Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
| Savor the limelight |
My dad is telling me that if he has something that needs swift attention, he can't get in to see a doctor with his current doctor's office, but instead he has to go to the ER. Is this normal for elderly patients? If my kids have a problem, I call their Dr's office, and they fit my kids in. We may not see our regular Dr., but we see someone. My dad is 82 and about two weeks ago, he fell backwards while moving some palm fronds out to the street for the yard waste folks to pick up. He banged the back of his head and had a lot of back pain, so my uncle drove him to the ER. He spent the night in the ER, got MRIs, saw a couple Drs. His head was ok, but his L1 vertebra has a tiny compression fracture. They had an exact term, but I forgot what it was. He followed up with his regular Dr. and they decided to forgo a back brace and let it heal on its own. Today, he calls me up and says he's got a new pain in his left thigh that feels like someone is stabbing him with a hot nail if he presses on a particular spot. I told him to call his Dr and he tells me it won't do any good, because the Dr is booked solid, so my dad is going to see if it gets any worse. If it does, he's going to go to the ER. That's when we had the discussion about calling his Dr who is treating him for this issue vs going to the ER. I'm I wrong in thinking he should call his Dr and be able to be seen by his Dr or at least someone at his Dr's office? If I am wrong, what do we need to do to get to the point where he can do what I think he should be able to do? Does he need to find a concierge Dr? If I'm not asking the right questions or not making sense, please ask and I'll try to provide better information. | ||
|
| Member |
There should be no barriers. All physicians here are seeing face to face patients. Elective procedures are continuing. He needs to be seen. Call and make a pest of yourself. The ER is the worst place to go unless you are having an MI or CVA. He needs to see a gerontologist. | |||
|
Member |
Would an Urgent Care be a good middle ground between regular doc and ER? I've done that in the past for myself. A little more expensive, but not ER expensive or onerous. Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet. - Dave Barry "Never go through life saying 'I should have'..." - quote from the 9/11 Boatlift Story (thanks, sdy for posting it) | |||
|
| Raised Hands Surround Us Three Nails To Protect Us  |
This became much of a problem with my old Dr. You were lucky to get in that week if you called. Regular old physical better schedule 6 months out. Couple times I just showed up for some serious things figured they would not turn me away. I had been swarmed by bees and got stung probably 80 times or so. 2 days later it caught up with me and a number of the stings sights looked like large purple hockey pucks. They saw me no issue, the other time was appendicitis they did not see me but ordered me straight to the ER. I have since switched to a concierge Doctor could not be happier. Very knowledgeable Dr. plays chess and is constantly looking toward the future of my health not just what is happening now. Easy to get a hold of, all around good guy, and a gun guy. My wife was so impressed with the Dr. and program she joined up too. Now, if I was just better about implementing the diet and physical activity suggestions he has given I’d be in better shape. For the elderly I think it would be invaluable. Been trying to have my granny look into it in her area, unfortunately for my grand father he is too far gone to really benefit him. There very well may be a Concierge Dr. here that works with a pretty solid network of Drs. across the country. Our kid’s pediatrician is really good about getting them in. ———————————————— The world's not perfect, but it's not that bad. If we got each other, and that's all we have. I will be your brother, and I'll hold your hand. You should know I'll be there for you! | |||
|
| A teetotaling beer aficionado  |
He should be able to get in to his primary care physician within a day, and less if he says it's urgent. There are PCF that specialize in senior care. If you feel the one he has is not sensitive to his needs, look elsewhere. My doc can fit me in the same day or next day if it's a pressing issue, not quite to the level of E-room. Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more slaves. -D.H. Lawrence | |||
|
| Just because you can, doesn't mean you should |
Based on your description of the events of two weeks ago, I can why they told him to go to an ER for that particular issue. He had a fall and sounds like had some symptoms of trauma that could require immediate attention. For regular, run of the mill checkups his regular doctor would be the right place but this wasn’t like that. Sounds like there may have been some miscommunication otherwise. At his age he should be on Medicare so the cost shouldn’t be the issue like it would be for younger folks. ___________________________ Avoid buying ChiCom/CCP products whenever possible. | |||
|
| Savor the limelight |
I just got off the phone with my dad. After the ER, he was supposed to follow up with the neurosurgeon that look at his MRIs. That Dr's office is 50 miles away, so he followed up with his internist/cardiologist instead. The practice that this Dr is a part of is all cardiologists which may be why no one else there will see my dad and I'm guessing here, because rest of them are not internists? My dad went this Dr in the first place because my dad has been on blood thinners and has AFib, so having one Dr to cover the regular things and the heart things seemed convenient. This may be a limitation at this point. I think he needs a different regular Dr. if his internist/cardiologist can't fit my dad in when needed. I'm not questioning him going to the ER in the first place. If he had called me, I would have taken him. My uncle was already at his house. The issue my dad is having is the following up on what was found in the ER. The L1 vertebra facture. My dad isn't getting better yet and just had this new pain start in the last two days. He shouldn't have to go to the ER for follow ups, but he's under the impression that's the only way a Dr will see him because they are all booked up. His words. We discussed a concierge Dr and his question was what good would one do for him with his current situation? He'd still have to see a specialist and be at the mercy of that specialist's schedule. My dad said he's going to call the neurosurgeon's office in the morning and he has expressly forbidden me from calling his Dr's office. | |||
|
| It's pronounced just the way it's spelled |
I'm assuming your dad lives in FL, like you do. This is snowbird season, and my experience is that unless something is life threatening, the next appointment for a specialist is weeks away. If it is life threatening, they will tell you to go to the ER. If it falls in between, they tell you to go to urgent care. I understand you dad's reluctance to go see a doctor 50 miles away, but having a referral from an ER will get the neurosurgeon's attention, and probably will fit him in. A concierge doc may not do him a great deal of good at the moment, but you can point out that the whole point of one is that they WILL see you, as you are paying the equivalent of a retainer to a lawyer. | |||
|
| Member |
Related experience: It took me 45 days to get an appointment for a consultation for a fairly simple procedure I need. A month and a half for the consultation, not the procedure. So... I show up for the consult at a large, non hospital medical building. Many of our local doctors have offices there. And the buildings elevators are closed off. Cant social distance in the elevator! I wondered how people in wheelchairs or with mobility issues got in to see their doctors. But I did not ask about it. I didnt think the answer would have been sensible.  End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles | |||
|
| Member |
Having been a long time medical practitioner myself, I have seen medicine evolve over time from primaries being the “ cradle to the grave” provider that handled most everything to a “clearing house” where they simply refer to specialists for everything. ( there are pluses and minuses of course) but there was a time when your primary took care of you in the office admitted and followed you in the hospital, and perhaps met you in the ER to arrange for your admission. Today for many reasons, care is fragmented ( office doctor,ER doctor, Hospitalist, specialist consultant and more) and there are some discouragement to primaries offering comprehensive care. Fewer doctors are going into primary care, and wait times for routine appointments is long. It is not unusual for primary offices to refer patients to urgent care or ER due to limited capacity. Also something I saw working in urgent care frequently, some people relocate from areas with high medical resource saturation to a smaller area with far fewer primaries limiting access. | |||
|
Oriental Redneck |
This message has been edited. Last edited by: 12131, Q | |||
|
| Little ray of sunshine  |
I think he needs a new doctor. As Black said, consider one who offers concierge service. The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything. | |||
|
| Savor the limelight |
Thanks for the guidence folks. There probably was some misunderstanding on my dad's part when he went to the ER for his fall. I stayed in his room until they booted me out when visiting hours ended and of course The Drs got around to him at 3:00am. When I picked him up the next day, he seemed to have a plan, so I didn't think much beyond that. In the short term, he went to an Urgent Care place yesterday and he has an appointment with a neurologist that's only 20 miles away today. Long term, I'm going to encourage him to find a new PCP who can provide ongoing care on a timely basis. | |||
|
| Powered by Social Strata |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
© SIGforum 2025