Elderly Abuse
 

A simple question. As you have grown older have you noticed any real or subtle abuse in the medical fields in the Villages because of your age?. This would include Dentists, Doctors, etc.? If so what kind of less than good or respectable care are you talking about? I am not asking for the names of great doctors, or the great care you have been given. Rather any less than great care because you believe it was age related? Also, not asking for the Dentist, Physician.etc names, just the care you think was because of your age?:ohdear:

NO, just the opposite.

No. Just the opposite.

no we have absolutely not experienced any of that....just the opposite, as others have said

I will say that some of the office business practices have caused me to raise an eyebrow on occasion...but that has absolutely nothing to do with age

I have trained a few medical worker bees to not call me by any of the common terms of endearment, like "sweetie", "honey", etc.

Not because of age, so far. But what you may be getting at is the level of care shown to a patient nearing the end of life, which is less enthusiastic on the part of the doctors, I think. At least, I noticed that with my parents.

End of life care is much different than active many year to go care. There is less that a doctor can do which can improve the quality of life. And the elder body does not heal quickly at all, so the motto for a good doctor is to do no harm at all. . .

I suggest reading Dr Atul Gwande's book "On Being Mortal, What matters at the end" about how near the end of your life, its not about continuing to perform surgery after surgery, but to perform what is necessary to maintain lifestyle if possible.

The author is a surgeon in boston, works as high level management, and has proven masks work in the hospital setting, his hospital, real time, this year. His book was his quest, as a doctor, tyring to figure out how to answer every patients' question at some point, "Am I going to die?" And how to answer it effectively in the best interest of the patient, and why. And its personal, with real life examples, as well as how his father died as well, who was also a surgeon in the US.

So I encourage you to read that book, as a gateway to what to expect later in life, as the question you asked seems to indicate that your expectations might need to be re-examined, and maybe, adjusted slightly. Maybe not, i don't know from the post.

sportsguy

Not at all, have been receiving great care for years here.

Having been in the medical field as a career, and believing in preventative medicine, I have always obtained good, and regular, health care for me and my family. I did notice when we came to TV seven years ago and found a new physician, that the attitude towards my health care shifted a bit. We have a very good physician who is smart, caring, and is on top of issues right away. She works to see we are healthy as possible, and have a good quality of life for our remaining years. Curing a situation becomes a little less important and maintaining an active, comfortable lifestyle is more of the goal. That's not to say we don't tackle issues, but the emphasis isn't on curing the problem, or making big life changes, or tackling big medical procedures, unless it's what I wish to do. I've come to appreciate that style of healthcare.

No, not ever. Care is much more personalized than up north

Absolutely not.

Medical Care for Older Folks
 

This is what we have experienced. Some of the tests & exams that were routine when we were a little younger, are not encouraged because of our age. My feeling is that it is more of an insurance issue. We like our Dr & help we get at The Villages Healthcare.

Medical overbooking
 

My one complaint, and this happened with two physicians' offices, was overbooking of appointments, causing excess waiting time when I arrived for an appointment. After waiting over an hour at a dermatologist's office, I rescheduled my appointment for a later date, at 7:45 am. That didn't work either -- my name wasn't called until almost 9. I never went back. I also had a series of appointments at a specialty clinic at which I was made to sit 45 minutes or so in the waiting room, then another 30 minutes in the exam room. At one, the M.D. said "Oh, it sometimes gets busy on Friday afternoons." Okay. But when I went to schedule a followup, I spotted a note pinned to the partition next to the scheduler's desk: "Please do not overbook Dr. X during the week of ___, because he is on call at the hospital then." In other words, "Go ahead and overbook all the other doctors." At the next appointment I told my doctor I would not be returning and why: "I may be retired, but my time is valuable, too,"

Nope, if anything it has been the opposite.

I did not notice this at end of life care for my husband. As he was deteriorating during his last 6 months our doctors became more caring, spent more time with him and me preparing us for what was to come. They treated us both with so much compassion and caring taking their own time, not billed to anyone, to stop by and check on us and both sent beautiful cards after his death and called me a few weeks later to see if I needed anything and if I was taking care of myself. They were amazingly human. They are still my doctors and always will be.