By Scott D. Johnston
Tom Miller, the ARPN Nurse Practitioner who closed his Lighthouse Family Clinic in Ocean Shores March 10, last week resumed offering medical services in the area with a house call practice he calls “Doc To Go.” Since he launched his Doc To Go Facebook group April 12, “my phone has gone crazy,” Miller said.
While Miller is pleased to be practicing again, and is, frankly, not surprised by the enthusiastic response he’s received, he is quick to point out one huge change: he no longer takes insurance.
“I apologize for this, however, insurance ran my clinic out of business and with rising deductibles, it only makes sense,” he wrote on Facebook. Miller said a combination of sometimes deeply discounted and cripplingly slow insurance payments combined with increasing regulatory burdens ultimately made his clinic unsustainable, despite a base of more than 2,000 patients.
He explained that increasingly high deductibles with many health insurance policies now means more people are paying out of pocket for office calls and many procedures anyway.
He now comes to patients’ homes, and brings a full kit with him including a portable EKG unit and urinalysis, for diagnostics and when appropriate, treatment on the spot. He is working with area companies for blood and other lab work, with those providers billing patients directly, just as in the past.
Miller noted that house calls are not new for him, as his clinic already offered that for hospice and homebound patients. “I’m really doing the same things as before,” he said, including prescriptions. “Now I come to your house and don’t take insurance.”
His patients now will be sent a “superbill,” which includes the appropriate medical codes that a patient can send to their insurer to be reimbursed or applied to their deductible. Listed on his Doc To Go Facebook page are rates that start at $65 for home visits in Ocean Shores, $75 for North Beach and Aberdeen, and $125 for “procedures, stitches, fluid, abcesses and joint injections.”
To send him a text message, or leave a voice message, at 360-589-6835.
Restaurant details
The Oyhut Bay Bistro and Sidewalk Café held its opening Friday, April 14 under the direction of chef Doug Graybeal, who began his Northwest culinary career in 1995 at the Lake Quinault Lodge.
“Chef Graybeal has a vision for providing a casual dining style, blended with hand-crafted cuisine that lends easily to ocean beach lifestyle of Oyhut Bay and Ocean Shores,” said a news release.The menu will feature seafood, chicken, and steak with Oyhut Bay signature dishes, such as a slow smoked brisket served with young tender fingerling potatoes and a seasonal fresh vegetable.
The Bistro will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, year ‘round. with occasional special events.
Offseason Rewards
Prizes have been awarded for the 2016-2017 Offseason Rewards contest, which rewards people who shop with our local merchants during the times when there aren’t as many visitors.
FIRST: $500 to Tom Herrera from Port Orchard. The winning store is Woof’s Dog Boutique.
SECOND: $250 to Eileen LaRue of Bremerton. The winning shop is Dolores’ and Fay’s.
THIRD: $100 to Diane Sherman, Ocean Shores. The winning shop is The Dusty Trunk.
