Concerns about Dr.'s,prescriptions etc.

[Curlida]

Sorry to ask so many questions but my wife is concerned that if we start doing some extensive traveling, do you plan short triips around Dr. Appointments,getting prescriptions filled ect. Will Dr's work with you so you don't have to keep coming back to your home base etc.How do you full timers juggle your healthcare, paying your everyday bills etc. it kind of sound like a dumb question but she is a retired Police officer who was hurt on the job and always has to make appointments or get RX's filled.

[DannyA]

I have my prescriptions written for 90 days.
Don't want to fool with going and getting it monthly.

[C-Bears]

Curlida wrote:
Sorry to ask so many questions but my wife is concerned that if we start doing some extensive traveling, do you plan short triips around Dr. Appointments,getting prescriptions filled ect. Will Dr's work with you so you don't have to keep coming back to your home base etc.How do you full timers juggle your healthcare, paying your everyday bills etc. it kind of sound like a dumb question but she is a retired Police officer who was hurt on the job and always has to make appointments or get RX's filled.

All of the medical stuff kind of depends on how your individual insurance works. I am a retired LEO and my insurance is tied to my previous employer.

We are back in our original home area every summer and make all of our appointments then. We have finally gotten our Doctors "trained" to the fact that we are all over the U.S. during the rest of the year and they work with us pretty well.

At first we were using Walmart for one month script refills. Our thinking was that wherever you go there is always a Wally World. That soon turned into a nightmare and now we do 90 day scripts by mail.

[wa8yxm]

Many people consider Doctors to be one degree removed from GOD..But the fact is YOU ARE THE BOSS.. They are YOUR employees.. So of course they will work with you.

Though some doctors you may need to plan a month or two in advance.. But you can do that.

on prescription refills.. Except when adjusting,,Most doctors write a year's worth of script now days (or six months) SOME pharmacies are nation wide..These include:
Wallgreens
Wall*mart
CVS
Rite Aid
I am not so sure about Kroger (not as many as Wal*mart not sure they are in all states)

With the exception of Wal*mart (And they will get there) most all of them use one computer nationwide.. So you can submit and fill a script in Detroit, MI,, Refill in Las-Vegas just as though you were in Detroit.

In the case of Wal*mart..They do not use such a central ssytem but the pharmacy staff will take care of it and transfer your script to the REFill store, and on to the next and the next.

I use Wal*mart (normally) due to their being wherever I go.

ALso I use a mail-order pharmacy, IN my case it is one prescribed by my insurance plan,, but they ship nation wide as well.

There are a few medications where you may not be able to do this.. but not many.. Mostly narcotic or habit forming drugs.

[2gypsies1]

jplante4 wrote:

2gypsies wrote:
Honestly, we rarely get any mail anymore. We successfully eliminated all junk mail.

I'd be interested in hearing how to accomplished this.

I won't say it's fast to do but it's definitely doable.

When we took off for full-timing 16 years ago we were getting tons of junk mail, credit card offers, catalogs, etc. We knew we didn't want that stuff forwarded to us from our mail forwarding service and pay postage on it. So we began the process 6 months prior.

First, we registered on this site:

https://www.dmachoice.org/index.php

Then we started in on our homework:

- For all our magazine subscriptions we called each one (there was no email when we began that long ago - amazing) and requested that they take our name off all mailings and not to sell our name to others.

- For all catalogs we received we called and had them remove our name from all lists and not to sell our name to others. Catalogs are pre-printed months in advance so it took a little time to stop them.

- Anything that came that had a phone number included, we called to have our name removed.

- Things without a phone number or a 'generic' phone number such as credit card offers, we sent the mail right back to them in another envelope and wrote across the original envelope - remove from mailing lists.

- When placing an order for something or subscribing to a new magazine, we immediately asked not to be put on any mailing lists and not to sell our name to others.

- Nowadays, with internet, when you order something there is always a box to check (or uncheck) whether you want to informed of special sales, etc.

- We never subscribe to receive emails for any special offer.

It took about a year to fully stop all junk mail and we haven't received any in 16 years!

This process is really important for full-timers with mail forwarding services. I guess it's not so important if you're in a house because the recycling bin is nearby. However, to us it's a big unnecessary waste. Save it for a month and you'll be amazed at how much accumulates.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Curlida wrote:
Sorry to ask so many questions but my wife is concerned that if we start doing some extensive traveling, do you plan short triips around Dr. Appointments,getting prescriptions filled ect. Will Dr's work with you so you don't have to keep coming back to your home base etc.How do you full timers juggle your healthcare, paying your everyday bills etc. it kind of sound like a dumb question but she is a retired Police officer who was hurt on the job and always has to make appointments or get RX's filled.

First thing - make an appointment to talk to the Dr about a 'life style change'.

A great many people with chronic conditions, daily medications, etc - are successful full-time RVers and travel across the nation.

Sadly - there are a few people with a few condition where that lifestyle is simply not possible due to the need for frequent doctor visits.

Also, any chronic condition needs to be controlled and manageable. Not something where the doctors are still trying to find the best treatment plan.

Second - healthcare insurance - for folks on Medicare it's simple and doctors in many of the main RV destinations are used to seeing people come and go.

But for those not on Medicare - they need to make sure their insurance is national in coverage. Some plans such as HMOs may be limited to certain geographic regions. Ask your insurance carriers specific questions about coverage for non-emergencies, emergencies, etc while far from home.

Paying bills over the internet is safe and easy, as long as you get a secure connection.

Most full-timers I know make at least one trip a year to an area where their primary doctors are located. We do. It's pretty easy to plan a major holiday, a winter destination, or in the case of one couple we know - a July 4th family reunion in Michigan.

It really isn't hard. Sometimes folks choose to change doctors, but most do not need to.

[jplante4]

2gypsies wrote:
Honestly, we rarely get any mail anymore. We successfully eliminated all junk mail.

I'd be interested in hearing how to accomplished this.

[2gypsies1]

We regularly went to the same area during the winter so we changed all our doctors to that area. Blood work and other tests can be done anywhere at labs as you're traveling. As we traveled and had immediate problems, we used either Urgent Care places and sometimes we even had to go to the ER because of a more serious problem. Basically, any medical problem can be done easily while traveling. We have dealt with joint replacements, cancer and other issues. It's easier to recover in a small RV. 🙂

Prescriptions - we always use WalMart and there's one to be found everywhere. As stated above, it's easy to get refills this way but there's a new law for Class 2 meds - pain killers - that requires a doctor visit before getting the prescription renewed. We didn't use them so I don't know how full-timers now deal with this. You'd have to talk with your doctor or post a question for that particular solution. Many full-timers use them so there must be an answer for when you're traveling.

Paying Bills - all of ours were put on Auto Pay and are automatically deducted from our checking account or credit card. No problems doing it and no worries about getting bills paid on time.

Mail - we use Escapees RV Club and have done so for 18 years with no problems. They give you an actual street address and all of our mail goes there. (We sold our last house when we began full-timing.) When we will be in one place for 5 days or so, we request them to send our mail - to the P.O. labeled 'General Delivery'. Some RV parks will accept mail also. Honestly, we rarely get any mail anymore. We successfully eliminated all junk mail.

Definitely - always pick a small P.O. so there are no problems. A medium or large city will have multiple branches and usually only one will accept General Delivery so there could be confusion as to where your mail is sent.

There's a full-timer's forum on this site and any questions related to full-timing might be answered there. Good luck!

[RoyB]

We added WALMARTs to our prescriptions list. We also use CVS which seem to be everywhere as well...

[dan-nickie]

Hurt on the job sounds like you may be asking about class 2 pain meds like hydrocodone?

If so, it seems that many people may not be familiar with the new regulations.

[MarkTwain]

Curlida wrote:
Sorry to ask so many questions but my wife is concerned that if we start doing some extensive traveling, do you plan short triips around Dr. Appointments,getting prescriptions filled ect. Will Dr's work with you so you don't have to keep coming back to your home base etc.How do you full timers juggle your healthcare, paying your everyday bills etc. it kind of sound like a dumb question but she is a retired Police officer who was hurt on the job and always has to make appointments or get RX's filled.

1. When I snow bird for the winter in Ariz. for 3 to 4 months I just find a Doctor who will be my primary care giver while I am there. I then have all my medical records from my home town sent to this doctor who then can make appropriate medical decisions about my care.
2. Finances -- Use your home town bank and have your bills put on "auto Pay" so you don't have to worry about important bills not being paid or missed.
3. Prescriptions --- establish an account in your home town with one of the major pharmacies , Longs, CVC, Wall Green that provide services nation wide. Now you can go to any Wall Green Pharmacy in any state to order and pick up your meds.
4. Travel protection -- buy a. Good Sam Emergency Road Side Service(there are others) b.Good sam Travel Assist plan. Both these plans will provide you protection as you do your extensive traveling.
5. Create a "spread sheet"--- or you can just write it out, list all current medications/drugs (drug,generic name, dosage, frequency, reason for medication, Dr. prescribing information of all your current drug/medications, the names,addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers of all your doctors. Run about 10 copies of this spread sheet, carry one in each vechicle, one in your wallet, put one in an envelope and stick it to the door of your refrigerator. As your medications chang, you simply update your medical spread sheet and run 10 more copies. Distroy the old copies.
If you need to have emergency medical care, give this spread sheet to the Emergency Care staff. The emergency doctor will appreciate this and you won't have to try and remember all this information.

[amandasgramma]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
We cluster our regular doctors appt's for the periods when we'll be visiting our upstate NY cottage, and if needed, other visits are done using urgent care centers or doctors recommended by our health insurance carrier wherever we are. Prescriptions are filled at a national chain drug store (We use CVS), and we can order refills for pickup at the closest store to our location online. Our mail is managed by a forwarding service that remails it on request, often to General Delivery at a post office near us if the RV park we're at doesn't accept guest mail. We do our banking with a federal credit union that has online bill paying and photo check deposits, and use ATM's or store cash backs for pocket money as needed. Many banks offer similar services.

DITTO....exactly what we do, too. 🙂

[filthy_beast]

I too have the meds problem and when talking to my doctor the other day, with the current laws, I will have to be back in New Mexico to see him because I cannot get refills on my pain meds. The government should have put some kind of rule in place for those that have a history with a physician so they would not have to do this. I have been with the same physician for 7 years now. Once a year he takes off for two months and will give me two prescriptions, one marked "no fill until" with a date on it. We use Walgreens for our scripts so if something other than my pain meds runs out we can get refills just about anywhere.

As far as bills, I have a data plan on our phones and our utilities, Directv and cell phone bills are all on autopay on credit cards. I just have to log in once or twice a month and pay the two credit card bills. I am not fond of the ones that will draw from you checking or savings account. Until recently I had a few bills that this was the only way to pay.

[chast]

Hi--give it a try--you will find how to work it. We have been full-timing for 20+ years now and find that our doctors work with us no matter where we are. Prescriptions are in a data base and we can have them filled wherever we happen to be. Walk-in urgent care clinics have got you covered when on the road and they work with your doctors and drug stores to keep you well. Good Luck!

[Dutch_12078]

We cluster our regular doctors appt's for the periods when we'll be visiting our upstate NY cottage, and if needed, other visits are done using urgent care centers or doctors recommended by our health insurance carrier wherever we are. Prescriptions are filled at a national chain drug store (We use CVS), and we can order refills for pickup at the closest store to our location online. Our mail is managed by a forwarding service that remails it on request, often to General Delivery at a post office near us if the RV park we're at doesn't accept guest mail. We do our banking with a federal credit union that has online bill paying and photo check deposits, and use ATM's or store cash backs for pocket money as needed. Many banks offer similar services.