Recently, a female co-employee and self-funded plan participant suffered a bout of Lyme disease.  Her doctor treated the symptoms with powerful, intravenous antibiotics.  Because the treatments caused a great deal of internal pain, they were temporarily put on hold. 
 
While looking for the cause of this pain, the doctor diagnosed gallstones and scheduled the woman for surgery.  As part of the pre-certification process, she was routed to our Treatment Excellence coordinator, who recognized the potential connection between antibiotics and gallstones.  The coordinator gathered up the patient’s records and sent them (along with her observation regarding the antibiotics) to our Treatment Excellence gall bladder expert, Dr. Linda Lee, the Director of Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center.  Dr. Lee reviewed the records, called the patient and informed her that most gallstones created by antibiotics resolve themselves within 40 days.  She cancelled the surgery, placed our co-employee on a gallbladder cleanse, and the stones passed without incident.
 
The result: a happy, healthy co-employee!