When your parent or loved one develops multiple serious medical conditions that require frequent monitoring and/or periodic hospitalization you should consider choosing a doctor who follows his or her patients while they are in the hospital. I know that might sound crazy but in today's health care environment, most hospital patients are assigned to and followed by a "Hospitalist". These doctors are very qualified, licensed physicians but they most likely have never even met your parent or loved one. This is especially disconcerting for an elderly person who is frightened by change or for someone with a complicated medical history.
Try to find a good internist who makes rounds on his or her patients while they are in the hospital and doesn't delegate their care to the hospitalist. The difference can be night and day. Fortunately, there are still doctors out there who follow their patients while in the hospital but they are getting harder to find. You may have to look into the various "boutique medicine" models. It's likely you will have to pay an upfront out of pocket annual fee to access this kind of care but in my experience, it is worth its weight in gold. My mother's physician not only follows her while she's in the hospital but he or she, or the call partner is available pretty much 24/7 when she needs an antibiotic, puke bug medicine or more breathing treatments for her COPD. We have the meds or treatments within a couple of hours, even on weekends and evenings. We no longer have to take her to his office and expose her to more germs... He comes to the house once a month or more, if necessary, and performs the old fashioned "house call"...
As much as the health care environment has changed for the worse, I'm thrilled to see more physicians embracing this "Marcus Welby" boutique model. Why not pay extra to obtain the care our parents need and deserve? Some people go into debt and spend ridiculous fortunes on automobiles, homes, and vacations. Why should superior health care be any different? This is especially true if proactive health care can prevent a hospitalization...
It's touching to read about how you take care of your parents, especially on how you do not spare any expense on the account of their health and well being. Medical costs are getting higher, but your dedication to meeting the best standard of care for your mother does not wane still. There are less people like you now, and I hope more would come to read your stories of love and care for their parents particularly those in their elderly stages. May you and the rest of your family be blessed with good health and abundance.
ReplyDeleteSteve Fischer @ arizonahealthinsuranceexperts.com