Melbourne non-emergency medical transportation for seniors is just a phone call away, but how often should seniors really visit the doctor? It may seem like a simple question but there’s really no exact answer. For one thing, every person is different in terms of health, mobility and risk factors.
The rule of thumb is that you go back whenever your doctor tells you to at the end of your last appointment. They might say something like, see you next year, or make another appointment for 6-months out. A couple of key things help determine the actual time frame between your appointments…
Medications—The law doesn’t allow any medication prescription to last longer than 12-months. For this reason, you have to go to the doctor annually to have prescriptions reinstated. Some medications require a new prescription every month or every few months, fluctuating how often you see your doctor.
Underlying conditions—If you have diabetes, a heart condition, high cholesterol, hypertension or sleep apnea you likely visit your doctor around every 6-months or so for check ups. If don’t have any underlying conditions, you likely find yourself going to the doctor less often.
Naturally, seniors have more underlying conditions than younger populations; therefore they tend to go to the doctor more often. That doesn’t mean every senior needs to go to the doctor all the time.
Do Lonely Seniors Visit The Doctor More Often?
Over the course of several years, the University of Georgia collected data from 3,500 Americans 60-years and older. If the participants checked that they were lonely in both 2008 and 2012, they were marked as chronically lonely. Researchers found that the ‘lonely’ seniors visited the doctor more frequently than the non-lonely seniors.
Chronically lonely patients go to the doctor more often, but researchers found no correlation with increased hospitalizations of these same people. Researchers find this to be telling because visiting your doctor is familiar and sort of like visiting an old friend that looks after your health. On the other hand, going to the hospital requires a referral and is more unknown territory that does not offer the same sense of companionship.
It’s important to keep in mind that loneliness is not defined by having a lack of friends or family. One could have a big support system, but still feel very lonely. Loneliness is especially prominent amongst elderly populations.
Are You Visiting The Doctor Too Much?
When your doctor tells you when to come back next, it’s okay to ask why. If you think you’re visiting the doctor too frequently talk it over with your practitioner, especially if it is costing you a lot of money out of pocket. Your doctor may feel comfortable seeing you less often if you speak up.
How Often Do People See Their Doctor Around The World?
The average American goes to the doctor just four times per year. That may sound like a lot, or maybe normal, but it’s less than people go to the doctor in every other developed country…
In Japan, the average person visits their doctor 13 times per year.
In Germany, the average person visits their doctor 9.7 times per year.
Canada- 7.4 times a year
France- 6.8 times per year
Australia- 6.7 times per year
United Kingdom- 5 times per year
These numbers take into account how often all age groups go to the doctor. Seniors tend to go to the doctor more often, generally because they are prescribed more medications and dealing with more health issues.
In America, it is expensive to see a doctor. Every time you go, even for a 20-minute visit, you pay for it. Even with insurance you could have a $50 copayment. In order to save money people try to avoid going to the doctor unless it is necessary. It’s not just doctor visits that cost more in America, even medications cost more here. In Spain, it’s $58 to buy a bottle of Nexium (heartburn medication) and in the US it’s $215 for the very same thing.
Melbourne Non-Emergency Medical Transportation
If you go to the doctor 2 times per year, or twenty times per year, you need a reliable form of transportation to get there. Stellar Transportation provides superior non-emergency medical transportation to seniors of all mobility, including wheelchair and stretcher patients.