Among Friends

[SeaMaiden]

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@Meowingkitty wrote:

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@SeaMaiden wrote:

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@drizzellla wrote:

My husband had a Doctor's appointment scheduled 6/3/2021. He got a letter in the mail to reschedule the appointment. He thought maybe the Doctor had left the practice.

He called the Doctor's office today to reschedule. They are not doing face to face office visits. And he was to reschedule for a video appointment. 

Guess this is the new normal.

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@drizzellla  I do not understand how a Doctor can do a good physical if they do not touch you? My Husband's Doctor found a  abdominal Arotic Aneurysm  that my husband had to have surgery on to repair....could not have found this without the doctor feeling my Husbands stomach area....a phone call physical is not complete.  People are going to miss things that could be life or death.

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I think a lot depends on your history. I'm 65, no health issues, no problems, no medication. No need for an in-person chit chat. I'm only seeing her because my insurance gives me money towards my deductible if I have an annual physical. 

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@drizzellla  This aneurysm was just out of the blue..no other health issues.....and unless you physically feel the lump...or detect it on a sonogram, most people never know they have it and just die suddenly when it bursts.  I see a lot of  people are going to die having phone conferences over physical checkups when some health issues are not detected. 

[bonnielu]

We had a choice.  Virtual or show up. We took the online version.  However we do have dermatogist appointment every 6 months and we go in.  Our dental appointments are obviously in person.  I had a great root canal.  LOL   Eye appointments also in person.  

I guess it depends upon the type of appointment.  I LIVE IN MARYLAND..  WESTERN SIDE. 

[eadu4]

I'm in Virginia and have had muliple doctor appointments as well as my husband.  I've had in house shots for my back no problem and I'm scheduling my colonoscopy without an issue.  Also had my eye exam no problem.  Go in, wear a mask, wait to be called, doctor does his thing, go home.  Haven't had a problem.  I"m sure they have provisions for those that are at a higher risk.  I'm 60 and have been ok with all my appointments and shopping.  Got all my shots a while back so I'm good to go through flu season.  Only had the flu once, and that was of course the one year I didn't get it.  Stay safe everyone!  Always only do what you are comfortable with.  No one knows you better than yourself.  

[deeva]

@qualitygal 

I had a colonoscopy three weeks ago.

They took my temp, had me wear a mask and no one is allowed to wait for you in the facility. DH ran a few errands instead of sitting in the parking lot.

They called him about 20 minutes before I was ready to leave.

[Lipstickdiva]

Is this date correct? That is ridiculous.  Earlier in the year my doctor was doing telehealth visits only for certain illnesses and other appointments like yearly wellness exams were rescheduled. 

I don't really care how healthy one is, there is no way a doctor can perform a thorough annual wellness exam remotely.  My doctor listens to my heart and lungs, checks BP and weight, checks for lumps and bumps, etc.  I had mine done in June but it had been rescheduled from March.

I have had to have an ultrasound and an MRI done at the hospital.  I wore a mask, they took my temp and I never felt unsafe. They allowed me to take my mask off for my MRI once I was on the table and they had put my IV in.

I had to have a procedure done in September at the hospital that required me to be there about 4 hours.  I had to be Covid tested prior, I was told to arrive at the designated time and no one was allowed to be there with me.  My DH dropped me off at the door and when I was done, a nurse contacted my DH and told him to come get me. 

I have a mammogram scheduled in a couple of weeks at a facility.  I've been told I have to wear a mask.  No problem.         

[aprilskies]

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@Lipstickdiva wrote:

Is this date correct? That is ridiculous.  Earlier in the year my doctor was doing telehealth visits only for certain illnesses and other appointments like yearly wellness exams were rescheduled. 

I don't really care how healthy one is, there is no way a doctor can perform a thorough annual wellness exam remotely.  My doctor listens to my heart and lungs, checks BP and weight, checks for lumps and bumps, etc.  I had mine done in June but it had been rescheduled from March.

I have had to have an ultrasound and an MRI done at the hospital.  I wore a mask, they took my temp and I never felt unsafe. They allowed me to take my mask off for my MRI once I was on the table and they had put my IV in.

I had to have a procedure done in September at the hospital that required me to be there about 4 hours.  I had to be Covid tested prior, I was told to arrive at the designated time and no one was allowed to be there with me.  My DH dropped me off at the door and when I was done, a nurse contacted my DH and told him to come get me. 

I have a mammogram scheduled in a couple of weeks at a facility.  I've been told I have to wear a mask.  No problem.         

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@Lipstickdiva, Exactly. It is ridiculous. I had a tele-health appt a few months ago and by the time I was done I had to wonder why my doctor got  paid. She didnt do anything. How can you assess me through a screen.  I do have to schedule a yearly and the only reason I am scheduling is because I need my script otherwise they wouldn’t hear from me unless I had a problem. 

My parents had a telehealth appt with their cardiologist. Talk about absurd. How does that work. What exactly did you assess about their hearts. So, he basically just went through their blood tests. Stupid.  

[Still Raining]

Some offices are grouping all tele visits on certain days.  That way they can basically close the office down and staff become part time.

[patbz]

@SeaMaiden :  You make a good point about aneurysm s and such.  DH's large aortic aneurysm was discovered by a sonogram and confirmed with an MRI.  They scheduled surgery immediately. This was ten years ago.

[chrystaltree]

I have a video appointment with my opthalmologist tommorrow at 7:30.  I went in last week and had the tests but they aren't booking visits with the doctors unless it's absolutely necessary.  Yes, it is the new normal.  Virtual visits have been such a huge success and doctors and patients love the convenience that they aren't going away.  Especially now that insurance companies reimburse as if they were office visits.  The hospital I work for is doing virtual visits for everything that does not require a face to face visit.  Patients do not have a choice.  Honestly, I have had video visits and I have had telephone visits and I much prefer them to driving into the city and paying parking and sitting in the waiting room.  Of course, you do have to go in for lab work, tests, xrays etc.  Those  who are not directly involved in patient care  or in some support functions have been working from home since last March and we were told that, no one will be returning to the office until at least June 2021.  And even then, many jobs will be classified as remote work so many workers will never be returning to the office.  The world has changed and many of those changes are good changes.  My friend is a physician, a PCP and she likes video and telephonic visits because she finds that her patients are scheduling appointments for things that, prior to Covid 19, they would just let slide or they would self medicate.  She's doing more annual physicals too.  Taking time off work to see a doctor isn't a factor now.  All the stress has been taken out of physician visits.  

[chrystaltree]

@furbabylover 

Nothing is going on.  Every group practice, physican, hospital is deciding how they will handle visits  for their organization.  I must say, it's been pretty uniform here.  All the doctors and hospitals are doing everything the same way.  It's not like one hip specialist is seeing patients in the office and another one in the next town is doing virtual visits.  It seems like some parts of the country take a looser approach to the pandemic.  When I went in for my eye tests, I was impressed by the set up.  A row of people checking folks in, making sure everyone had a mask and was wearing it properly, only the patient could go upstairs and only person in an elevator at a time.   There were only 3 of us in the waiting room and we spaced out, of course. Parking was free and no valet service.  Makes sense since there are so few visits now.