A reader writes:

I’m a family doc in Toronto. A patient of mine recently had a housecall service come to his hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale.

The patient has had a hx of back pain and multiple surgeries to his ls spine with little benefit. He had an acute back spasm while in Florida and called a service, that will remain nameless for now. The owner of the company came to see him. Th dx was acute sciatica.

Now the horror. the visit fee was $ 675 then the tx. Demerol 50 mg im x 2 @ $600, solu medrol 125 mg im @ $900 (an interesting, if unusual tx) and Toradol 60 mg im @ $600. Total bill $2,475. Not bad for a 1/2 hrs work. Please tell me this is unusual, even for the US.

Any comments?