Do you get the feeling your doctor makes unnecessary referrals?

K

kahill1918

New Member
My husband's doctor took him off the sleep medicine Zolpidem (which is a controlled substance) even though he had been successfully taking it for two years. He said due to his age (82) he should not be taking it. Instead he wants him go go to sleep disorder clinic even though there is no physical problem. Based on my own experiences, I have a hunch that the clinic is trying to drum up business for the sleep disorder clinic by taking away sleep meds so they will get paid by Medicare. Further because he is no longer taking sleep meds, he is unable to sleep at night and instead naps 5-6 hrs during the days (mostly because he is bored).Have any of you had this feeling too?
 

This happens in Canada too and there’s no money in it for doctors here. It’s the trendy thing to send people off to those clinics. JMO, the doctors like to CTAs so no one will complain if a senior falls.
 
There are some undesirable effects with Zolpidem, but a big reason is the liability for the health care providers in prescribing meds to someone over 65 that can affect the central nervous system, causing balance issues.
Maybe the sleep disorder clinic referral is an attempt to give your husband some alternative. How about Trazodone? I've had Zolpidem which does put you to sleep quickly, but can't really keep you asleep. Neither can Trazodone, but at least it's inexpensive and should be available to your husband.
 

I agree . My doc wanted to refer me to a sleep clinic as well. Even though I sleep on average a soild eight hours p/night. [Most nights] I have only the occasional 'short' night. But i do not wake up during the night except for bathroom trips .... and those are rare. He was searching for 'sleep-apnea' which I do not have.
 
The referral busines is the biggest rip-off for americans, next
to the medicine business...my current doc has poor attitude about me cause I won't accept all his references nor all his
ideas...he wanted to put me on a statin again in spite of the
fact that I took one for 5 yrs and it did not reduce the numbers at all.......imo(n)
 
hawkdon said:
The referral busines is the biggest rip-off for americans, next
to the medicine business...my current doc has poor attitude about me cause I won't accept all his references nor all his
ideas...he wanted to put me on a statin again in spite of the
fact that I took one for 5 yrs and it did not reduce the numbers at all.......imo(n)
Click to expand...

My doc & I sort of fell apart over the same reasons ...... then covid hit, & I didn't want to go there & they really didn't want me to either.

I now have an in-home visiting P/A . I'm not sold on her either @ this point but at least i don't need to leave the house. I don't really expect any improvement @ 73 . I just wish they could lessen the pain ...... and perhaps increase my mobility as well. But ! I'm not holding my breath for that either.
 
It can get a bit tricky here. One health plan ‘ s docs tend to make more referrals but at least they have the personnel to see the pts within a few weeks. The other plan makes the referrals but are so scarce on specialists it can be months. These days I’m more likely to decide for myself if I think I need a specialist or not.
 
Geezerette said:
It can get a bit tricky here. One health plan ‘ s docs tend to make more referrals but at least they have the personnel to see the pts within a few weeks. The other plan makes the referrals but are so scarce on specialists it can be months. These days I’m more likely to decide for myself if I think I need a specialist or not.
Click to expand...
we can't do that we need a referral... altho' tbh I've bypassed my Doctor twice.. while waving greenbacks at the specialists.. but it's absolutely frowned upon by our GP's who are never best pleased when we go over their heads
 
I don't think my primary care doctor makes unnecessary referrals and I doubt if any other prim. care docs around here do either; it takes months and months to get an appointment with any specialist around here, so why would a doc bother with that?
 
No. Me and my wonderful PCP have a great relationship. She won't make any unnecessary referrals or prescribe anything I don't want to take, she takes my complaints seriously but she knows it's totally cool to tell me straight-up when a complaint doesn't make sense. And she'll always completely explain why.

I ♥️ Dr. Beth.
 
My PCP is pretty good about stuff like that. She'll send me somewhere if I request it, and I'll usually have someone already picked out that I want her to send me to.

I just saw her last week. Went in there w /my list, told her what labs I wanted done and the endo I wanted to see.

We chatted a little bit, asked her about her vacation, and off I went.
 
Most General Practice Doctors are good at dealing with
people, plus they know the basics of lots of illnesses, but
when they suspect something that they don't understand,
then they refer you to a specialist, at least that is how my
Doctor works.

In America, it is much more complicated and expensive,
I also agree that stopping meds, then suggesting that you
go for a consultation, is the wrong way round, specialist
doctors should be the first to prescribe the best medicine
if a case is complicated. If your doctor got it right in the
first place and got the right medicine, then it should be
carried forward.

I agree that the description at the beginning suggests
a promotion for another clinic, can you not demand the
tablets that were first prescribed?

Mike
 
No problems here. When I've been sent to a specialist IMHO it's been for a good reason. And in my particular area, long waits rarely happen. Here in Massachusetts we have one of the better health/medical systems in the country, at least we're rated as such by national polls.
 
I can't say I've ever had that problem. Quite the reverse. In my experience, PCPs (primary care physicians) tend to be slow to refer patients to specialists and as @officerripley said, many specialists are booked up for weeks if not months.

Unless it's an emergency or within a hospital setting, specialist referrals aren't all that helpful.
 
I suppose it's just different all over ....... Here, the only specialist that has a long waiting time [AFAIK] is a dermatologist . I was reffered to three for psoriasis ........ they all said the same thing , you have psoriasis ...... and we don't know what causes it. And there is no proven treatment for it. Just keep smearing this crap on it, when it flares.
 
Yes, I've learned not to mention small ailments unless I'm ready for a long brigade of tests at the big hospital complex 60 miles away.
 
Nope. Never. I'm a Kaiser-Permanente patient, and my PCP wouldn't refer me to anybody who I didn't really need to see. It's not like she makes more or less money by referring me or not.
 

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