First things first I guess....and Medicare 2nd

[GregV814]

Happy Presidents Day. (Hey if Columbus has changed Indigenous, shouldn't today be "Potted Plant Day?)

Over the years, I've my routine check ups by my primary and the cardiologist. Every 6 months, usually within a few days... It works for both doctors.

Within the last 2 weeks I was contacted by both doctors' offices. The staff asked if I was okay, having any SIGNIFICANT issues etc.. "Yes and No".
"Well, we need to extend you next scheduled visit from blah blah to blah blah, " (3 months later). They are not in the same medical group.

Oh, I am on Medicare.

Is this the result of doctors being burned out? A flooded health system? MEDICARE being drained by Mr. Potatoe heads administration?? All of those??
Have you folks gotten similar calls?
Are we in Uganda or England?

 

[Gilligan]

Wife recently suffered pretty severe hearing loss. A call to her primary care person, a "physicians assistant" resulted in advice to see a neurologist. (which I thought was weird..but I digress) So she tried to get an appointment with one...any one.... Soonest was out in May sometime and up in Washington DC somewhere.

So she went to Urgent Care...and it turned out to be some kind of inner ear infection that is being treated now antibiotics. If you need immediate medical attention, Urgent Care or the hospital emergency room are the only options these days.

 

[Hijinx]

Well you are right. As I see the problem, Doctor's no longer depend on their patients.
Today they are all part of some medical factory like Medstar or the Shah's. They are no longer Doctors who depend on their reputations or their expertise or the way they treat their patients.
Now they are salaried workers who show up and get their paychecks. They don't make rounds at the hospital any longer---another salaried Doctor does that. The don't care about individual patients because they no longer depend on you for their business. They don't have a business, they are part of someone else's business.
The individual today is just another patient. They slough you off from one Doctor to another so they can rip off the insurance company and Medi-care.