Infusing Politics into Sickcare
Banner Thunderbird Medical Center and Dialysis Unit and Arizona Kidney and Hypertension Center:
Lies or Insurance Fraud?
Dr. Ariv Swaminathan
Banner Thunderbird Dialysis Unit |
If they never saw son, then why did they file all these claims?
about $50,000 worth of claims |
Dr. Bassam Shakil
Arizona Kidney and Hypertension Center Renegged on the plan he drew up to help son after speaking with Dr. Swaminathan |
September 04, 2018, was my son’s first day of therapeutic plasma pheresis (PLEX) at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center Dialysis Unit in Glendale, Arizona. Son has autoimmune encephalomyelitis and GAD-65 Limbic Encephalitis, an autoimmune disorder in which his immune system cranks out autoantibodies that attack his brain. The PLEX improved his quality of life significantly. Following each session of treatment, we saw significant improvement cognitively and functionally. He went from spending his days staring blankly into space and bedbound to playing chess, watching TV, talking, smiling and being able to ready and put himself to bed. Pending the next treatment, however, the improvement would slowly fade. Dr. Michael Graham, the treating doctor and Banner’s only pediatric hematologist/oncologist, therefore suggested we increase the frequency of treatment and we scheduled an appointment to discuss this in follow up to son’s third and last session of PLEX on November 5 and 6, 2018. We never made it to the appointment. Dr. Graham was fired, son’s records went missing and he’s left with a hole in chest and no way to have the temporary catheter removed.
A few days prior to our follow up appointment, I received a call from Banner informing us that Dr. Graham was no longer affiliated with Banner Medical Center. We were referred on to Dr. Bassam Shakil, a nephrologist with Arizona Kidney and Hypertension Center in Maryvale. Try as I may, I was unable to obtain son’s records from Banner Thunderbird Hospital, the Dialysis Unit or Dr. Graham. For some reason, my records requests would mysteriously wind up missing, even those that the records service had already confirmed receiving.
Son’s appointment with the nephrologist on December 4, 2018 went well. Dr. Shakil offered to help son get set back up for the PLEX. Interestingly, he had received a few of the missing records from Banner and provided us copies. What a relief! But it didn’t last long. Fifteen minutes into the drive home, I received a call from “Stephanie”, Dr. Shakil’s assistant, reneging on the plan. She told me they had called Banner Thunderbird Dialysis to get a copy of son’s PLEX order from nephrologist Dr. Ariv Swaminathan and were told son “was never seen” there. I tried to explain that that was not true, but she rudely cut me off and said they were done with son, not to come back.
In a letter to Banner Patient Relations dated December 04, 2018, I lodged a complaint against the hospital and Dialysis Unit for withholding/concealing records and for communicating false information concerning son and the services he in fact had received from the Dialysis Unit. Subsequently, I was told the missing records are now being processed and the matter regarding Dr. Swaminathan has been referred to Physician Leadership for review.If son “was never seen” at Banner Thunderbird Dialysis Unit, then why did Banner, Dr. Swaminathan and other Dialysis Unit doctors file claims with son’s insurance for PLEX and related services and accept payment? Lies or insurance fraud?
Given the circumstances, if Banner is unable or unwilling to provide a competent, qualified and honest physician to continue son’s care, I feel they should refer us on to a provider who can. If they can’t do either, the least they could do is refer us to a physician to have the temporary catheter in son’s chest removed, a surgical procedure that must done in the hospital. The smoke and mirrors we’re getting instead is unacceptable.
Dr. Michael Graham is an exceptionally good doctor, one of the best we’ve seen. All the reviews I’ve read mirror my opinion. He is kind, caring and dedicated to his patients and work. So why was he fired? That’s a good question. My guess is he raised the bar for standard of care higher than the hospital’s status quo, and that didn’t sit pretty with some of his slimy peers.
I share our experience in the spirit of informing other patients of what can happen in hopes they are better prepared if need be than we were. Take notes, get names, request records immediately and take pictures of services being recieved because you never know when your medical records will just up and disappear - it didn’t happen! but it did! - and/or the political undertow of corporate healthcare will strike and derail your care and treatment, leaving you or your loved one out on a limb or throwing you under a bus. My son is but one of the many seriously ill patients that got the shaft when Banner fired Dr. Graham. My heart goes out to all those patients, their families and to Dr. Graham as well. He gave us hope, real hope and made it tangible. Now that’s been taken way from us and other of Dr. Graham’s patients. Without the PLEX he needs, son is regressing. Shame on you, Banner!
September 04, 2018, was my son’s first day of therapeutic plasma pheresis (PLEX) at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center Dialysis Unit in Glendale, Arizona. Son has autoimmune encephalomyelitis and GAD-65 Limbic Encephalitis, an autoimmune disorder in which his immune system cranks out autoantibodies that attack his brain. The PLEX improved his quality of life significantly. Following each session of treatment, we saw significant improvement cognitively and functionally. He went from spending his days staring blankly into space and bedbound to playing chess, watching TV, talking, smiling and being able to ready and put himself to bed. Pending the next treatment, however, the improvement would slowly fade. Dr. Michael Graham, the treating doctor and Banner’s only pediatric hematologist/oncologist, therefore suggested we increase the frequency of treatment and we scheduled an appointment to discuss this in follow up to son’s third and last session of PLEX on November 5 and 6, 2018. We never made it to the appointment. Dr. Graham was fired, son’s records went missing and he’s left with a hole in chest and no way to have the temporary catheter removed.
A few days prior to our follow up appointment, I received a call from Banner informing us that Dr. Graham was no longer affiliated with Banner Medical Center. We were referred on to Dr. Bassam Shakil, a nephrologist with Arizona Kidney and Hypertension Center in Maryvale. Try as I may, I was unable to obtain son’s records from Banner Thunderbird Hospital, the Dialysis Unit or Dr. Graham. For some reason, my records requests would mysteriously wind up missing, even those that the records service had already confirmed receiving.
Son’s appointment with the nephrologist on December 4, 2018 went well. Dr. Shakil offered to help son get set back up for the PLEX. Interestingly, he had received a few of the missing records from Banner and provided us copies. What a relief! But it didn’t last long. Fifteen minutes into the drive home, I received a call from “Stephanie”, Dr. Shakil’s assistant, reneging on the plan. She told me they had called Banner Thunderbird Dialysis to get a copy of son’s PLEX order from nephrologist Dr. Ariv Swaminathan and were told son “was never seen” there. I tried to explain that that was not true, but she rudely cut me off and said they were done with son, not to come back.
In a letter to Banner Patient Relations dated December 04, 2018, I lodged a complaint against the hospital and Dialysis Unit for withholding/concealing records and for communicating false information concerning son and the services he in fact had received from the Dialysis Unit. Subsequently, I was told the missing records are now being processed and the matter regarding Dr. Swaminathan has been referred to Physician Leadership for review.If son “was never seen” at Banner Thunderbird Dialysis Unit, then why did Banner, Dr. Swaminathan and other Dialysis Unit doctors file claims with son’s insurance for PLEX and related services and accept payment? Lies or insurance fraud?
Given the circumstances, if Banner is unable or unwilling to provide a competent, qualified and honest physician to continue son’s care, I feel they should refer us on to a provider who can. If they can’t do either, the least they could do is refer us to a physician to have the temporary catheter in son’s chest removed, a surgical procedure that must done in the hospital. The smoke and mirrors we’re getting instead is unacceptable.
Dr. Michael Graham is an exceptionally good doctor, one of the best we’ve seen. All the reviews I’ve read mirror my opinion. He is kind, caring and dedicated to his patients and work. So why was he fired? That’s a good question. My guess is he raised the bar for standard of care higher than the hospital’s status quo, and that didn’t sit pretty with some of his slimy peers.
I share our experience in the spirit of informing other patients of what can happen in hopes they are better prepared if need be than we were. Take notes, get names, request records immediately and take pictures of services being recieved because you never know when your medical records will just up and disappear - it didn’t happen! but it did! - and/or the political undertow of corporate healthcare will strike and derail your care and treatment, leaving you or your loved one out on a limb or throwing you under a bus. My son is but one of the many seriously ill patients that got the shaft when Banner fired Dr. Graham. My heart goes out to all those patients, their families and to Dr. Graham as well. He gave us hope, real hope and made it tangible. Now that’s been taken way from us and other of Dr. Graham’s patients. Without the PLEX he needs, son is regressing. Shame on you, Banner!
Hospital armbands issued to son for Dialysis Unit registration
yet Shakil's office says Banner Thunderbird Dialysis say they never saw son. |
Temporary trunk catheter for PLEX that was ordered by Dr. Graham. Now that he's no longer available, we have no way to get the catheter removed. And if it gets infected, no continuing care.
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UPDATE: On December 18, 2018, I received a telephone call from Rochelle, an administrator with Banner Hospital Children Specialists. She said names of Dr. Graham's displaced patients were starting to trickle in and she was calling to help son find continuing care. A couple days later, she called back and said she had spoken to Stephanie at Dr. Shakil's office and they had said they would help son get set back up for PLEX, providing we got a referral from his PCP, which we did. I called Stephanie to schedule an appointment. The January 23, 2019 follow up appointment with Dr. Shakil was still on the books. Stephanie confirmed they had agreed to see son again and would help him get set back up for plasmapheresis.
We were especially looking forward to the appointment as son's in-home care nurse reported she was finding blood clots in one of his catheter tubes every time she flushed them out. The clots increase risk of infection. With Dr. Graham no longer available, we have no doctor to continue care let alone consult with about the blood clots.
On January 22, 2019, the day before our appointment, we received a call from Stephanie saying she was cancelling the appointment as Dr. Shakil had renegged once again and would not see Jason after all. What a slimeball! I then called Rochelle at Banner who said she could offer no further assistance. The one referral to Dr. Shakil was all she wrote. I informed her about the blood clots. All she could suggest was calling son's insurance provider for a referral. When Banner fired son's hematologist, they basically threw us under the bus.
We were especially looking forward to the appointment as son's in-home care nurse reported she was finding blood clots in one of his catheter tubes every time she flushed them out. The clots increase risk of infection. With Dr. Graham no longer available, we have no doctor to continue care let alone consult with about the blood clots.
On January 22, 2019, the day before our appointment, we received a call from Stephanie saying she was cancelling the appointment as Dr. Shakil had renegged once again and would not see Jason after all. What a slimeball! I then called Rochelle at Banner who said she could offer no further assistance. The one referral to Dr. Shakil was all she wrote. I informed her about the blood clots. All she could suggest was calling son's insurance provider for a referral. When Banner fired son's hematologist, they basically threw us under the bus.