A Most Unusual Day

We have been fortunate regarding maintaining generally good health. Thanks to the pandemic several doctor visits were put off and we both feel a lot older. I just went for an annual visit and need another prescription. I also need to have an X-ray because of horrible back pain in the supine position. My husband has had an issue crop up over the last ten days. Yesterday we spent time on a video chat with his doctor. That ended with a prescription, and a referral. That meant calling the referral, getting an appointment, filling in the on line health screen, sending in ID and insurance cards, having a medical record faxed from one office to another - all of which took multiple phone calls. I’m also reacquainting myself with provider handbooks and health care benefits. When we went to pick up the prescription the line was so long we went back in the evening - two trips to the store. When we picked up the mail there were two bills from the lab saying our insurance didn’t cover my husband’s lab work  - that means more phone calls and run arounds next week because there was no one to talk to late Friday afternoon. I just had blood work done and my claims were processed so I’m not sure what the glitch was. When I checked the claims and invoices on the website I didn’t have access to my husbands information. In the mean time my husband hasn’t been himself over worry - he’s a retired surgeon, reads in to everything, and not used to any of this. We haven’t been eating because he lost his appetite and of course I’m worried - and have a painful back at night. On top of that I scheduled a hearing test for Monday and know what that means. There are more dental visits next month. In the grand scheme of things it could be a lot worse. The pandemic is an overwhelming cloud that has no end, and all these things make us feel even more vulnerable. And our diversions have been reduced - no trips, no dinners, no visits. I guess you can only take one day at a time and be thankful things aren’t worse. Having just lived through my mom’s last few years on earth doesn’t help either. It’s incredibly sad watching a loved one deteriorate. Hopefully everything will start to calm down. It was just too much in one day. 

Physician Video Visit

It’s just so much easier! I always dread going to the doctor office for just about anything. But having high blood pressure and assorted other things, annual visits are an expectation. Lately it’s been every six months. But since we moved from Capitol Hill to northern Virginia it took a while to find a new doctor. So my husband and I made appointments to see Dr. R in an office that is literally right across the street from where we live. Since my husband needed a pre op screen in January for cataract surgery, he saw another physician at the same clinic and decided to stick with him. He was having a little health issue a couple of weeks ago and we set up a video conference call with his doctor. It went really well. So when it came time for my new patient visit, I decided to have a video call as well - rather than go in to the office. I made sure everything was set up - using the medical clinic app and the zoom app on my iPhone, and completed all of the paper work and medical history on line. I had already requested my old medical records be transferred over months ago. Dr. R was right on time, and the conversation was easy. It took the entire half hour reviewing all my meds and past history. Basically I wanted to establish a connection with a new doctor primarily for prescription refills and routine exams. In the end I still need to have blood work drawn and get a bone density and mammogram done. If anything changes because if this virus, virtual visits are very convenient for everyone on all levels - even when you live across the street from the office. My blood pressure and I wouldn’t want it any other way.