My husband has dementia (Alzheimer's) and no other conditions. I wonder should I keep making him go to the neurologist when the doctor does nothing that will really help the condition? My husband has no problem going to our general doctor for anything else that I think is wrong. We went for the annual wellness visit recently and it went well. The neurologist is expensive and quite a distance from our home.
My dad had congestive heart failure and kidney failure. He was very weak, and needed bathroom assistance all the time. His MD told us that there was nothing further that medicine had to offer. He was at the end of his life. So the MD arranged to have him put on Medicare hospice status (they had moved to AL at that time as well since he needed round the clock assistance with the ADLs.) Hospice provided regular nursing and social worker visits for comfort care only. He also signed a "do not resuscitate" order (never needed, fortunately.) He passed away peacefully beside mom in their AL apartment.
I just sent via the portal a question for mom's regular doc (we never saw any "specialist" for the dementia) regarding a refill for her BP meds. Currently this is all she takes, unless we have a UTI. Generally doctors will require you to be seen in order to do the refill, which is totally understandable. But like lealonnnie1, I find it rather difficult, esp with the virus, to get her there (won't stand or walk without serious support, which I can't do.) I can get transport and an aide to help, but it is better not to make trips outside the facility, esp since so far there have been NO cases! So, on the call back, the nurse asked if I could sit with her for a TeleHealth instead. Really? To do what? You can't listen to heart and lungs, you can't check weight and BP. She can't hear you and even if she could, she wouldn't understand much!!! (they tried to get me to do TH last month for my annual physical - same question: WHY? Oh, because you can get paid. Physical exam over my little phone, woo hoo, you'll do a great job with that!)
So no, I wouldn't continue taking him there.
If nothing is done but a "follow-up" with the neurologist and there's no new meds can be tried, or therapies, then perhaps just a every other year check in is good enough.
How many of you have a BP device, working scale, pulse oximeter? I don't have any of these (the scale most of the time, fresh batteries or not, doesn't work and it isn't that old - it's been a pig since it was new and I can't be buying more all the time.) Even my thermometers are questionable!
I don't currently take any medications, so they can't "refill" anything for me.
I don't have nor do I want a Face-anything.
Never used the camera on the laptop, don't even know if it works and have no plans to check it.
For me, checkups are a yearly thing. I haven't been sick in decades. If I can't be there and have them do what they do during a physical exam, then I consider it POINTLESS. (BTW, they can't listen to your heart or lungs over the video! Seems that would be especially important for someone with BP issues!!!)
For my mother, yup, BP meds, but:
1) she's in a facility (MC)
2) so far they've had NO cases and we want to keep it that way
3) she has little or no hearing, so turning up the vol will do nothing for her
4) I can't be there with her, as they requested. Not allowed.
5) She wouldn't understand any of it even if she could hear, she has dementia.
6) As noted above, if they can't do the actual checking, what's the point?
I'm not even sure they have any way to do video chats in the MC unit. They probably would defer to us in normal times, but since I'm not allowed and have no "capability"...
If someone wants to get a visit this way, have at it. I'm not suggesting what anyone else should do. For OP, no that would be a pointless visit. Others, whatever makes you comfortable. I'm just pointing out that TH is limited in what it can be used for. If there is something "concrete" the doctor can see or hear and perhaps evaluate, great. For many this isn't the case. I don't think my insurance has a co-pay for yearly exams, but even so, WHAT is the point for me or my mother and many others in the same boat?
So yeah - I knew I was in for a significant struggle in managing her many, many doctors and specialist.
Still, when I discovered my mom was seeing an OB/GYN every three months for a vaginal ring change-out - I thought my head was gonna explode. I mean, my mom was in her mid 80’s and she was on Homone Replacement Therapy. Seriously?
That was the first of what became many specialist visits that got crossed off the list. By the time my mother was put on Hospice care her prescriptions had been reduced to only what she needed in terms of her now occasional behavior meltdowns - an Ativan here or there. And, you know what? Absolutely nothing change or worsened beyond the natural progress of her dementia.
Ive got nothing against doctors in general but the “lather-rinse-repeat” of follow-up visits can get out of hand. And, too often they are completely pointless when a person hits advanced old age. Well, pointless beyond financing the medical machine.