snapping primitive can't find a doctor

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5953500

Oh my.

snappyturtle  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 04:48 PM
Original message
 
What do do? Can't find a doctor!

We live in a town with oodles of yellow pages listing many doctors. My husband needs to see one...injured foot and he's a home builder. He lived here thirty years but his doctor has retired.

Now we're trying to find a new physician and I have been calling all over town plus the hospital here for a list of doctors taking new patients.

Here's what get when I called the three, three mind you, taking new patients: 1) what kind of insurance do you have? (We have none but have enough to cover getting a splinter out of his foot, I'm sure.) 2) We have to fill out forms asking about medications he's on etc. and then they'll let us know in a couple of days IF they'll take him 3)Not taking anyone over the age of fifty! My husband is 56.

I told the last one that I'm having real difficulty finding a doctor and that my husband is uncomfortable and needs to see 'someone' and she just repeated what she had told me and said it would only be a couple of days!!!!!!!!!!!!

No wonder people use emergency rooms. Any ideas? I hate to tell hubby when he hobbles home no one wants him for a patient.

And 0bamacare's going to be any better?

The Joanne98 primitive:

Joanne98  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 04:49 PM
Response to Original message

1. Not taking anyone over the age of fifty? geez

snappyturtle  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
11. Can you believe that? I'm 61 so I'm really out of luck! When online

I couldn't believe the number, taking new patients or not, that don't accept Medicare or Medicaid. And really it's is amazing because many folks come here to retire. Guess they should think twice about that.

Rosa Luxemburg  (1000+ posts)       Mon Jun-29-09 05:44 PM
Response to Reply #11

16. isn't there a law against refusing someone on age?

Control-Z  (1000+ posts)        Mon Jun-29-09 08:21 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
31. Aren't there laws that protect people from age discrimination?

Ilsa  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 09:02 PM
Response to Reply #1
 
34. That is crazy! That is when most of us need docs! I would complain to your 
local hospital administrators. They are going to see a huge drop in business if they don't find some geriatric doctors to work there.

Pssst. If it is been over ten years since his last tetanus, make sure he gets one. 

kjackson227 (290 posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 04:50 PM
Response to Original message
 
2. I think the ER is probably your best option...at least he'll get medical help right away... or at least in 5-6 hours.

And 0bamacre's going to be any better?

monmouth  (1000+ posts)        Mon Jun-29-09 04:50 PM
Response to Original message
 
3. Unfortunately the ER is the only way to go. My son had a similar situation, said the ER took him at once, worked on his foot (also) and he was out of there in 15 minutes.

pkdu  (322 posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 04:52 PM
Response to Original message

4. Doesnt help in the long term...but take him to urgent care center

..that thing can go septic. ( Urgent Care should be under different heading in phone book)

WeDidIt (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 04:52 PM
Response to Original message
 
5. But socialized medicine will result in healthcare rationing and a bureaucratic nightmare!

Like we aren't already living a nightmare.

And 0bamacare's going to be any better?

snappyturtle  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 05:07 PM
Response to Reply #5
 
10. Yeah, this is nuts. Glad it's not critical but still he's uncomfortable enough to know he needs to see a doctor. Which is huge for him. We're being interviewed to see if they'll take us!!

MADem  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 04:53 PM
Response to Original message
 
6. Find an urgent care clinic for the foot, then "apply" to a dr.

JenniferJuniper (875 posts)     Mon Jun-29-09 04:54 PM
Response to Original message
 
7. Agree with the others - ER.

Also, I don't know if your state allows those CVS/Walgreen's Minute Clinic places, but I've got a co-worker who has used them a couple of times and swears by them.

snappyturtle  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 06:56 PM
Response to Reply #7
 
23. It's an idea...I'll check! Thanks!

The warped primitive:

Warpy  (1000+ posts)        Mon Jun-29-09 04:56 PM
Response to Original message
 
8. An urgent care center will take care of his immediate problem and an ER will have to do if you don't have a walk in urgent care facility in your area. They'll dig out whatever it is and prescribe stuff so it doesn't get any worse. Updating his tetanus shot might also be a good idea.

However, he's going to need to get one of those three docs to see him after his foot is taken care of, just to get on a patient list should something worse happen. I'd go with the guy who asked for a med list.

snappyturtle  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 05:04 PM
Response to Reply #8
 
9. Thanks for your advice. Unfortunately our urgent care sucks and closes in an hour anyway. So I guess the ER is the best for him. He did this days ago...not infected just deep...not redness or anything. He's resistant to docs so that is why we didn't go sooner but his foot is painful. Unfortunately, all the docs asked for meds and then two days wait to hope they'll see him. I am flabergasted...would never have believed this in my wildest dreams. They're picking and chosing who to see and not to see!

Rosa Luxemburg  (1000+ posts)       Mon Jun-29-09 05:47 PM
Response to Reply #9
 
19. at this stage g o to the ER but write to your state reps and tell them what happened. You could also post it on the Obama's healthcare site.

The snapping primitive decides to use some connections:

snappyturtle  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 07:48 PM
Response to Reply #19
 
28. I Googled and Googled but all the health care sites I found for the President and the White House didn't seem to have a place for me to tell them of my dilemma. What am I missing?

A lot.

Warpy  (1000+ posts)        Mon Jun-29-09 06:08 PM
Response to Reply #9
 
20. That's exactly why you need to play along and get him seen after he goes to the ER/urgent care.

Once he's in the door as a patient, he'll have an easier time the next time something happens.

timeforpeace (428 posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 05:32 PM
Response to Original message

12. Might be an ER situation whether you have a doctor or not.

ayeshahaqqiqa  (1000+ posts)        Mon Jun-29-09 05:36 PM
Response to Original message

13. Wow, not taking anyone over 50!

Medications he's on--filling out that form makes sense. The doctor doesn't want to give him something that could have a serious reaction when another scrip would do. The insurance--well, some doctors are "in network" for some companies and not "in network" for others--and that can make a difference on whether or not you have to pay out of pocket. Of course in your case it doesn't matter, but this might be why they want to know what insurance you have.

As for not taking anyone over 50--if they are GP, that's age discrimination!

Too bad you aren't in northwest Arkansas--one of our new patients tomorrow is 89.

It's a pretty repetitive bonfire, the primitives pretty much saying the same thing.

But this startlement:

otohara  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 05:46 PM
Response to Original message
 
18. I Never Tell Dr.'s About My Meds especially if a visit is something totally unrelated to the meds I take and why I take them.

And this, which of course is a primitive lying:

Mojorabbit  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 08:58 PM
Response to Original message

33. Urgent care center will be way cheaper than the ER

My hubby is a family practice physician and has a waiting list of people who want to be a patient.

He just can't see anymore people in a day than he already does. When there is an opening family members of current patients are first on the list. There are spot shortages of doctors in many places in this country.

Maybe the neighbor's brother-in-law or the sister-in-law's cousin five times removed or the guy who lives six miles away or a co-worker's sister's friend, but hubby, no.

[Vagabond]

All that for a splinter on a grown adult?  Geez, just sterilize a needle and some tweezers, dig it out (if it's really hurting that won't hurt any worse), then clean and dress the wound.  I've done that to myself with some bad splinters before.

[franksolich]

The primitive comment that freaked me was that by the Nipponese primitive, who doesn't tell his physician all the medications he takes.

That's asking for trouble.

That's just really stupid.

That's the primitives for you.

[miskie]

What I love is how the primitives think the miracle of socialized medicine is going to allow them to walk into any office, at any time and demand treatment. Its not going to happen. The doctors most of you numbskulls are going to get are fresh out of medschool interns who are working at getting enough experience for their own practice, or to join an existing network/conglomerate.

BarryCare isn't going to make private practice go away, its just going to charge everyone who makes money to pay for those of you who don't. It's also going to make emergency room and hospital visits a nightmare as thats where most 'free' services will be offered.

[Flame]

That's why you plan ahead, and have a Dr established.  I don't go to the Dr very often, , neither do my kids, but one of the first things I do when I move is stablish myself as a patient with a Dr so I can go if I need to.  Sure, the intital "new patient" appointment can take a while to schedule, but after that, I can call and be seen right away.   It's called planning ahead, DUmmies!

[jtyangel]

That's why you plan ahead, and have a Dr established.  I don't go to the Dr very often, , neither do my kids, but one of the first things I do when I move is stablish myself as a patient with a Dr so I can go if I need to.  Sure, the intital "new patient" appointment can take a while to schedule, but after that, I can call and be seen right away.   It's called planning ahead, DUmmies!

Yep, I scheduled a regular physical as my first visit, when nothing was wrong. My guess is the DUmmies being the tightwads they are with necessities don't want to fork over the 90 bucks or so if they don't have insurance to establish that relationship. It's not the like doc is going to take the money to talk to you for a few minutes--you get a bunch of baseline things established so you have something to reference back to should things start going wonky with your body. And that money and time is well spent when you get your first puking, hacking, feel like crap sickness and want to be seen by the doc in short order.

anyone notice, they already waited a few days from when he got this? So either he probably didn't pick it out when it first happen and it's now embedded and painful or the wife could have done all this when it first happened and had an appt made just in case that could have become the establishing appt if the splinter healed on its own. Hell, she could have just made an appt to get a Tetunus shot since this was a reminder that maybe it was time to have it done anyway. But no....

[USA4ME]

snappyturtle

He lived here thirty years but his doctor has retired.

He's lived there 30 years and only knows one doctor?  Somethings not right.

snappyturtle

3)Not taking anyone over the age of fifty!

I gotta call bouncy on that part.

.

[delilahmused]

I'd think his retiring doctor would've had a recommendation or two for his patients.

Cindie

[jukin]

That is like a whats what of why we should not have ogabecare.

[RobJohnson]

I'd think his retiring doctor would've had a recommendation or two for his patients.

Cindie

He might of still owed that doctor money. 

snappyturtle  (1000+ posts)      Mon Jun-29-09 05:10 PM
Response to Reply #1
 

11. Can you believe that? I'm 61 so I'm really out of luck! When online

I couldn't believe the number, taking new patients or not, that don't accept Medicare or Medicaid. And really it's is amazing because many folks come here to retire. Guess they should think twice about that.

In some states, it takes way too long for doctors to get paid from Medicaid, when they can see other patients that can either pay cash or have insurance that pays quickly.

DUmmies expect doctors to work for free.

With National Healthcare it will just get worse.