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Q. What if they refuse to let me record the conversation? Do I just respectfully leave?
A. You respectfully leave. No honest clinician would prevent a concerned patient from recording a complicated conversation about his healthcare decisions. The fact that a clinician refuses is a red flag – one that you would address in your next registered letter to your doctor.
Q. What if my doctor or clinic does not answer my letter?
A. That’s another red flag. Doctors and clinics that refuse to answer questions are suspect. Doctors have an ethical duty to answer their patients’ questions. Those who refuse breach their ethical duty to patients and should be reported to their state medical board. Patients should weigh any diagnosis against their doctor’s ability and willingness to explain it in terms understandable to their patients.
Q. How do I ensure that the doctor or clinic has received my letter?
A. All correspondence between you and your clinicians and clinics must be registered with a signed and legible receipt.
Q. What do I do with the receipt and letters from my clinicians?
A. Scan and save all correspondence and receipts in a safe place. When you receive a new letter from your clinician, scan (PDF format) and email it to:
Q. I no longer have my HIV test results. What do I do?
A. If you have them, upload them in a PDF format. If you do not have them, explain what you remember in the application narrative after DATE OF LAST VISIT.
Q. I can’t get anyone at the doctor’s office to return my calls and I don’t know the name of the doctor who gave me the test years ago. Is the doctor needed or can I do without it?
A. Answer all of the questions the best you can. If you don’t recall the doctor’s name, be sure to get the name and address of the clinic and the name of the clinic’s administrator.
Q. Once my doctor admits that he never conducted a proper diagnosis, what’s the next step?
A. There are several actions you can take, depending on the letters and your medical record. Patients can ask to have their names removed from HIV registries. If the doctor or registries refuse, court papers can be filed for compel the registries to explain why the name is included. These services, however, are not included in the Operation Letterhead fee.
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