made a trip to the ER to get things under control, be on the phone with the school’s dean and possibly the ADA immediately.
Can you check in with him? I’d be REALLY concerned about his BG and his ability to make sound decisions with such, presumably, high BG’s!
yeah his bg was really high (368), i made him give himself a shot here (humalog) to get it down to a reasonable range and then take some of my strips so he could check the rest of the day and told him to call me if he wasn’t feeling good, I’m just glad he’s on the same regimen that i am so i could help him out Yeah the doc wasn’t at the student health center but at the local hospital’s diabetes center. Which is technically on campus, and the docs there teach at our medical school so it’s associated. I’m kind of annoyed at them for sure.
yeah i’ve definitely had to do that a couple of times, they also gave me the bottle they drew my injection out of
If the doctor is in private practice he can turn away anyone. If he’s in a public practice, one paid for by taxpayer money, no, he probably can’t. Laws in different states vary. Where are you?
Terry
It is in Indiana. Endocrinologists in Indiana cannot dispense prescription drugs. Even samples are highly regulated and limited to no more than a five day supply. Since insulin manufacturers do not make less than full vials (thank goodness) they do not give insulin samples. Now, I do hope your friend has found their way to a social service agency. In Indianapolis we do have a few that will provide insulin with a script.
Now to the other question this raises, is is legal for a doctor to not see a patient. In Indiana a patient can be denied service by a doctor for any reason the doctor deems appropriate. While nto a legal case, the question is if the doctor violated the state medical associations ethics statement. If a case were brought by the patient, it is anyone’s guess if they would win. However, a win would not give the patient much satisfaction. A violation of medical ethics is likely not a result in a payment of damages. All in all in Indiana it may be unethical, but it likely is not illegal.
rick phillips
it’s in Ohio, thanks for the info
Thanks for the info Rick!
yay ohio
Good for you, Ryan, for helping out your buddy! What a scary thing, not being able to buy the insulin we need!
I have a dumb question. I am an American but have lived in Guatemala since I was diagnosed. Here I just go into any pharmacy and get my insulin, no need for a doctor’s script (actually all medication is that way here). In the U.S. you need a prescription to buy insulin, don’t you? What about needles?
yep you need a script for insulin and syringes and if you have insurance, you need one for your testing supplies as well or the insurance won’t cover it.
Some insulin is available over the counter here… R and N and some of the mixes of those two are available if you just ask for them, but the newer analogs (Novolog/Humalog/Apidra and Levemir/Lantus) are not… you need an Rx. Syringes and pen needles are not a prescription item in most states, but you do have to ask the pharmacist for them, and they have the right to refuse the sale (drug users commonly use insulin syringes). Generally if you’re buying insulin or any D-related supplies they won’t question you - I’ve never been hassled, even buying 10-syringe baggies (there have been points in my D life where the $1.50 for a bag of 10 was all I could afford)
You do need an Rx if you want insurance to pay for anything though… Rx or not. For example, I get pen needles for free (no co-pay) on my insurance plan, but if I didn’t give the pharmacy the Rx for it, I’d pay something like $36/box.
If you campus has a law school or College of Law, I would see if they have a free legal clinic on campus and go there and they can research the issue for you. If no law school, there may still be a free paralegal or attorney who provides services to the students of the campus. Legal or not, It depends who in the office turned the patient away and if they were following the orders of a medical professional. I believe it is a breech of the Hipocratic Oath, if it was backed up by the M.D. or D.O(Doctor on record or maybe even the Charge Nurse) and may be cause for a malpractice suit. {This is not intended to be legal advice, please consult with an attorney in your state of Ohio to clarify.}
Did he ever get insulin?
yeah we have an ombudsman office here, no law school tho he also told me that he never got to talk to the Endo, that the receptionist talked to a nurse and they told him they couldn’t help.