I'm definitely going to try some samples once I figure out which ones to ask for! I wish this was easier. This change I'm on is my 3rd day though, so that's all I want them to last anyways, I think. Better to get three days than one. These are damn expensive! I thought it was weird that they said that too... I wanted some advice.
No, it does not need to be approved by your nurse to try new products or to switch products. If you end up switching products, all you do is tell your distributor and they will send the new list to your doctor's office where he will sign it (that's just a formality) and that's it. Just a heads up front so you know your insurance company doesn't know anything about ostomies either.
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Hi Beth, that must be a U.S. thing. The doctors here don't get involved at all in what products you might be using, or the distributor or insurance company. We just send invoices for product purchases to the insurance company, and they reimburse. As for trying new products, we're just talking about free samples from the manufacturer here, right? Not sure why the doctor or insurance company would even be involved.
Terry
Hey delgirl,
Yeah, that's what I had said about the different companies. Call and they will send out samples to try. And here in the US, it's just a stupid formality with the insurance company. The doctor doesn't sit with you and go through what you're using at all. When you call your distributor with your first order, they take it all down then send the paper to your doctor to sign, then they fill your order. It's not an every month thing, only with your first order or if you end up adding something you didn't have in your original order. So like if you didn't order paste and 6 months later you needed it, they go and send that over to your doctor to sign and it's added to the order. To me, it makes zero sense. Apparently, it's supposed to be making sure you have an ostomy with the insurance company, which I get the first time, but not for them to do it if you have to add something different later. They act like the doctor is the one telling you what to use, lol, but he's not, so no sense made at all.
