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Can't the surgeon order the test? I know I've had them treat several conditions and order tests in the past. You may want to call the surgeons office, explain your situation, and see what they say. Six weeks seems like a long time to wait to see a doctor. Good thing it's not life or death.
Then you speak with the office of the doctor who is on vacation and you ask them whether their policy supersedes how badly you need to have this test done, since the doctor is gone for 6 weeks. Since you said there is no other specialist in the area they are kind of duty bound to figure it out for you. Ask whether the other doctor typically leaves his own patients with no care for 6 weeks at a time, or if the vacationing doctor usually covers for him.
Reading this thread just makes me more and more thankful for getting into Prevention about 25 yrs ago when I started with supplements and the magazine Prevention and then the magazine Alternative Medicine came into my life and then when I got online Dr. Google arrived. I am 79 and have Medicare and see my GP once/twice a year and recently had a nasty infection in knee which I've talked about and that took the WIND and LIFE out of me for over 5 months, I'm still working on recovering but back to Dr. Google and doing very fine on what I do.
My daughter and her children are also following this path...daughter has a insurance the kids father left them all, and each have a $2000 deductible. So she avoids that world and ends up paying out of pocket. Uses Dr. Google a LOT too and we have a wonderful functional medicine pharmacy here and they do a lot of consulting for FREE.
I listen to an MD who planned to be a surgeon, on the radio who works with PRP/Stem Cells for joints and works to save people from surgery, much unnecessary...one of his mottos is:
Stay Away From Doctors.....
I read so much frustration from members here who can't afford insurance and when they scrap up some money to see a doctor, are very disappointed with their 20 minute appt.
Last edited by jaminhealth; 08-25-2017 at 11:16 AM..
It's a little confusing to me whether OP has ever seen Dr. J or not, or merely that Dr. J was recommended by her PCP. OP, maybe you can clarify? Doctors are under no obligation or duty to take on new patients, unless they present in the ER where the doctor happens to be on call and they need life or limb saving care. Now, if the OP does have a relationship with that office and Dr. J is gone for 6 weeks, then I'm surprised his colleagues won't see her. A good practice plans and prepares for those scenarios. If that's not the case, it could indicate some dysfunction within the practice, but not necessarily. As an aside, of the many, many physicians I know, I can't imagine any of them can afford to take 6 weeks away from their practice. That is very unusual, unless it's someone who is semi retired, on a sabbatical etc.
And, yes, there are absolutely situations where a doctor will refuse to treat another physician's patient and very valid reasons for doing so. Say a patient has surgery or other care in one location, then has complications and shows up at the ER somewhere else (often close to home). If the issues are not serious, let alone emergent, they will usually be instructed to return to the original physician. That's part of being a good physician- managing complications, and it's something you should consider as a patient as well.
I'm on Medicare. Do you think they would get involved? I can't picture it.
Medicare original (non-Medicare Advantage) is handled by numerous private insurance companies.
Hawaii Medicare is managed by Noridian (unless something has changed and I didn't hear it). They would help you as they would any other subscriber/beneficiary.
I'm not sure you need them, but you should have a customer service number you can call just in case you have questions.
You are on the Big Island...... even Oahu has trouble keeping doctors due to the high COL. You will probably have lots of problems, especially when it comes specialists.
When you live in rural areas or areas with low populations, you have less selections for doctors, just like anything else.
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welcome to the new world of medicine called the runaround and don't give a crap drs . I think it is only going to get worse . No drs here take Obamacare and if we travel out of state the insurance wont cover it . So basically we are paying for something that is useless . I think we should just dump the whole thing as trump suggested and let it implode cause it will and then start fresh .
I question this. I haven't had that problem, and others here haven't, either. Have you spoken directly to your insurance? Most will cover out-of-state docs and procedures, if the doctor is in their network. Maybe what you encountered was a network issue, not an out-of-state issue.
In my state, for example, it's quite common for people to drive to a particular neighboring state for orthopedic issues. That state is known for having some of the best orthopedists in the US. The insurance companies know this, and have no problem with covering diagnosis and treatment out-of-state. Aside from that, stuff can happen when people are on vacation away from home, anywhere. I haven't heard of an insurance company that wouldn't cover some kind of emergency or urgent care that happens while people are away from home.
Then you speak with the office of the doctor who is on vacation and you ask them whether their policy supersedes how badly you need to have this test done, since the doctor is gone for 6 weeks. Since you said there is no other specialist in the area they are kind of duty bound to figure it out for you. Ask whether the other doctor typically leaves his own patients with no care for 6 weeks at a time, or if the vacationing doctor usually covers for him.
Right. It's very common for the partner-doctor to cover for the one who's away, without that locking the patient in to seeing the doc who's covering for his colleague for all subsequent treatment. 6 weeks is a long time to wait; it's not reasonable to force someone to see a doc forever into the future, just because they had an urgent issue while the recommended guy was away.
I'm on Medicare. Do you think they would get involved? I can't picture it.
My aunt has all kinds of troubles being in very ill health with a lot of meds and appointments and overlapping instructions to coordinate. She does sometimes get help from the insurance company providing her Medicare. When she really needs help, she talks to a social worker at her senior center and they will talk to the insurance.
I question this. I haven't had that problem, and others here haven't, either. Have you spoken directly to your insurance? Most will cover out-of-state docs and procedures, if the doctor is in their network. Maybe what you encountered was a network issue, not an out-of-state issue.
In my state, for example, it's quite common for people to drive to a particular neighboring state for orthopedic issues. That state is known for having some of the best orthopedists in the US. The insurance companies know this, and have no problem with covering diagnosis and treatment out-of-state. Aside from that, stuff can happen when people are on vacation away from home, anywhere. I haven't heard of an insurance company that wouldn't cover some kind of emergency or urgent care that happens while people are away from home.
The OP is on an island, and not one of the ones with a large population.
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