Our local PCP office (rural) has had tremendous turnover the past 5 years, the long time MDs retired, for a while it was only NPs, then some assorted PAs joined and an MD or two has come through.
It seems the area group, numerous locations, has also brought MDs in from other office to cover for months at a time. All that to say it’s not currently a place where we have a relationship with anyone.
It used to be that they would do an Rx annually for 4 90 day fills, now they are pushing a standard of care of being seen every six months for patients with good health, maybe taking BP or cholesterol meds.
Is that type of requirement to be seen something happening everywhere? I know docs are often required to see the patient at least once a year to renew prescriptions, I know they cannot do a referral for something unless it’s been consulted in their office. Is there some new rule about seeing patients every six months now?
I am trying to figure out how pushy to be, DH takes BP & cholesterol meds, but only as preventatives. Of the numerous providers he as seen, many said his BP is fine and he could stop, though some Docs seem to feel like it’s smart. Same with cholesterol, he’s borderline needing it, but figured, 'why not."
Because H, my mom and I have chronic health issues we see our docs 2 or more times/year. I also see my lung docs 2+ times/yr. It is telehealth visit for “well checks” and in person if I’m concerned about anything.
It makes sense to have a discussion about reducing doses to see if your H could maintain good control on reduced doses. During Covid, have worked closely with my MDs and managed to reduce all my doses at least 50% and one from 18mcg/day down to 1.25. Also managed to reduce nasal sprays by 75% of original doses.
I have been taking thyroid replacement for 46 years. I have to go every 6 months, and a blood draw is also required. It used to annoy me until my levels increased out of the blue. I was glad that I was checked.
It’s a pain to have to go in every 6 months, though. I worked at a group benefits consulting company for awhile, and an HR manager was complaining about the fact that a lot of their employees were not taking maintenance meds (bp, cholesterol, etc). Let’s see … they were hourly folks on a strict schedule, and the insurance had a rather limited provider network. I pointed that out, and I swear, it was like they had never considered the difficulties that their employees might have in getting to the doctor as regularly as required for the meds.
@ucbalumnus, of the half dozen different providers he has seen, at this office, several said he could easily stop, his retired MD buddy says it can’t hurt to keep on them, so it feels very overbearing to be asked to pay for visits every six months
If he follows their recommendation to stop and then checks the blood pressure and cholesterol over the next several months, wouldn’t that be a way to find out if it remains in the good zone without the drugs? If not, then he can restart (but also consider a lower dose).
@somemom would your husband be amenable to stopping his blood pressure and cholesterol medication and trying to change his numbers with diet and exercise changes? Less sodium, more fresh fruits and vegetables and up his daily exercise could be an experiment.
It takes a while for these changes to be reflected with lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
But in my experience, it’s not unusual for his PCP to want to see him every 6 months. They want to see if anything has changed. As older physicians retire and newer younger practitioners come in, I’ve found that they are more proactive with seeing patients. I think it’s part of the new model of medicine.
I try to go once a year for a well check, but sometime I go every 2 years. Last time I was there I noticed my PCP was advertising some cosmetic procedures in his office, very strange, business must be bad.
I usually see my doctor once per year to get prescriptions refilled (and check how I am doing). Sometimes it is less often than that.
There is one specialist I have not seen for two years because he retired plus the pandemic. I called earlier this week for a refill and they did refill my prescription, but also made an appointment for me to see whomever took over from my previous specialist.
If there was some significant problem that they were worried about then it would not surprise me if they wanted to see a patient more often. There also might be some specific prescriptions where they would want to see you more often.
I see one specialist once a year and now virtually. Blood work is ordered in advance of that visit.
My PCP sees me every six months…RX refills are for a year, but she does blood work to check liver function due to statin use. I have no issue with this.
Our former PCP used to only require annual visits for BP meds, HRT, A1C tests, etc. but the hospital-owned group he joined insisted on patients being seen every six months. Our new PCP also requires visits every six months. We’ve done some as tele-visits.
No doubt Doc has that much debt if not more. PCPs don’t make nearly as much as many specialists, either. I understand that he has bills to pay, I was just sorry to see that’s what it apparently takes now and hope it doesn’t take precedence over his medical patients.
I “fired” a dermatologist who began to focus so much on facials and Botox that she seemed to forget whatever she’d learned about skin cancer. After barely glancing at a spot that I found suspicious, she insisted it was nothing. Fortunately, I persisted and got her to do a biopsy. Her nurse later informed me, very apologetically, that it was a squamous cell carcinoma. I went elsewhere for the Mohs procedure.
I go yearly for my checkups and to have prescriptions refilled. Sometimes, if levels are off or there is a dosage change, I might have to go to the lab for blood work but not to see the doctor. Honestly, because of the co-pays I have with my insurance, I would push back if my doctor wanted to see me more often than yearly.