I’m not the “custodial” parent.
Sometimes, it puts me in an interesting bind.
Yesterday was one such day. It takes some history to understand and the story takes many strange twists and turns. Bear with me if you can.
According to my divorce decree I am responsible for the insurance and 50% of the medical expenses for my two children.
My oldest child was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder when she was about 8 if memory serves correctly.
I don’t really like ADD. I distrust the diagnosing process and it’s awfully suspicious that doctors and pharmacies are making major dollars off of this “disease” that seems to be over diagnosed and expensive to treat. But, let’s assume that I agree with this diagnosis. She definitely is a bit scatter brained. I just prefer to blame it on a highly evolved thinker that easily gets bored at school. It must move on to more exciting things.
I should probably have left out the previous paragraph. You can re-read and skip it.
So, the last two years this eldest spawn of mine has decided to try and fail school. She’s almost 14 now so I suspect it has something to do with hormones and all that craziness that goes on when you go from girl to woman. Her behavior made my ex so crazy that she’s asking me for advice.
My advice was to seek out professional help. She was diagnosed with ADD by a pediatrician. I recommended going to an ADD specialist to see if they agree with the diagnosis or perhaps she just needs counseling to get her on the right path. This makes it doubly my responsibility to pay for the medical bills because now I had recommended a course of action that will require co-pays and possible new drugs.
My ex found an “ADD Expert” on my insurance plan and set an appointment. He is the great Doctor Neil Jacobson of Dallas. For $150 he talked to my 13 year old daughter for 15 minutes and then handed her a prescription for a “new drug” to treat her debilitating disease.
The next morning, she was in the emergency room with heart palpitations and unable to breathe. So, I was summoned to the emergency room from work. I am starting to feel like I paid $150 to this quack so that he could try and kill my daughter. Luckily, she got to the emergency room in time and they were able to calm her down and get her on the road to recovery. We couldn’t get in touch with good Dr. Neil. I suspect he was probably out cruising in his new Jaguar or something.
The directions on her bottle of "turn my fingers blue" death pills said, “Take 1 or 2 tablets daily”. Luckily, I guess, she only took 1.
How can a medical doctor prescribe this kind of medicine to a 13 year old after a 15 minute consultation? I still can’t get in touch with this whacky Dr. Neil Jacobson.
I decide to send him an email. I tell him he’s already wasted more than 15 minutes of my time and if I get a bill from the hospital then he’ll get a bill from my lawyer for giving life threatening medication to a 13 year old after a 15 minute consultation.
Yesterday, I received the bill from the hospital: $1300. I had already paid a $50 co pay. Now, I am out $1500 so I send a note off to an attorney. I’m not normally one to sue. People should just be human. Accidents happen.
The attorney told me that because of changes to medical malpractice law about 5 years ago, only the most severe cases are economical to pursue. So, if she had died I could afford to sue. Now, I am just out $1500 and get to think of Dr. Neil “the Jackass” Jacobson driving around in his Porsche.
I’m not the “custodial” parent. Sometimes, it puts me in an interesting bind.
File against the quack in small claims court. He has to appear in person. He will not want to. And you can sue for double your actual damages. Your lawyer would not suggest this course cuz it makes him no money.
ReplyDeleteAny resolution on this? I was recommended to visit Dr. Jacobson by another therapist - he came highly recommended. Your experience is definitely at odds with what I would have expected.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is I don't trust my ex-wife so I can't be completely sure of the details about the actual office visit.
ReplyDeleteFrom my perspective, I could not get in touch with the doctor when my daughter was in the emergency room and he never bothered to contact me after she was released. He never answered any of my emails or anything.
I've got a year to take him to small claims court. I'm in contact with a lawyer to determine how much I can expect as far as reimbursement. I would like to charge him $150 for every 15 minute chunk of time that I spent.
I'd be curious if you went to hear your experience. How long were you in the waiting room? How long did he talk to you? Was it helpful or did he just prescribe the latest drug and go jump in his Lamborghini?
I'll be sure to let you know...
ReplyDeleteJust found this post. Wish I would have seen it before I visited Dr. Jacobson. Visited him twice now and am not going back. He randomly prescribed me meds without really listening to my issues at all. I tried it and it made my problems worse, so I went back and he prescribed me two more meds. He said to try one and if it didn't work, try the other one. One of the meds is for a condition that I don't even have. All this guy does is write scrips in hopes that he will hit the right one eventually.
ReplyDeleteI'm really frustrated that guys like this have the power to give medical advise and drugs so irresponsibly. Dr. Jacobson gets my douchebag of the month award.
Anonymous from June 6 said it just like it is. All he does is write scripts. He doesn't want to listen. He asks a question, then answers his phone, hands you a script and shoves you out the door.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but Dr. Jacobson is my doctor and he saved my life. If you need to blame someone, blame yourself for poor parenting skills.
ReplyDeleteI see you posted this 5 years ago. I think you should reconsider your position and maybe listen a little more. This doc that saved your life, openly discriminated against me in his office and then prescribed me something that has a fatal interaction with something else he prescribed. It is literally his job to know better, so was he ignorant? or was he actually trying to kill me?
DeleteKill a few, save a few. I guess, given those statistics, I could be a doctor.
ReplyDeleteBased on your attitude, I'd wager he's saving the wrong ones.
Does anyone have his email address?
ReplyDeleteI too have been seeing Dr. Jacobson for over 3 years now...I agree that he is a bit quicker on the re-fill visits because there isn't much to discuss if the meds he's been prescribing me have been working correctly and for a long period of time. However, my initial visits were much more lengthy and involved in depth discussion of my feelings, symptoms, and possible variations of medications that would help with my severe depression. Years later, I can't ask for a more from any other psychiatrist. I can understand your frustration because of the costs and bill you received but he shouldn't be considered a bad doctor just because he doesn't spend hours on end on your child alone when there are many other patients needing to be seen and that have their own needs.
ReplyDeleteHas he been seeing you regarding your reading comprehension problem?
ReplyDeleteIt was my daughter's first visit. He spent about 15 minutes with her.
She ended up in the hospital.
Interestingly, this same daughter, is now living with me, and I took her to another Doctor who believes she doesn't even have ADD. I took her off all medication and she's making straight A's.
I never heard from Neil after at least 3 phone calls.
Somehow, I found, what I thought was an email address 4 years ago. I have no idea if it was correct then and I have no idea what it is now.
Same experience with lovely Dr. Jacobson. I've seen him a total of probably 5 times over the past 2 years. I am one of the cases, where I just need a doc to presribe medication, that's it. I've found trying to get preseciptions out of him, is pulling teeth. Apparently he doesn't work on Friday's and I submitted a refill request on monday. It's now Thursday, and I've been without a medication, that as a doctor you would think he would know you cannot just quit for 4 days. Meanwhile 5 refill requests are sitting on his desk asking for his signature, while I feel like shit all week.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading everyones comments as well as your blog they seem to match up with everything everyone had told me about Dr. Jacobson when I first started seeing him. I was admited into a behavioral hospital during a nervous breakdown post head injury. Dr. Jacobson was the first doctor I had seen in 10 months since the accident that actually was about to find out the problem and give me a somewhat normal life living with PTSD. I have seen several specialist in the past year and none of them listened or cared until I met Dr. Jacobson. I have seen him be very busy and sometimes it seems rushed but if you simply let him know you need him to slow down and listen, he does. As for being prescribed the wrong medication for your daughter, as a parent my heart breaks. At the same time if he does not know the WHOLE story he is unable to prescribe anything correctly. I know personally with a child of that age they seem to just tell you what you want to hear so you get off their back. This is not any mental health doctors fault if they are prescribing for what they have been told. Yes their are many test that can be done before prescribing but the cost is outrageous and with the way you are complaining about the cost of the $150 before the emeregency room I seriously doubt you would have willingly spent the thousands of dollars to do all the brain test to confirm exactly what was wrong with her. Dr. Jacobson helped me start getting my life back living with PTSD and gave me the ability to function in a world that does not slow down for anyone, even me. I hope this has helped others with giving Dr. Jacobson a chance to change your life. If you choose another doctor do your research and since you are paying make sure you get what you want out of it. When it comes to down to it you are his boss because you are paying him. Get your moneys worth out of every visit!!!!
ReplyDeleteDr. Jacobson's a decorated drug dealer. I need help. I waited 2 hrs yesterday while Dr. Jacobson was running behind on appointments. The waiting room patrons started getting anxious while praising his approach.
ReplyDeleteI walked in, told him I had miscarried last month, my life was a wreck and my meds weren't working. He apologized for my wait & handed me a script for a medicine that I had just said gives me horrible sexual side effects. After less than 5 minutes, Dr. J walked me to the door and answered my next 3 questions w "see you in a month!"
WTF! I'll be seeing someone else. I want a shrink not a drug pusher!
I actually agree with the OP on this. Neil is a terrible doctor. As a kid I was quickly diagnosed with different things from depression, anxiety, and mood disorder. When I was finally old enough to make my own decisions and move out of my parents home I took myself off all the bull medicine I was provided and worked on self-esteem issues and becoming a better person. I am now 21 and working in IT. I have done with my life what has taken many other people 20 years to do. Unfortunately there are many doctors out there like Neil who are quick to diagnose and get you out of their hair in order to make a quick paycheck. Instead of taking your kid to a doctor who is willing to diagnose anything for your child's issue perhaps determine if there is an underlying issue. The medical portion of it sucks and I am currently having to file with my health insurance to get reimbursed for a fee I recently had to pay for an appointment I had 3 years ago. Neil's office failed to file my correct insurance and billed me instead. I didn't even know I owed them anything until I received a notice in collections which I immediately paid in full. I was rudely hung up on when I called his office to inquire about it. Not a fan of this guy.
ReplyDeleteI am a female Iraq war veteran. I see Dr. Jacobson. .. first of all as a parent u should have looked him up.. I speak from experience. . My 24 yr. Daughter was manic bi polar also type 1 diabetic. . 5 days a week of counseling. . I have ptsd it's called war people it wasn't a pick nic. I have found that a Dr. For physic. Is not a therapist or counselor. . So if u don't need meds then don't go to a Dr. If u want therapy then go to one. As for those who run out of their meds. My question to u is. (R u taking pills like he says too. Must be more to ur story if u had to wait to get refills or new script. I am dying with cancer and sarcoidosis and Dr. Neil Jacobson is wonderful. He doesn't treat me like a child like the va in Dallas does. So just do ur homework. Therapist and counselor's are for talking. Physc Md. Are just that they do meds. I think it helps if u know what each mental health workers do in their jobs...
ReplyDelete7 years ago I quite using meth after a long struggle of trying to deal with not only my addiction and relapse I went to Dr. Neil Jacobson for depression. I was put on 2 forms of antidepressant medication and Adderall. Does anyone else see the issue with prescribing a meth addict an amphetamine? At least I can say I know where to go if I want to get high again.
ReplyDeleteNo because alot of times people abuse uppers because they have ADD. Did you tell him you were a meth addict?
DeleteHow do you know he only saw her for 15mins if you were ex handled it. Also there is a huge new patient packet that has to be turned in several weeks before the `1st appointment, so the Dr. can review it before he sees a new patient. Your ex filled out a huge detailed packet, checking off symptoms and issues your kid was having. He asks any parent if they are ok with what he is prescribing. He is a great Dr. He works in three different offices in Dfw so no he is not always available. People have reactions to meds all the time, that can not be for sen by the Dr. or Pharmacists who dispensed the med. Sometimes it may take 10 different try and fails with different meds to treat different people what works for some doesn't work for others with the same condition. Also with mental health issue a lot of symptoms overlap with different diagnoses, mental health issues and meds are like playing pen the tail on the donkey, so if you leave out info, under report, or over report this can affect your diagnoses and any meds he prescribes. If you want counseling go to a threapist or counselor.. Dr. Jacobson is a physcitrist, he prescribes meds after diganosing you thats what his job is. As a 100 perecent disabled vet, I can tell you Dr. Jacobson is great. Way better than the VA Hospital Care. Before you blame Dr. Jacobson try looking at the 30 pages of stuff your ex filled out and sent in weeks before you kids appointment.
Deleteoops sorry forgot to spell check before I posted, sorry for the spelling
DeleteSeriously? He prescribed an amphetamine to a former meth addict?! If it makes you feel any better, I told him one of my medications was causing me to urinate 15 or more times a day. He prescribed me a diuretic that actually has a fatal interaction with the original medication in question. Thankfully, I never took it. Although , I may take him to court.
DeleteTake this psychiatrist to another psychiatrist for better treatment. I think its really required for this one.
ReplyDeleteI can't warn people enough about this drug pushing quack. He has my son absolutely addicted to 6 mg of Klonopin. This is one of the most dangerous drugs in America. The Dr.only seemed to be interested in pursuing me and not treating my son. His new doctor was completely flabbergasted as to why Jacobson would have anyone on such a high dose. Leaving his practice was the best thing my son has done. Jacobson should not be practicing medicine.
ReplyDelete