Most doctors’ practices now have an online portal or will send you a link to fill out paperwork at home before the appointment. It’s stored online and they appreciate that so much more than shuffling papers at the time of the appointment.
You could do this for your mom and then the person taking her to her appointments would only have to provide transportation. I’d be concerned about such a person having mom’s medical info.
I thought for sure your mom had been moved to live with your brother !! what happened with that wonderful idea?
About doctor appointments. Here is what I did. Get home health through her primary doc and her Medicare insurance. Then schedule all appointments on the same day. You schedule the appointments instead of mom. Take her to the best docs you can. Ones that don’t leave you sitting in a waiting room and appreciate YOUR time. Find a geriatric primary if possible. They can take care of most of moms issues. I didn’t do more than one appointment a year per doctor unless there was something major. The home health keeps that under control. These doctors that want to see a patient every 3 or 4 months are not for busy people.
First and foremost, check if she really needs all those appointments.
My mom's eye doctor had her coming almost every 4 months to do this check at this time, this other check on another date, and so on. I put an end to that. There was 0 reason for her to be paying a copay to them every few months.
If you have Healthcare POA, put a stop to any nonsense you see happening.
There is a company (ADVANCED CARE HOUSE CALLS) that come to your home for your medical care. Labs, checkups, etc are included. I am no longer able to do office visits due to vertigo and am really glad to have this service. Medicare pays for it.
Council on Aging in our area provides rides for seniors. Shuttle buses take seniors to doctor appointments, grocery and pharmacies.
The only complaint that some people have is scheduling. You may have to leave earlier than if you were driving independently. Also, you may have to wait at the doctor’s office for awhile before they can pick you up for your ride home.
Transportation Service In most communities, seniors can call their local office for the aging to arrange for transportation to and from medical appointments, shopping centers, and other locations as required to manage their personal affairs. Seniors who use a wheelchair or have other mobility impairments should call well in advance of their scheduled appointment, to ensure the availability of handicapped-accessible transportation.
A geriatric care manager can be helpful. We hired one from this site, as we are in TX and MIL is in NJ. She is wonderful! https://www.aginglifecare.org/
Do you have DPOA both medical and financial? Many nurses have become geriatric care managers. They can fill out paperwork and sit in on the appointments to ask questions and report back to you. You may need to call ahead and arrange for HIPAA forms to be completed. You also should ask your mother how she feels about it.
Besides transport for appointments & paperwork, is your Mother still fairly independant with the rest of her week?
Could she safely take a taxi? (Leaving the paperwork for the portal etc). If more supervision or assistance is required when out, an agency homecare aide may be useful. Get a few regulars she gets used to. Step up their hours & tasks as required; cleaning, meal prep, laundry etc.
It can be hard (too hard) to be the solo support. Are there siblings to share with? How are you coping?
You could do this for your mom and then the person taking her to her appointments would only have to provide transportation. I’d be concerned about such a person having mom’s medical
info.
I might call an agency in your area and start from there.
Best wishes to you.
I thought for sure your mom had been moved to live with your brother !! what happened with that wonderful idea?
About doctor appointments. Here is what I did. Get home health through her primary doc and her Medicare insurance. Then schedule all appointments on the same day. You schedule the appointments instead of mom. Take her to the best docs you can. Ones that don’t leave you sitting in a waiting room and appreciate YOUR time. Find a geriatric primary if possible. They can take care of most of moms issues.
I didn’t do more than one appointment a year per doctor unless there was something major. The home health keeps that under control. These doctors that want to see a patient every 3 or 4 months are not for busy people.
My mom's eye doctor had her coming almost every 4 months to do this check at this time, this other check on another date, and so on. I put an end to that. There was 0 reason for her to be paying a copay to them every few months.
If you have Healthcare POA, put a stop to any nonsense you see happening.
The only complaint that some people have is scheduling. You may have to leave earlier than if you were driving independently. Also, you may have to wait at the doctor’s office for awhile before they can pick you up for your ride home.
https://www.eldercaredirectory.org/state-resources.htm
Transportation Service
In most communities, seniors can call their local office for the aging to arrange for transportation to and from medical appointments, shopping centers, and other locations as required to manage their personal affairs. Seniors who use a wheelchair or have other mobility impairments should call well in advance of their scheduled appointment, to ensure the availability of handicapped-accessible transportation.
https://www.aginglifecare.org/
Could she safely take a taxi? (Leaving the paperwork for the portal etc). If more supervision or assistance is required when out, an agency homecare aide may be useful. Get a few regulars she gets used to. Step up their hours & tasks as required; cleaning, meal prep, laundry etc.
It can be hard (too hard) to be the solo support. Are there siblings to share with? How are you coping?
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