At 01:10 PM 8/3/1999 -0700, Michael Sachs wrote: > >See the patient, require payment for the same day visit but leave the old >balance outstanding? Because it had been so long, I'd write off the balance from 2 years back but require cash payments for all future visits. >When you do see patients under these conditions would you accept a personal >check? Yes, unless there's a history of a returned check. >And legally, does anyone think this could be considered patient >"abandonment". First, belonging to a PPO does not legally require you to see every child signed up as long as there are alternatives in the area. Second, requiring a patient to pay an old bill or to pay up front before seeing the child in a non-emergent situation would not be considered abandonment by law. Len Leshin, MD, FAAP Corpus Christi, TX mailto: