Do you believe monthly doctor visits could decrease hospital admissions and hospital stays?

Are you kidding? We now have a shortage of people in medicine due to Covid burnout. Why would you clog up the system with what almost sounds like a monthly social visit to the good old doc? Sorry, we do need to improve our while medical care system but your nice idea doesn't work.

What helped my mom was not increased doctor VISITS, it was increased access to ger doctor via cell phone. Once she had an eldercare specialist she could call any time, her anxiety about her various conditions went way down and her health improved.

For me, it us having an online email link to my doc where I can get timely feedback.

I think visits this often would quickly become perfunctory and not worth much. Doctors would hurry through and check it off. I’ll fully agree with you that seniors are often disregarded, not just in medical care, but in many aspects of life. I’ve long wished our society valued our seniors more

A number of seniors can't get to Dr's office without someone taking them. Some Vets live in state where the nearest VA is 3 hours away. It might improve health etc but it would increase rates of traffic accidents.

There is also a cost factor.
I was going to a specialist as well as my PCP.
I found the Specialist was ordering the same bloodwork that my PCP was ordering, just 3 months apart from the other visit. Neither would use the previous bloodwork so I was repeating bloodwork and the "specialist" visit was a higher co-pay than my PCP. A monthly visit to the doctor would be a waste of my time and the doctors time. And a waste of money.
I, so far, can comprehend what the doctors are telling me but I would think many are not as fortunate as I am. The more medical problems the more complicated the discussions.
I know for a fact that if I did not "push" my Husband to see doctors he would not have. And probably would have died from melanoma before the Dementia took him.
Unfortunately many doctors see death as a failure so they continue to push "cures", medications, repeated lab tests and scans. They forget, or have not been taught that Quality of Life is just as important as Quantity of Life.
Medical students should have a rotation in Hospice as a requirement. Not just a cursory tour.

I think it depends heavily on the individual and his/or her support, geographic location, variety and severity of medical issues, at a minimum.

No. If a senior needs socialization, a costly visit to the doctor is not the answer. I’m a senior.

When I was looking for a new doctor for my mother who would come to the house, I got 2 names recommended by a NP. The first doctor belongs to a group that does home visits. They insist on monthly visits which I don’t think my mother needs. To me, it’s a way for the doctor to milk Medicare. The doctor refuses to take my mom as a patient if I don’t agree to monthly visits. So I called in the second doctor. This doctor came out and did a throughout exam, renewed my mom’s prescription and gave antibiotics to use in the event she gets UTI that way we wouldn’t have to take her to ER. He agrees on a visit every 3 months which is perfectly what I want for my mother.

Saves us time and tax dollars. I’m happy with that.

Uhm, no. I was annoyed enough when mom's doctor insisted on check ups every 3 months but I accepted her logic that things change quickly in the very old. If your goal is to help seniors stay in their own homes having access to doctors and nurses who make house calls is much more important, as health declines the inability to access primary care is just one more stumbling block for many.

I think that if the doctor visits are with a Loved One then the doctor visits are helpful. For example, when I would take my mother to the doctor I would be in the examination room with her. Afterwards we would have lunch together. Sometimes we would go home together. Otherwise, there is certain detachment doctors have with patients, and that is because they are not family doctors. They are professionals who cannot become attached to their patients.

My mother sees her primary every 4 months, and neuro, endocrine every 10-12 months now and that is ok with me. She sees home RN once week. I am glad and relieved my mom has some appointments that are only one a year. I keep up on any health issues and if a problem arises I will call the doctor.

And many of our elderly loves ones make their caregivers' lives hell on earth, but that's besides the point.
Definitely monthly doctor appointments would be a blessing in so many ways. The number of ailments like UTI's and skin issues could be treated before they get serious and maybe prevented altogether. This is a good idea.

My Dad stayed at home alone while I took care of Mom who has Alz. The hospital gave him weekly in-home nurse visits and weekly PT an attempt to keep him out of the hospital. I think it helped. When he became overwhelmed I think he would neglect his heart meds or diabetes meds to get admitted so as to get reg meals, company, etc. this lasted about 3 years.

Seniorsarevp, your profile states:

"I am a healthcare professional seeking to provide information on quality FREE healthcare fo seniors; to include more frequent doctor visits, transportation to and from the doctor, In-house specialty care, acupuncture, in-home pharmacy, senior sneakers, activities, etc.."

I found your individual responses to posts interesting, which prompted me to explore your background, position, and purpose in seeking the information you've requested.   I'm curious now what your specific healthcare profession is.

What you propose addresses ingrained national customs, state and/or federal laws, congressional action (hardly possible with all the infighting taking place), and more.  

I would anticipate this more in countries that do have turnkey services for elder patients.   Personally, I don't think anything remotely similar to what you propose could ever be integrated in the US; there would be too much government involvement if not interference, too little choice, too much consolidation (and that would be a major issue), and dubious control over standards and safety.

Your idea is unique though.   Could you explain at least one aspect:  HOW would the US move from its current situation to "quality FREE healthcare fo  (sic) seniors", not just in theory, but in application?   And what is your role?  Unless you have the backing or resources of someone like Elon Musk, or a tech baron, I'm unable to see how any one person, even with support, could implement something this drastic.

And how exactly would you go about implementing this?  I'm curious...really curious.

And, BTW, I can't see doctors providing mobile phone numbers.   They have answering services, and for good reason.   

And why should seniors get FREE healthcare. The argument could made on spending more on children to ensure lifelong health. Good points Garden Artist.

Doctors do not need to give out cell phone numbers. My dad and husband are both doctors. No life without being tied to patient calls on a cell phone.

"Seniors" is quite a broad term, don't you think? So how, exactly, would you define it? AT 65, when Medicare kicks in? 75? 85? Because let's face it, in this day and age, your health at 65 is likely going to be very, very different than at, say 85, and living to 85 isn't the rarity it was 100 years ago.

Might this idea help the younger end of seniors? By getting ahead of any chronic health issues at 65, might you be buying yourself more time - quality time - later in life? Perhaps, but I don't know that, at 65, if my health is relatively good, that I'm going to want to visit my doctor once a month. And which doctor? My husband (58 years old) sees several for various health conditions. Is he supposed to go see EACH of them once a month? That's like a week's worth of doctors, which can become not only time-consuming but a little pricey. Add on to the visits the various lab work that has to be done - a separate co-pay - and to what point and purpose? "Everything looks the same, see you next month"? We actually HAD a doctor who did that ("how does the knee feel? Still hurts? OK, see you next month") and we dropped that doctor like a bad habit. How many relatively healthy people do you realistically see doing that on a monthly basis?

So bump it back by 10 years. Do we start this at 75? Would that be the magic number? 85? The older you get, the more you have to depend on others to get you to the doctor, so now you're likely tying up at least 2 people for these monthly appointments - the patient and the patient's transportation person/caretaker.

And are the doctors willing to accept that there are some conditions for which there is no "getting better"; there's only keeping the body going, perhaps to the detriment of the patient? A LOT of doctors struggle with that. My mother's cardiologist - who was absolutely wonderful - was loathe to bring up hospice, even when it was glaringly obvious to even me - a non-medical person - that mom was failing by inches each day. "I don't want her to think I've given up on her" was the comment I got when I asked if it was time for a hospice consultation. MOM was ready to admit she wasn't going to get any better, it was the DOCTOR who was recalcitrant. If that's how he was with my mother - who was relieved to go into hospice - how much worse will it be for the people (or their LO's) who are in complete denial about their health conditions and their chances of recovery. How many times do we see - over and over - people whose LO's passed while in hospice who were clearly in denial about the seriousness of their LO's conditions ("hospice killed my _______")?

Also, what do you think this will do to medical malpractice lawsuits? Certainly, I can see a huge uptick in cases - I mean can't you see " How could the doctor have missed this? We see him/her each month"?

I have no doubt there are changes that need to be made to our health care system. But, I'm sorry, your last comment "The goal is to keep our seniors happy, healthy and at home" seems to me a little duplicitous. This idea, to me, reeks of a money grab at the expense of those seniors and their LO's who fear illness and death.

Personally, based on my parents and their history with Doctors, I don't think so.

My Dad actually hated going to see a Doctor - and after he came off Life Support and was home, he had to go every Friday. Twenty years after his death, my Mom and I still hate Fridays because of all the stress those appointments cost him until he died.

Now I caregive for my Mom who's in bed. She hates Doctors visits more than my Dad did. It's a nightmare of Hoyer Lifts, Stretchers and Paramedical Transport to go to one. She delays her appointments as long as she can. We generally have an ARNP come to the house to visit whenever possible.

Plus the billing is always screwed up and that's very stressful for all involved, too.

I know my opinion differs radically from most posters on here.
But, there are some seniors (me included) that this idea would be an actual nightmare for them.

I (as a senior also) only go when absolutely needed for prescription refills & will go to Urgent Care when ill. However, there's always that bill that arrives ...
Can't imagine having those bills all the time! yikes

(Just thought you'd like to hear the "other side".)

I think it's more important for them to be treated/diagnosed correctly than to be seen more frequently. Plus, it's up to the family members who will always know the person better than a doctor to know when something isn't right.

My mother loved her PCP and went to her for 30 years, mostly because her doctor was a good listener. Unfortunately, she was a terrible doctor and diagnosed my mother with depression when she couldn't breathe. It turned out her chest cavity was full of fluid, and the misdiagnosis was firmly defended for three weeks until my mother was finally rushed to the hospital. I fully believe that delay in proper treatment and lack of oxygen is what led to her vascular dementia.

The same doctor also decided that Mom's pleural effusion was caused by ovarian cancer and told her so with absolutely no evidence. My mother, who had already survived one bout of breast cancer more than 20 years before, was suicidal the night after that bombshell was dropped on her, and after a thorough exam the next day, including an excruciatingly painful vaginal ultrasound, the doctor came back with "my bad." No cancer at all.

No, the family is the primary caregiver, especially when the loved one is at home, and it's their responsibility to oversee the person's health and alert the doctor when something is awry. Once she was in a nursing home, she was seen monthly by the in-house doctor, and she would have died if I'd left her in that place because she had uncontrolled edema and her legs were literally dripping water out of them. I moved her to another place, she was seen monthly, and her edema issues were solved within two weeks and she lived another two years.

The doctors didn't make the difference -- I did. I was the one who raised the alarm that none of this was normal, and I was the one who kept on top of the doctors and physician assistants to notify them as to what was going on.

The family is the one who knows the person best, not the doctor. It isn't possible for doctors to see their patients monthly, so if the person is suffering from something that needs to be treated, then the family needs to get them in for treatment. A doctor's job is not to settle unfounded worries, and that's why there are P.A.s and nurse practitioners to be the buffer between the nervous patient and the doctor. The doctor has to deal with the people who are actually sick.

Sadly, there are very, very few geriatricians in this country, and it'd be nice if we had a lot more, especially considering the Baby Boom generation is now needing those kind of doctors.

It depends on what the visit is for. My mother is getting bladder washes and urine cultures every 1-2 weeks and she has not been admitted into the hospital for over a year. Her urologist keeps a close eye on her,She does get very sick with UTI'S but stable since the close followups.

I've had virtual visits myself in the last year, fine if you want to chat about whether to go ahead with a new treatment plan but pretty much useless when it comes to actually monitoring a preexisting condition or diagnosing anything new.

As for my mom - I get the impression you have a picture in your mind of a relatively health senior who walks out the door (maybe with the aid of a rollator) and hops in the car and pops over to the doctor's office that is just around the corner. Picture a Frail Elder who needs a wheelchair, who needs Herculean strength to help them move from bed to chair and then outside and into the car. Maybe it's winter - some of us have the possibility of cold, ice and snow to deal with from December to April. Maybe the doctor's office is a considerable distance away, and finding available handicapped parking is hit or miss. Once there you struggle to haul the wheelchair out of the trunk and get your elder out of the car and into the office where you get to share a waiting room with coughing, sneezing, and who knows what else (and that's pre covid). If your elder is still continent chances are they now need to use a washroom 🙄. You finally get in to see the doctor after a long 40 minute wait, who asks if you have any new concerns. You say no. Perhaps your elder is hard of hearing, has low vision and/or some level of dementia so they are not participating AT ALL, in fact they are confused or maybe nodding off. After a cursory exam the doctor faxes a renewal of all prescriptions to the pharmacy and you get to do the whole thing in reverse. And I counted myself fortunate that I didn't have to take a day off work for this as many others do.
Are the concerns of those who feel this is ill advised clearer for you now?

I don't think it's so much about regular visits as it is aboit immediate access when there is an issue.

Like a sudden change in mental status, vertigo, a wound that appears or ansudden excrucuiating headache and the like.

Being able to get in touch immediately with the medical professional who knows you and who can give you advice based on your unique condition.

So, for example, ANYONE can tell me to take my DH (who is on blood thinners) to the ER or call 911; when it's OUR doc who tells me that, I don't hesitate.