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Mom has glaucoma and has for several years been on Xalatan and Betoptic eye drops to treat the condition, but it has slowly gotten worse. A year and a half ago, her eye doctor tried a laser treatment and that did not work to improve her vision. So at that time he said there is nothing more he can do.

Now he/his office has refused to refill her prescriptions until she makes an appointment and comes in. She does not want to go -- it would be a morning appointment which is a hardship to her, he can't do anything more for her so she sees no reason to put herself through all that for "nothing". But she has to have the eye drops or her remaining eyesight is at risk, plus the physical condition of her eyes (pain and even potential rupture if inner eye pressure increases without the stabilizing effect of the eye drops).

Can an eye doctor legally withhold medications like these?

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I hardly think he's "withholding" medications. Any doctor has a right to see a patient before refilling scripts.

He probably wants to check for any changes and/or deterioration, which may or may not affect the prescription he writes.

Someone's eyesight is worth making a few sacrifices. Is there any reason why the appointment couldn't be in the afternoon?
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Have you considered changing doctors? After reading your second post I'm wondering if that would be better for you and your mother.

It sounds as though he may be heading toward retirement if he's cutting back his hours, unless he's teaching or involved in some other medical activity.
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Doctors do have to see patients at least once a year in order to write prescriptions. Many opthamologists will schedule appointments every 6 months. This is normal procedure. I take my mother in every four months now. Why they schedule her so often, I don't know. This is one doctor she sees by herself. I'm just the chauffeur, so don't manage anything about these appointments.
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Azlife, that "nothing more we can do" is just a catch phrase, meaning no cure - but NOT no treatment or management. And I'm telling you firsthand, strange things can happen that you would not medically expect, like subtle adverse reactions that eventually become obvious but would have been caught sooner if appointments had been kept. I am sorry it is inconvenient, but it really is necessary, and you should not be asking the doc to just keep prescribing without a visit if they think its overdue. Bear in mind, you got what sounded like a cold hearted answer from the staff, because really, you ARE accusing their doctor of scheduling unnecessary visits with the implication that they are profiteering from it. Once or even twice a year is not out of line for something like this.
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AZ, there are always new meds coming on the market. Mom's eyes may have changed. Dont let mom drive the bus; you need to be making clearheaded medical decisions, not those driven by her incontinence and perhaps diminishing cognition. Find a closer doctor.
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My understanding is that prescriptions cannot legally be refilled beyond a specified time period. Might not be a bad idea to check out another opthamalogist; the change in hours and location gives you an excuse. Might even ask the current dr for a referral.
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My mom was moved to memory care three months ago. This facility has geriatricians, opthamologists and dentists that come to see patients regularly. There may be other sorts of docs too, but these are the ones I know about. Very convenient for all concerned!
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It would irresponsible for a doctor to continue to issue repeat prescriptions without following up on the patient. If your mother hasn't been seen for a year and a half, that's long enough. I can sympathise with the morning appointment being an issue: you can either argue - try special pleading and see if they'll make an exception for you and give her a later appointment - or find a more amenable optician.
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Not refilling prescriptions is common, and necessary practice especially with elderly. So many things can change over the course of a year. And I also believe insurance requires at a minimum yearly visits if you want coverage for meds. It would be irresponsible for any doctor to prescribe without seeing the patient. For all the doc knows, she may not even be alive any more. I'm sure insurance companies see that sort of fraud all the time.
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You need to find a new opthamalogist (not an optician!), who may know of a treatment that was not available when she was first diagnosed!
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