HELP YOUR NEUROLOGIST [ back to What's New ]
Chronic neurologic disorders afflict a tremendous cross-section of  persons in our society (if you total up TBI, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Autism and major psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bi-polar and major depression). As a whole they disable more people at all age groups than any other kind of illness. Yet neurology is a very small subspecialty of medicine and there is only a handful of neurologists to take care of these patients. Still worse HMOs discourage neurologists from utilizing the great advances in diagnosis and treatment. HMOs exclude most patients from qualifying for an MRI of the central nervous system. In order to prescribe Imitrex, a powerful and highly effective new medication which stops migraine attacks in progress, your neurologist has to comb through your chart and spend the time necessary to recreate your whole history of migraine drugs, explaining why earlier drugs failed and why Imitrex is now necessary and likely to help when the others did not. Not knowing what neurologists must contend with, many patients express anger at them for not doing enough quickly enough. In a recent forum, the President of the Association of California Neurologists, asked for understanding and support from neurologic patients, and suggested that they take the following steps to better help their neurologists help them: (a) if needed tests or therapies get denied, appeal directly to the Patient-Family Services dept. of their HMO to contest the denial and give factual reasons why the denied service is necessary; (b) provide their neurologist with any factual information from their prior medical history to bolster the request; (c) provide their neurologist with any supportive medical information from the internet, support groups, or otherwise, such as new treatment standards for specific diseases, reviews of new medications, case reports; and (d) provide their neurologist with the name, address and phone number of disease specific patient advocacy organizations. From time to time we all have good grounds to complain, but while complaining lets off steam, it cannot substitute for a win-win alliance with your neurologist to overcome the tendency of HMOs to focus on short term cost savings above long terms treatment benefits. Educating your neurologist will help him or her help you.