Medicare Wellness Exam - Page 9

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@the geeger wrote:
Yes, I feel like it is a waste of time; however, doctors receive so little from Medicare for services I do not mind taking it. Although for 10 years they never chanced the 3 words to remember. They are forever in my mind. This year they changed one wordl. If you are having problems with your memory it will indicate so.

And some people are just better at remembering stuff like that. I can have 3 items for my grocery list and still forget one of them. Been that way for years. Yet, I can remember my SSN, DL number, home town address and the street I lived on before that. I'm terrible with names. Funny, yesterday for some reason I was thinking about an actor I used to crush on but couldn't remember his name. Then, I turned on Tim Allen's Santa Clause just to wait for the news to come on. I wasn't even watching, but for some reason he said Armand Assante. That's it!

drizzellla · ‎03-14-2010

@CelticCrafter wrote:
@drizzellla wrote:
I have to fill out a questionnaire once a year for Medicare but never had an exam. No one ever mentioned an exam. I did not know there was such a thing.

The Doctor's office makes sure that you fill out the questionnaire but that was it. Then they refill my prescriptions and do blood tests (sometimes urine test) and I am on my way.

Is the Wellness Exam new?

@drizzellla actually, it's not an exam, they call it a Wellness Visit, basically to review and discuss stuff and no it isn't new.

I have never been asked questions like -

It consisted of memorizing three words to repeat back to her later, and drawing

a clock with the hands on 11:50.

Or anything like that.

I just watched "Miracle on 34th Street" and the questions reminded me of the questions they asked Edmund Gwenn (Santa) when they were questioning his sanity.

AngelPuppy1 · ‎03-13-2010

I think it's dumb and a waste of time. For all the more that they check - it's pointless! I have one coming up in a couple of weeks and it just wastes a bunch of my valuable time, especially at this time of the year. Also, it's so cold and then I have to sit in an office and be exposed to a bunch of people.

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night." - Steve Martin

geezerette · ‎03-16-2010

@Icegoddess wrote:
@the geeger wrote:
Yes, I feel like it is a waste of time; however, doctors receive so little from Medicare for services I do not mind taking it. Although for 10 years they never chanced the 3 words to remember. They are forever in my mind. This year they changed one wordl. If you are having problems with your memory it will indicate so.
And some people are just better at remembering stuff like that. I can have 3 items for my grocery list and still forget one of them. Been that way for years. Yet, I can remember my SSN, DL number, home town address and the street I lived on before that. I'm terrible with names. Funny, yesterday for some reason I was thinking about an actor I used to crush on but couldn't remember his name. Then, I turned on Tim Allen's Santa Clause just to wait for the news to come on. I wasn't even watching, but for some reason he said Armand Assante. That's it!

@Icegoddess

Me too. My memory has always been awful. So was my mother's. It was the family joke.

My doctor doesn't ask any of those questions. I warned him once if he asked me to remember anything I'd forget. His reply was he didn't need to and knows just by talking to me how I'm doing in that area.

The "wellness" visit for me consists of the tech asking about my vaccinations, diagnostic tests (mammograms,etc), and general lifestyle i.e. smoking, falls, etc. I don't find it to be a big deal.

ThinkingOutLoud · ‎05-01-2020

What a racket! Could it be that if they did away with these 'waste of time' appts, people would be able to get into the dr sooner and premiums wouldn't go up every year?

teganslaw · ‎03-11-2010

I can figure out why Medicare might ask the person to repeat words or numbers in a certain order, but what does drawing a clock prove? I have no idea what drawing a clock has to do with wellness. Maybe dexterity or numbers knowledge? Makes no sense to me.

"The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog."

Mark Twain

on the bay · ‎03-09-2010

@AngelPuppy1 wrote:
I think it's dumb and a waste of time. For all the more that they check - it's pointless! I have one coming up in a couple of weeks and it just wastes a bunch of my valuable time, especially at this time of the year. Also, it's so cold and then I have to sit in an office and be exposed to a bunch of people.

@AngelPuppy1,

You don't have to have a Wellness Visit. Just decline it.

I always remember-any appointments I decide to have are for myself that I am doing for me. If I don't think they are necessary or would help me, I don't do them.

If you don't want to have one, don't.

"If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew. Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains? can you paint with all the colors of the wind?"

yamma024 · ‎08-21-2017

@teganslaw I think by drawing the clock at the same time as trying to remember the 3 words, it is to cause a distraction.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@teganslaw wrote:
I can figure out why Medicare might ask the person to repeat words or numbers in a certain order, but what does drawing a clock prove? I have no idea what drawing a clock has to do with wellness. Maybe dexterity or numbers knowledge? Makes no sense to me.

@teganslaw Here is an example of the type of things they are looking for. It has mostly to do with mental cognition.

Draw a Clock.jpg

foxywoods · ‎05-28-2010

/rant ...I did the Wellness visit ONE time and that was plenty! Bunch of Nozy questions about sex life! Decided to leave my Provider practice because they continually kept scheduling me for the Wellness visit and I got tired of canceling and then they would call and haunt me to reschedule. another thing they would do was give you a clipboard every visit and to check off a list of questions about whether you feel down and lost interest in doing things and feel unsafe at home. Then 2 of my doctors retired and they had some assistant fielding the calls for a NP and they couln't even decipher medical terminology when asked to pass message on to the NP.

Then my health Insurance outfit had 3rd party company hound me dailyby calling my phone to schedule a Home Visit to check for vitals at no charge. Who wants some stranger in their home to chek heart rate and BP? Now I have had follow-up nursing care post surgeries. That was fine because I had major surgeries and welcomed the care