Ok, well here goes my first blog posting!
I decided to write about access to health care, as it is too important not to be discussed and I think I may have some helpful advice. As Luc wrote previously, it can be a daunting experience to deal with health insurance. Anyway, here are several suggestions:
1 - after arriving at CfA and enrolling in a health plan, you should check a physician's listing and call up a doctor asking if they accept new patients. You'll probably have to call up several doctors before you find one (don't forget to ask, of course, if they are covered by your health plan!).
2 - once you find a doctor, set up a "wellness consultation" as soon as possible. This appointment is meant to get you in the system as the doctor's patient and so that you can meet the doctor and he/she can familiarize himself/herself with your clinical history.
From my experience, if you are feeling sick and need to see a doctor the same day then, even if your doctor is not available, there will always be another doctor that can see you. At worst, a nurse practitioner will see you.
I urge you to follow steps 1 and 2 as early on as possible because then it will be so very much easier to see a doctor when you need one on short notice.
Alright, that's my fivepence of wisdom for today...
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1 comment:
Thanks Paula.
Having your general practitioner probably creates a sort of preferential path at the facility where your doctor is affiliated. So when you need a doctor, even if your own is not available, they will find someone.
Without any connection to the facility, it would take at least 1 week for an appointment. Several hospitals have "walk-in units" (MGH, for instance). There you can see a doctor without any appointment: just go, sit down and wait for your turn.
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