When It's Time To Fire Your Dr.?

10/26

                When is it time to fire your Dr.? This article hits the nail on
        the head..I had to do it once a few years ago and I'm glad I did,
        the Dr. I have now is a real human being who will sit down and 
         talk with you not like others who have their noses in the computer.

http://www.lifescript.com/health/centers/womens/articles/signs_its_time_to_change_doctors.aspx?utm_source=aol&utm_medium=syn&utm_campaign=health&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl13%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D551814

                                             Cheers..Joe...

If you don't have confidence in your Doctor, it's time to change.  If your Doctor doesn't listen to you attentively, you have the wrong Doctor.
When you are prescribed medicine, you should ask what it is supposed to do.  Are there side-effects?  Will it conflict with medicine you are already taking, etc?
Doctors make mistakes.   Unfortunately those mistakes can be detrimental to your health.  Getting a second opinion can lead to finding a new Doctor.

Abe..

                            I had a Dr.a few years ago who first he was from Venezuela and had a
    machismo attitude, he wouldn't look at you when you talked to him that is number one in
    my book I don't trust anyone who won't look at me when I talk to them, then he would go
    and look at the computer and I thought no he's probably checking something? I gave him a
    few chances until the last visit when he made me wait when I was the only one in the waiting
    room and when he did see me same attitude !  When my friend became ill I met his Dr. many
    times and he came to the house because of Hospice care we would sit and talk and I really
    got to like him, I asked him if he wa taking on any new patients and he said yes, that's how I
    got him. When I have an appoinment he will sit and talk with me, if he's at the desk right there
    and he's looking at my records he will turn the computer screen around and explain certain
    things to me, I call this man an angel and a human being. He asked me last time Joe how come
    I'm 53 and your 66 and you don't have any wrinkles ( he does) I said because I don't take the
    sun at all I was burnt once when I was 18 by falling asleep at the beach for several hours so
    that taught me a lesson...But his compliment put me on cloud nine..

                                                            Cheers..Joe....

Sounds like you found a good Doctor Joe.  Next chance you get, tell him that you appreciate him.

Just one more thing, Joe.  When changing your Doctor, be sure he/she has your complete medical history.  The advantage of having a family Doctor is that they know your history.  It can make a huge difference in treatment.
One example:  When my wife had breast cancer, they removed the lymph node under her right arm.  She was told at that time that when anyone takes her blood pressure, to have it done on her left arm as the reading will be different. With her recent hospital stay, she had to tell the nurses/doctors to take the BP from her left arm.  Getting a wrong reading on a seemingly simple thing as Blood Pressure may cause erroneous treatment. 
I made a list on Excel with all her medication and the dosage.  She carries that with her when she goes to a new or different medical facility.  For any emergency, it is good to carry some paper on your person that will inform anyone treating you if you have some condition that they should know about.

10/26

                    Abe..

                          I did last time I had to pay to get my medical records ! But my Dr. knows all
  my medical history plus I gave him all the paperwork I had in a file. Plus I have attached to my
 key chain because it's too heavy to wear around my neck, it's metal , I bought it off the internet
 company and it has all your info ,drugs, medical, dr., insurance, eyc. here's photo of it.

                                                          Cheers..Joe

Excellent idea, Joe.

My primary physician was great.  Then she opened a new office and no longer took my insurance.  My  new doctor is not the same.  He's pleasant enough, but just not the same. I don't have the same confidence in him.

DK..
Why wouldn't she take your insurance ? Don't you have medicare ? You should really join
" HUmana Senior Care, " Medicare pays the premium to them , check it out..

Cheers.....Joe

Drs are not required to participate in Medicare, Joe.  Those who do must agree to accept whatever Medicare says a particular service is worth, which is usually a fraction of what the dr charges.  When I look at my statements, I am always surprised at how high the actual charges were.  They seem to be puffed up.  I suppose the high fees are imposed on those who don't have Medicare, and paid for by insurance companies, and the companies just raise the costs of coverage.  If that means an individual can not longer afford the policy, the companies just focus on those who can.  That is what the ACA was designed to to fix.  It is working for many people, but there will still be problems as long as drs, hospitals, and pharmaceuticals keep pumping up prices to increase profits at the expense of the general population.   That is why conservatives are fighting to have the ACA repealed.  They know that it will lead to lower profits and fewer loopholes.

10/27

                        AJ

                           I've yet to find one Dr., Specialist,Hospital, etc. who wouldn't
             take Humana Senior Care ( Medicare,) and they have been good to me, I
             think seniors are luckier than the general population under 65...

                                                  Cheers.....Joe

Joe, 

I fell while in Maui and skinned my knee and  was still in recovery from brain surgery
Maui has more MERSA than most places and the ER doctor did not take medicare or any other 
type of insurance.

For those under 65, the ACA can help many who do not have insurance plans through their jobs, but there are still flaws in any system.  As I pointed out in an earlier post, Joe told us, a year or so ago,  about a $300 co-pay for some tests he had run, and that was through Humana.

Most drs today work through groups that are part of a provider network rather than as private physicians.  Insurance companies choose which networks they will work with.  While most insurers provide clients with a fairly large number of primary care and specialist physicians, as well as what services and drugs will be accepted, there are some limits in making choices, and, as in DK's case, if a doctor changes networks, your insurance may no longer work with them.

The same is true re hospitals and emergency clinics.  Listen to Alice.  She has been there.

Meantime, wish me luck.  I have my first infusion tomorrow.  So far, the receptionist has been very friendly and helpful, and I understand they have thick, padded recliners, wi-fi, cable TV and snacks, so the two hours should go quickly.  I passed my TB test, so all that is left to worry about is whether or not the immune system shut-down that ought to help my joints also affects my lungs.

I'm thinking probably not.  I had one case of pneumonia when I was about 25, and a touch of bronchitis during the last few years I still smoked, but nothing since I quit, 15 years ago.  

This morning I downloaded an old favorite historical fiction novel:  Here Be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman.  She was the first to get me thinking about writing in that genre myself, and since the book has a bit over 700 pages, I think it will keep me busy.  (Also taking a small spiral notebook and extra pencils, just in case.)

Annie

Best to you Ann. 

Our neighbor has the infusions and they are working well for her, hope they serve you also.

10/28

                        Ann..

                                 Good Luck..

                                   Cheers...Joe

Also, every state and counties and cities within a state has different medical plans under Medicare's advantage plans and supplement plans.  So, it's difficult to compare plans even between the same companies.

I find it interesting, yet irritating that people must choose between healthcare plans to receive the care they need or may need.  Doesn't the ACA provide all-inclusve care?  Since I'm not on any American plan I don't know about the limitations or what the ACA does or doesn't provide. 

Does any American healthcare program exist that covers everything without partial pay or deductions?

Fingers crossed; hope the treatment works!

First, thank you all for your good wishes

Abe, has it been so long since you lived in the US or worked for a US company? You should remember that health insurance, medicine, and medical care has been a privately controlled, for profit business. You have seemed to take such an intense interest in the US attitudes and policies, I am surprised that you are so apparently unaware of how the health care system works here.

Befor the 1980's, insurance was limited to hospitalization policies. We were all on our own where dr's visits and meds were concerned. The HMO's (Health Management Orginization)were the first attempt to change that, but they, too were run strictly for profit, which frequently meant that the physicians, who were employees of the organization, were quietly told to keep costs down, and to cut back on prescriptions, tests, and hospitalization.

Any attempts at government control were fought in the lobbies, as the Clintons learned in the early 90's. The Affordable Care Act was the first legislation to make it through congress, and we know what a fight that has been. This is a strongly capitalistic country, and anything that smacked of socialism was repellant to all but the most extreme leftists. It has only been in the last few years that it has begun to change.

The ACA puts limits on what insurance companies can get away with, like cancelling policies when the clients develop costly conditions, etc, which is why the PTB are still fighting to have it repealed, but we are still a long way from universsal health care. But change is happening and will not likely be turning back, even if the conservatives are successful next week. The tide has begun, and will not be held back for long.

The US, like all countries, has its flaws, but it is still one of the more advanced places on the planet, compared to too many backward areas where violence and misogyny still hold sway.

Ann, you summed it up well - and I hope your treatments go well.  Medical care in this country is a zoo.  It reminds me of cell phone and cable services - designed to be complicated so you just give up and pay it rather than figure out the real cost.

At my age I am beginning to think that I might as well give up talking about prisons and medical care because the powerful profiteers run them and bamboozle a large enough portion of the U.S. citizenry to keep them expensive, inefficient and financially lucrative to the powerful, global corporations who own them.

If you care about the people without lawyers, accountants and lobbyists, you're a leftist liberal or socialist, nice labels to scare people.

But in thirty years - egads maybe I should fight for what's right.

The more they try and scare people with the word, "Socialism" the more I am attracted to it.  
There is little monetary profit with social services, but the rewards of helping others are enormous.

Thanks, DK, and Alice, and Joe, and Shelagh.

The infusion went well - no reactions, and so far, I don't feel lethargic, which they said I might expect over the next coupe of days. (So I'm cheating on tomorrow's dinner: Roasted chicken breasts, Kale salad, and Orange glazed carrots from the market's Cafe on the Run, as well as a pint of sliced mushrooms - from the salad bar.  I have some organic apple slices and a good chedddar in the fridge from Monday's shopping, so we're good to go.)

Funny things happened.  I was talking with the health practioners about my RA history - it's part of their routine, for several reasons.  I talked a bit about my pcp and my rheumatologist, and they responded with deadpan expressions when they said I had an excellent rheumatologist.  (not mentioning my pcp spoke very loudly, I thought.)  The other had to do with another snafu rgarding the name and location of the infusion center.  It all fits with our discussion of health-care providers.  The management network that directs these centers has changed during the last year, and meanwhile, the right hand and left hand are contradictory.  I spent a long time on the phone, Monday, thinking I had it all straightened out, but not quite.  Several of the problems had to do with the website, which still has not been updated.   I left home this morning, thinking i have given myself more than enough time to allow for more problems, but I was wrong.  However, anyone familiar with the passages from Hebrews re "angels unaware"?  I met three of them this morning.  One was the security guard at a small branch bank in the middle of all these med centers and drs offices.  I saw him, talking to a friend, and asked for help.  By that time I was quite frustrated as I had been given contradictory directions several times.  Not only was the name of the center incorrect, the address was as well.  These two very fine gentlemen went out of their way to find the building and the offices within the building, and when we finally got there, explained to the rceptionist why I was 1/2 hour late.  But that wasn't all.  After the infusion I walked back to my car, which was parked at the bank.  I had trouble finding my keys, and when I finally found them, for some unknown reason, the car alarm that I had turned of 10 years ago because it was defective, decided to go off, and was blocking me from starting the engine. before long I had attracted the attention of another gentleman, and while I was trying, in the middle of this incessant beeping of my car horn, to explain, I also managd to attract the attention of the same security guard who had helped me earlier.  He had apparently dealt with similar problems, reached under my dashboard, pushed something, and asked me to try and start my car again, and voila!  It worked.  It wasn't until after I drove away that I realized I hadn't checked his name tag.  I want very much to report a commendation.  I have to go back in two weeks, maybe I can find him then.

Somehow, the Universe does watch out for us afterall.

Annie

Abe F. March wrote:

I find it interesting, yet irritating that people must choose between healthcare plans to receive the care they need or may need.  Doesn't the ACA provide all-inclusve care?  Since I'm not on any American plan I don't know about the limitations or what the ACA does or doesn't provide. 

Does any American healthcare program exist that covers everything without partial pay or deductions?

  No, Abe, and no.  That's what we have been saying, and discussing, for a good two years now.

Those who believe in angels say they are everywhere.  Remember the show, "Touched by an angel?"  They looked and acted like real people, just a little nicer :-)

I learned about the medical care in this country from my friend with a master's of social work.  She was hired as a mental illness consultant by a large HMO associated with a hospital.  She was located (with all her education, experience etc. and a high salary) in a cubicle with head phones and a set of referral books.

Their bonus system was based on how many calls from insured callers were terminated without service beyond the phone call.The first response to all calls was to deny service.

Only those who insisted were referred to a second tier for a second opinion.  Because of her level, she was included in "profit planning" meetings.  They were so disgusting that she only lasted three months.  She could not sleep at night.  I was a little ticked at her for quitting because the salary was far greater than she would ever get in regular social work and the bonus system made it even better.  It was hard for me to believe that the stories she told were legal.  She had to sign a non-disclosure to have a satisfactory termination. 

And that's the only situation I know about specifically.  Imagine the rest.

Recently I cured myself.  My new doctor was out of town and referred me to a sub doctor. That doctor prescribed on Friday a antibiotic that I cannot take.  When I called the office they were gone.  I waited to take any meds until Monday.  Monday they were out of the office for a week and referred me back to my original doctor.  My original doctor said he could not change the meds prescribed by the sub and I would have to return to the sub (who was out of town).  The ring around while I was ill just made me so angry I couldn't argue any more.  I looked up what was wrong with me and the natural cure was Oregano and chicken soup.  That's what I did in addition to a correct prescription for steroids. 

It took fifteen days to cure without antibiotics, but I didn't have side affects.  I called my new doctor to inquire about flu shots and suggested I be examined to be certain i was well enough.  His office said he was out and to go to Walgreens.  I asked if Walgreens was going to check my wellness and she said no.  Period.  I said thank you and hung up.

Now that I am well, I called the sub doctor and asked if they had flu shots and if he could check me to see if I was well enough to get one.  They could not give me a flue shot unless I was their official patient.  I have an appointment tomorrow to become their "official patient", be checked for wellness and get a flue shot.

I am traveling to get my mom in Michigan and I don't want to risk the flu with her in my care.

What a ring around.  I was bed-ridden with illness but still have most of my senses and could not deal with the back and forth of the doctors' office staffs.  What about people who are really elderly or disabled.

Dealing with the reality up close goes a bit beyond irritation.

I still sometimes wonder, though, if the libertarians don't have an equally valid argument, that left to a central government, the representatives will likely screw it up.
, so voters shild not give them the opportunity.

The only real change, I'm afraid, will lie in the individual insights into reality that eventualy bring about the changes.

I like thinking that we are nearly there.