A surgeon shared her frustration with medical insurers after her patient's operation was interrupted by a phone call from a UnitedHealthcare representative demanding justification for the patient's overnight hospital stay.
Dr. Elisabeth Potter, a board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in DIEP flap breast reconstruction, took to TikTok on Tuesday, shocked by the disruption.
@drelisabethpotter It's 2025, and navigating insurance has somehow gotten even more out of control... I just performed two bilateral DIEP flap surgeries and two bilateral tissue expander surgeries. During one of the DIEP cases, I was interrupted by a call from United Healthcare—while the patient was already asleep on the operating table. They demanded information about her diagnosis and inpatient stay justification. I had to scrub out mid-surgery to call United, only to find that the person on the line didn't even have access to the patient's full medical information, despite the procedure already being pre-approved. It's beyond frustrating and, frankly, unacceptable. Patients and providers deserve better than this. We should be focused on care, not bureaucracy. I just have no other words at this point
♬ original sound - Dr. Elisabeth Potter
Potter explained that she was performing a bilateral DIEP flap surgery—a complex, life-changing procedure for breast cancer patients—when she was interrupted by a call from UnitedHealthcare. The insurer was requesting immediate clarification about the patient's diagnosis and justification for an overnight hospital stay, despite the procedure being pre-approved.
"The patient was already asleep on the operating table," Potter said. "I had to scrub out mid-surgery to call United, only to find that the person on the line didn't even have access to the patient's full medical information."
Potter emphasized that such intrusions compromise patient care and force medical professionals to prioritize administrative tasks over their patients' health and safety.
"It's 2025, and navigating insurance has somehow gotten even more out of control," Potter said. "Patients and providers deserve better than this. We should be focused on care, not bureaucracy."
The DIEP flap surgery, which uses a patient's own tissue to reconstruct the breast after a mastectomy, is an important procedure for many breast cancer survivors. These surgeries often require an overnight hospital stay due to their complexity and the need for close postoperative monitoring.
UnitedHealthcare has come under scrutiny in the wake of the December assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, which sparked nationwide discourse regarding access to medical care in America's for-profit healthcare system.
UnitedHealthcare hasn't commented on Potter's experience, but the video has reignited debates about the power of insurance companies in medical decision-making and the burden their demands place on already overtaxed healthcare providers.
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