[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by Heartnsoul

I had a Dr appt for thursday but received call from office that DR wants to do a video call. I'm not interested as dont even know how to do that. So she said we can do telephone call then. Although I wasn't happy I said ok but wondering how everyone is feeling about this. Wonder if DR charges insurance co same price for phone as office visit? Am I the only one not happy over this?

By video is the only way I’ll visit the doctor; I’ll not sit in the waiting room with a bunch of old people that drop their mask as soon as they leave the check in counter. I don’t know where they’ve been or who they’ve been around.

To each their own....

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Girlcopper

Theres a pandemic going on. Remember? Why would a dr want you in their office just to talk to you. This is convenient and easy and if you dont know how to do it, it doesnt make it bad. Learn how. What do you care what the insurance pays for it? Let them dispute it. Even after the pandemic, Im sure this will be a regular practice. Get used to it

I agree with most of the post. Except for the part about - who cares what the insurance pays? Well, I do!

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

My doctor's office charges the insurance company a reduced fee for phone or video visits, and I pay nothing at all for them. That's the contract FloridaBlue has with The Villages Health.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by courtyard

I have TV Health also, and since I don't have to take any meds, I canceled my yearly visits, and they canceled me. Now I don't have any doctor. Just try and cancel your yearly Wellness Visits and see what happens.

That was a cute trick - I guess patients will have to join a "patients union" in order to offset the power of insurance companies and fight the system (management).

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by ken.yotz

Most of these docs are not in private practice. They work for an "employer" who sets the rates. They charge what they do because they can. They have bought up much of the competition. I say this even though my son is in med school.

That trend reminds me of factory farming and other greedy ways to restrict competition. Sounds like a MONOPOLY to me - with the patient and society being the loser!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by DAVES

I am far from a computer nerd. Fortunately, I get away with sticking it on my wife-published secrets?

Far as tests, if you've never seen them, you can see your tests on line. It is easy to read and to understand. Your result was xxxx, normal range is xxxx. If, you result is higher or lower than the normal range, something is wrong. Your doctor then decides what to do about it. More tests? Drugs? Or possibly do nothing. Watch it over time etc.

That is good advice to follow your blood test results over time. Reading them is like reading a foreign language written in shorthand, very difficult! - but important. Iron and magnesium deficiencies can increase as people age. My basic blood test does not include them. Wish that I knew more about that?

[JohnN]

I had a video call for a minor item, it was OK. Nothing like the real thing though if it's important.

[Mustagotlost]

I have had 3 Zoom Drs. meetings and will continue virtual visits until the vaccinated.

[John_W]

I've had two video doctor visits this year, one with Villages Heath at Brownwood and the other with my VA doctor at Mulberry. No problem connecting with either, you have a camera on you computer and you go to the link they provide about 5 minutes before the appointment and that is all there to it. I don't use the speakers on my computer, I always use earplugs and they have a built in mike, so it worked perfect for hearing and speaking. My last Brownwood appointment I did go in person because I got a new doctor, Dr. Rashid and she is very good, much better than my previous Brownwood doctor.

[Bertram00]

Originally Posted by Heartnsoul

I had a Dr appt for thursday but received call from office that DR wants to do a video call. I'm not interested as dont even know how to do that. So she said we can do telephone call then. Although I wasn't happy I said ok but wondering how everyone is feeling about this. Wonder if DR charges insurance co same price for phone as office visit? Am I the only one not happy over this?

I am okay with some follow up visits by phone especially if the main thing is to review lab results. I don't like the fact that some doctors seem to be using the health crisis as an excuse to get paid for a phone call with little work from them or their staff. For example, I had an appointment scheduled for December 3 and the same day they called to tell me the doctor no longer was in that local office on that day of the week and wanted to know if a phone visit was okay or if I wanted to reschedule. Mind you there were no labs to discuss so this visit normally would have involved my vitals and possibly other testing. I was aggravated that knowing he had changed his office schedule they hadn't notified me sooner, and so I asked to reschedule. This was on a Thursday and they scheduled me for the next Monday. The very next day or maybe even later that day, I received another call from the office saying that the doctor wanted to know if I could make it a phone visit. You can imagine my attitude as I told them in not so polite terms that they could shove the appointment. I will be looking for another specialist to replace this one!

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Bertram00

I am okay with some follow up visits by phone especially if the main thing is to review lab results. I don't like the fact that some doctors seem to be using the health crisis as an excuse to get paid for a phone call with little work from them or their staff. For example, I had an appointment scheduled for December 3 and the same day they called to tell me the doctor no longer was in that local office on that day of the week and wanted to know if a phone visit was okay or if I wanted to reschedule. Mind you there were no labs to discuss so this visit normally would have involved my vitals and possibly other testing. I was aggravated that knowing he had changed his office schedule they hadn't notified me sooner, and so I asked to reschedule. This was on a Thursday and they scheduled me for the next Monday. The very next day or maybe even later that day, I received another call from the office saying that the doctor wanted to know if I could make it a phone visit. You can imagine my attitude as I told them in not so polite terms that they could shove the appointment. I will be looking for another specialist to replace this one!

The COVID Pandemic has shown a light on the WEAKNESS of the US Medical and Health Care System - CV has stressed out a system that was BARELY functioning BEFORE the pandemic and these posts prove that point. It is further PROVED by the fact that the US spends the most per person on Health Care in the World but, is around 30th in positive outcomes for its citizens. That is BEFORE CV, so the system IS broken. ........Doctors and their overworked staff have come under the thumbs of the greed of the CEOs of the Corporate Insurance Companies. The Doctors and staff are forced to fill out reams of paperwork designed to allow the Insurance Companies to avoid paying out as many claims as possible. They both spend most of their time on their keyboards while NOT listening to the needs of the patient, which are secondary. The US Health system is run by NEITHER Doctors or patients, but rather by overpaid INSURANCE CEOs and management.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

The COVID Pandemic has shown a light on the WEAKNESS of the US Medical and Health Care System - CV has stressed out a system that was BARELY functioning BEFORE the pandemic and these posts prove that point. It is further PROVED by the fact that the US spends the most per person on Health Care in the World but, is around 30th in positive outcomes for its citizens. That is BEFORE CV, so the system IS broken. ........Doctors and their overworked staff have come under the thumbs of the greed of the CEOs of the Corporate Insurance Companies. The Doctors and staff are forced to fill out reams of paperwork designed to allow the Insurance Companies to avoid paying out as many claims as possible. They both spend most of their time on their keyboards while NOT listening to the needs of the patient, which are secondary. The US Health system is run by NEITHER Doctors or patients, but rather by overpaid INSURANCE CEOs and management.

Solution is easy---move to your socialist paradise of Venezuela

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Solution is easy---move to your socialist paradise of Venezuela

No comment. I stand by the message in my post.

[stanley]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

True that CV "lightning" may not have struck either you or your Doctor for that particular visit. But, CV like "lightning" does strike SOME people. You and your Doctor did have RISKS - he more than you because you see 1 Doctor - he sees multiple patients day-after-day. He has a problem of BIG risks. He is dealing with an elderly population, many with pre-conditions that pre-dispose them to having weak immune systems.

I wonder how that appointment went? You were inside in non-moving air, which is 15 times worse for CV than outside. That doesn't change just because someone has a "Doctor" title in front of their name. He or she is a human and you are a human - so you 2 needed to be separated by a MINIMUM of 6 ft. To minimize the risk you BOTH needed to have on an N-95 mask AND a clear visor - gloves and a PPE jacket would have also reduced risk. The US is deficient in PPEs compared to other countries. So, I DOUBT that you both were properly equipped for that encounter. And temperatures needed to be taken 1st. - and office surfaces wiped down with disinfectant. I can see why both Doctors and Patients (especially among predominantly older patients) would PREFER telemedicine.

For those who believe that I am overstating the precautions and the risks, many Doctors and experts on TV have stated that, "it is best to treat any person that you encounter as IF they had the CV".

Listen and listen good please. I live my life the way I want, not by someone's opinion, or mandate of how they want me to. It's simple.....some can't, don't want to agree, and are content with having their lives dictated to them, I say your life, fine, do what you will, but stay out of my business thank you.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by jimjamuser

No comment. I stand by the message in my post.

I'm sure you do