Recently a patient at VIM, who had symptoms of gallbladder disease since 2016 received a cholecystectomy and is doing well.
The patient had visited the ER multiple times and was told her problem was not serious and needed to follow-up with her primary care doctor. She was uninsured without a PCP so called VIM and was eligible for services. The VIM Clinic Care Team had concerns and ordered a PIPIDA scan. The results showed the patient's gallbladder was only functioning at 16%.
The VIM Social Worker immediately helped the patient apply for emergency medical assistance but was only given two weeks of coverage and was unable to get surgery scheduled within that time frame. Several calls were made to the Department of Welfare in Harrisburg and finally a case worker was assigned to the case.
VIM is proud to announce that because of the staff's persistence and follow up care, the patient had a cholecystectomy at Geisinger at the end of July, 2020 and is relieved of all pain.