ST. JOSEPH HOSPITAL WENT IN FOR PAIN MEDS BECAUSE OF A CRACKED RIB, DOCTOR INFORMED ME HE WAS CONCERNED ABOUT MY SPLEAN, I STATED I HAD NO INSURANCE AND I SURE THERES NO ISUE WITH MY SPLEAN BECAUSE THERES NO BLOOD IN URI BELLINGHAM, Washington

WENT IN FOR PAIN MEDS BECAUSE OF A CRACKED RIB

- That statement makes it sound like you are some drug addict just trying to "score" some drugs.  The doctor was right.  It would actually have been negligent of them to just give you drugs on YOUR word that is all you wanted.

It is amazing how you seem to attend enough medical school to know that your spleen was okay.  Yet not enough to realize that they were doing the MRI that you had said NO to, after all you could have left at any time. 

IF I HAD INSURANCE THE BILL WOULD ONLY BE $500.00

- Close.  THE bill would still have been $5,200.  But YOUR portion would have been what ever the deductible was, with the rest being billed to the insurance company.

I wonder did you ever get your drugs?

It would have been malpractice if the doctor DIDN'T check for possible injuries other than the cracked rib. The doctor/hospital is going to do all they can to insure they don't miss any injury. The doctor requested the MRI, you chose to take it. Time to pay up.

It seems all the 'pill-shoppers' are upset lately...must be the new formulations where abuse is difficult.

Did you go through the ER?? If so that would explain the cost.  If you needed pain meds you could have seen your regular physician or have gone to a outpatient clinic.  The ER is for Emergencies - that is the reason it is called the Emergency Room.

The Doctor was correct when he was concerned  and just states what kind of Physician is he - a caring one. No malpractice here - I suggest you look up the term.

So Al, did you learn how to spell spleen in medical school? Maybe, just maybe, the doctor was following procedure learned as a result of medical school and years of experience.

"I SURE THERES NO ISUE WITH MY SPLEAN BECAUSE THERES NO BLOOD IN URINE OR IN MY STOOLS.AT THAT POINT THERE THE DOCTOR SHOULD KNOW THERES NO ISUE WITH THE SPLEAN."

   A damaged spleen can kill you by bleeding out into your abdominal cavity.  It does not typically show up as blood in the stool or urine.  An impact hard enough to crack a rib can easily damage the spleen.  The doctor was just trying to make sure you weren't going to drop dead in the next 24 hrs.  Glad to hear your spleen was OK.

  That said, you have the right to refuse medical services anytime you want.   If you truly did not want an MRI, you didn't have to have an MRI.   No one can force you to have any test or procedure you don't want.  You are free to get up and leave at anytime.