Re: United Healthccare Housecall visit

Goodie2shoes · ‎04-30-2012

@ Icegoddess wrote: You did ask if others did these visits, so you'd have to expect that some might have some differing views on the subject. I don't think anybody thinks you're pushing anything on them, but you have to expect differing opinions, especially when you ask for them

Of course I expected that others might have a different opinion I just wanted to be clear. To each their own view. I learned something myself from the poster who noted why they do the housecalls. I was not aware of that. No problem !

50Mickey · ‎05-21-2010

My husband and I both have these visits once a year. It has no effect on our primary care semi annual visits. It is the Medicare wellness check up that some have in the physician's office. UHC sends a nurse to the patient's home if the patient chooses.

These visits are conducted by an RN who is always extremely professional. We are given a written printout at the end of the visit. They go over our meds, blood pressure, the cognitive exam and other tests. They provide help with questions and concerns that we might have. The nurse spends about 30 minutes with each of us. At the end of the visit we usually receive gifts like small kitchen gadgets and we each receive a $50 Visa gift card. And a report of the visit is sent to the primary care facility.

One of the best things to come from our last House Calls is that we were told about a benefit of our health plan called Medic Dispatch. If we ever need to use an Urgent Care facility for any number of non emergency reasons, instead of going to Urgent Care or the ER Medic Dispatch will come to our home if WE choose and perform any number of tests for non emergency medical conditions. including x-rays.

Last year the night before thanksgiving my husband came down something and was very ill with a fever and other symptoms. I made and appointment for him at Urgent Care for the day after Thanksgiving. That morning he told me that he was too sick to go. I called the number for Medic Dispatch. After a consultation with an RN who went over all of his symptoms and asked a ton of questions she arranged for the team to come to our house. A nurse practitioner and a lab tech. came. Both wore masks. showed their ID badges. Flu and Covid tests were done on the spot and both were negative. Urinalysis was done no UTI. The tech. drew a blood sample, The nurse checked his pressure and. pulse, listened to his heart and lungs looked in his ears, eyes and throat. She told him to avoid dehydration to drink plenty of fluids. Everything that would have been done in an Urgent Care facility was done in our home. The nurse arranged for x-ray tech. who brought a portable x-ray machine to our house and did a chest x-ray.

Long story short all of his tests came back negative. A physician called him after he received the results of all of the tests and it was determined that with negative tests and his symptoms and that his fever was subsiding he most likely had a viral infection.And if he was not better in a day or two to contact his physician. He did recover in about 4 days. All of this cost $25 what he would have paid at Urgent Care and it prevented a visit to the ER where we would have most likely waited for hours and hours and received the same tests and result

I have no reason to suspect that the insurance company is doing anything except to keep people out of Urgent Care facilities or ER's for something that can be handled in the patient's home. This is a choice that the patient makes and the nurse will advise is one should go to the ER instead based on the symptoms. if one wants to get dressed and sit in the ER or and Urgent Care facility to diagnose a UTI or the flu or any other number of non emergency problems then that's their choice. It's a service offered but not forced upon the patient by any means. For me having medical professionals come to my house makes sense. I see no reason to be paranoid about this.

Toppers3 · ‎10-25-2016

@pdlinda wrote:
@Goodie2shoes I have a very good rapport with my PCP and have no need to have any 3rd parties monitoring my health.

Yeah...

I also personally feel that these home wellness checks are a duplication of the exams that our own doctors do when we come in to see them for an office visit exam.

My husband and I also get called by our insurance company to have a nurse come over to our home to do these in-home exams. They also try to persuade us that it's free to us.

They are relentless in calling and leaving messages and will not stop calling until you talk to them.

They usually start calling around the beginning of the year.

AZfem · ‎04-13-2016

@Goodie2shoes I have Blue Cross Blue Shield & I don't participate either. Why? I see several specialist doctors & my PCP every year what do I need a nurse check for? Just saw my PCP for yearly check - don't see a purpose for house visits at all unless you can't leave the house.

They bother me calling all the time too & I've told BCBS to take me off this list. Its just another way for a company to make money & the healthcare provider to snoop into your business. I don't like this at all.