Often our beautiful and wonderful seniors are disregarding, dismisses and forgotten. Many suffer from loneliness, and mental health that of course impacts mental health.
Many seniors have ailments that could be addressed immediately. Often appts are 2-4 month intervals. When time comes to go to the doctor, ailments are worse, appts rescheduled or the patient forgets.
Seniors should look forward to going to the doctor if paired with the proper doctor and facility. The goal is to keep our seniors happy, healthy and at home.
As for my mom - I get the impression you have a picture in your mind of a relatively health senior who walks out the door (maybe with the aid of a rollator) and hops in the car and pops over to the doctor's office that is just around the corner. Picture a Frail Elder who needs a wheelchair, who needs Herculean strength to help them move from bed to chair and then outside and into the car. Maybe it's winter - some of us have the possibility of cold, ice and snow to deal with from December to April. Maybe the doctor's office is a considerable distance away, and finding available handicapped parking is hit or miss. Once there you struggle to haul the wheelchair out of the trunk and get your elder out of the car and into the office where you get to share a waiting room with coughing, sneezing, and who knows what else (and that's pre covid). If your elder is still continent chances are they now need to use a washroom 🙄. You finally get in to see the doctor after a long 40 minute wait, who asks if you have any new concerns. You say no. Perhaps your elder is hard of hearing, has low vision and/or some level of dementia so they are not participating AT ALL, in fact they are confused or maybe nodding off. After a cursory exam the doctor faxes a renewal of all prescriptions to the pharmacy and you get to do the whole thing in reverse. And I counted myself fortunate that I didn't have to take a day off work for this as many others do.
Are the concerns of those who feel this is ill advised clearer for you now?
"I am a healthcare professional seeking to provide information on quality FREE healthcare fo seniors; to include more frequent doctor visits, transportation to and from the doctor, In-house specialty care, acupuncture, in-home pharmacy, senior sneakers, activities, etc.."
I found your individual responses to posts interesting, which prompted me to explore your background, position, and purpose in seeking the information you've requested. I'm curious now what your specific healthcare profession is.
What you propose addresses ingrained national customs, state and/or federal laws, congressional action (hardly possible with all the infighting taking place), and more.
I would anticipate this more in countries that do have turnkey services for elder patients. Personally, I don't think anything remotely similar to what you propose could ever be integrated in the US; there would be too much government involvement if not interference, too little choice, too much consolidation (and that would be a major issue), and dubious control over standards and safety.
Your idea is unique though. Could you explain at least one aspect: HOW would the US move from its current situation to "quality FREE healthcare fo (sic) seniors", not just in theory, but in application? And what is your role? Unless you have the backing or resources of someone like Elon Musk, or a tech baron, I'm unable to see how any one person, even with support, could implement something this drastic.
And how exactly would you go about implementing this? I'm curious...really curious.
And, BTW, I can't see doctors providing mobile phone numbers. They have answering services, and for good reason.
I will work my way backwards. You are correct, utilizing the word “FREE”, may have been a little presumptuous. I stand corrected. ALL services are provided for Medicare patients. And yes, doctors ARE providing personal mobile phone numbers, no answering services provided. The idea is to change the traditional 1:2500 Doctor patient ratio, focus on 1:450. Providing the patient quality one-on-one care of which is very absent today. Yes facilities as described absolutely exist all over the United States. PCPs and specialty care ARE under one roof, streamlining the number of visits for the patient and increasing one to one care through a single source database, RNs and overall patient care. Lab work, diabetic shoes, X-rays, etc.. under one roof.
As it relates to the demographic of which I am referring: 55 and older. Low to no income seniors who lack resources to travel to and from the doctors office; minimum family support, lack of mobility, high blood pressure, diabetes, dementia, cancer patients, etc.. the desire to keep seniors happy, healthy and at home is no money grab; nor is it a pie in the sky idea. I know first hand the restrictions and difficulties for some seniors in hospitals and clinics. Specifically my own parents, aunts, uncles and brothers. I am sorry to hear of your challenges with your mothe
For me, it us having an online email link to my doc where I can get timely feedback.
Saves us time and tax dollars. I’m happy with that.
My Dad actually hated going to see a Doctor - and after he came off Life Support and was home, he had to go every Friday. Twenty years after his death, my Mom and I still hate Fridays because of all the stress those appointments cost him until he died.
Now I caregive for my Mom who's in bed. She hates Doctors visits more than my Dad did. It's a nightmare of Hoyer Lifts, Stretchers and Paramedical Transport to go to one. She delays her appointments as long as she can. We generally have an ARNP come to the house to visit whenever possible.
Plus the billing is always screwed up and that's very stressful for all involved, too.
I know my opinion differs radically from most posters on here.
But, there are some seniors (me included) that this idea would be an actual nightmare for them.
I (as a senior also) only go when absolutely needed for prescription refills & will go to Urgent Care when ill. However, there's always that bill that arrives ...
Can't imagine having those bills all the time! yikes
(Just thought you'd like to hear the "other side".)
My mother loved her PCP and went to her for 30 years, mostly because her doctor was a good listener. Unfortunately, she was a terrible doctor and diagnosed my mother with depression when she couldn't breathe. It turned out her chest cavity was full of fluid, and the misdiagnosis was firmly defended for three weeks until my mother was finally rushed to the hospital. I fully believe that delay in proper treatment and lack of oxygen is what led to her vascular dementia.
The same doctor also decided that Mom's pleural effusion was caused by ovarian cancer and told her so with absolutely no evidence. My mother, who had already survived one bout of breast cancer more than 20 years before, was suicidal the night after that bombshell was dropped on her, and after a thorough exam the next day, including an excruciatingly painful vaginal ultrasound, the doctor came back with "my bad." No cancer at all.
No, the family is the primary caregiver, especially when the loved one is at home, and it's their responsibility to oversee the person's health and alert the doctor when something is awry. Once she was in a nursing home, she was seen monthly by the in-house doctor, and she would have died if I'd left her in that place because she had uncontrolled edema and her legs were literally dripping water out of them. I moved her to another place, she was seen monthly, and her edema issues were solved within two weeks and she lived another two years.
The doctors didn't make the difference -- I did. I was the one who raised the alarm that none of this was normal, and I was the one who kept on top of the doctors and physician assistants to notify them as to what was going on.
The family is the one who knows the person best, not the doctor. It isn't possible for doctors to see their patients monthly, so if the person is suffering from something that needs to be treated, then the family needs to get them in for treatment. A doctor's job is not to settle unfounded worries, and that's why there are P.A.s and nurse practitioners to be the buffer between the nervous patient and the doctor. The doctor has to deal with the people who are actually sick.
Sadly, there are very, very few geriatricians in this country, and it'd be nice if we had a lot more, especially considering the Baby Boom generation is now needing those kind of doctors.
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