Does your doctors office have an expiration date?
 

I’m a patient of a local doctor since 2000. My wife and MIL just saw him a few weeks ago. Haven’t been sick to see him, but it’s been awhile, so I called to make an appointment for a physical. Person on the phone says I last saw the doctor in 2013. That’s sounds right...I haven’t been sick. Well, if you haven’t seen your doctor in three years, you’re considered a new patient and have to re-apply. Ok, no problem. 😀

But we aren’t accepting new patients! 😂

So, now I have to find a new doctor. 😡

We need single payer. Plain and simple.

It is because they can bill medicare after 3 years for a new patient visit, and it pays more, so...

It may be they switched from paper to cloud on their records in the interim, seems weird though. Have the wife speak to him, least they could do is keep you on.

That doesn't fix the problem:
https://www.expatica.com/uk/healthcare/healthcare-basics/seeing-a-general-practice-doctor-in-the-uk-1095636/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570597/Three-week-wait-doctor-Millions-patients-denied-prompt-appointment-GP.html

https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/waiting-your-turn-wait-times-for-health-care-in-canada-2018

https://globalnews.ca/news/3251833/canada-has-some-of-the-longest-wait-times-to-see-doctors-specialists-report/

She called. No dice. They say he and the other docs are slammed.

So we can have even less doctors available.

So, suggest you do some shopping around. IF you can get in, be sure to keep up with regular visits...perhaps even get under the care of a P.A. (Physician's Assistant) who can then refer you to an MD as needed. That's the boat Cindy & I are in. We don't consider it an ideal situation, but it's better than none at all.

My GP retired 4 years ago. I have not had a proper check up in 4 years. I keep telling myself to do it but it seems my priorities are screwed up.

How the heck would that help?

Curious...wondering if you have Medicare or Tricare?

I guess I'm lucky to not have that kind of problem with Kaiser. I've had the same primary care guy for 23 years now. When I was working I got some kinds of tests more than once a year. Now on Medicare I get an exam once a year and tests whenever my doctor considers necessary. If I send him an email, I get an appointment the next day. If he is out of there some day, I'll choose the hot Vietnamese lady doctor I've seen a couple of times to replace him.

I can't count the number of primary care Physicians I've had since I've been an adult. The employer shops new insurance? New pcP. Get laid off, change insurance? Go shoppin! PcP retires? Try and make sense of the latest provider's website and start going down the list.
Just Modern Life.
I've had some good pcP's, and some OK ones, but never any for more than a few years, and I've sure never quit one on a whim.

And like a lot of you, I don't get sick often, just want an occasional checkup, cholesterol screen, maybe a skin tag removed, or some weird thing looked at. Maybe a few free Cialis samples from my Urologist...

When we moved last year we had to find new doctors. Went to two before we landed on a practice we like. The doctor has 4 physician's assistants. He's there through the week, but with the PAs the office is open 14 hrs a day, 7 days a week. Best set up I've ever encountered. I called this afternoon for a follow-up on some X-rays. They offered me a 7 AM appointment tomorrow.

It is my observation we are in a period of more work to be done than there are the workers able and willing to do it.

Neither. I have Aetna through work.

No doctors have retired me, but I fired one that was always 45 to 60 minutes late. Always. One time I got mad enough I went through the door, down the hall and found the doc sitting at his desk reading the paper. I told him "you are fired" and I will need my patient records to take with me.

His replacement was great, until he decide to retire. My newest doc just sent me a letter that is is going to work running the clinic of a very large corporation here in town. He will be available for me on Friday afternoon's only. So I will have to find another doctor. His office was nice and close, and east to get to.

Even though I am generally healthy, I still go in one per year for blood & urine tests at a minimum.

SO in response to the OP, no my doctor has not given me an expiration date, but several of them have decided their dreams and aspersions, and live are more important than me as one patient. I can understand that.

I did this too. I gave them plenty of chances, but I twice had to have Larry David-like blow-ups in the waiting room, finally told them it looked like they were so busy, they'd not miss my business.

Bingo on that. It is my observation that the more government gets involved, the worse this situation gets. God bless those hard working P.A.'s. I get the impression that ours has very little free time.

I guess I don't understand why the practice didn't notify you that this could happen. Around here we get a letter whenever the practice we are in changes a doctor for any reason. Getting dropped just like that doesn't seem like right and proper business.

I don't think single payer would have made a difference in this situation, as described by the OP. In fact, it is the single payer (the federal government in the form of Medicare) who established the guidelines that led to the above scenario. See Tobra's explanation below:

When you see a patient, you have to select the code for how you are going to bill insurance. There are (5) different codes for different levels of service, theoretically reflecting different levels of complexity. There are also different criteria for new patient visits vs. existing patient visits. A new patient is defined as a patient you (or an office partner) hasn't seen in the last 3 years. Those are Medicare rules, and the entire insurance industry effectively follows those same rules.

I'm not sure that is a reasonable expectation--that a medical practice has to contact every patient that is coming up on 3 years since their last visit, and inform them they need to return for an office visit in order to keep "established patient" status active.

It may be an office policy that they are not taking new patients, but the 3-year thing is set by the federal government. Still, it is a bit odd that the office in this situation wouldn't allow a patient with whom they had a previous relationship to return. That's a bit of being a stickler.

^^^^ Especially when my wife and MIL have been patients for 19 years. My wife saw him 2 weeks ago. I thought I would have to wait a month or so to get in, but not told to take a hike.