Question about getting to a doctor's appointment

eof · 11-02-2009, 05:23 PM

Hi All,

Me and my gf are pretty lost regarding the whole getting a doctor's appointment here in the US. As I am the one studying, she went for a 4 week trip to look around the US. Unfortunately, she has had some kind of a cold for the past 3 weeks and it's not going away and she's currently not close to campus and won't be back before another 2 weeks.

My question is: where can you find a doctor outside the campus? Aetna's health insurance website lists a bunch of doctors in her current zip. Every doctor seems to have the first possible appointment in about 6 weeks. Should you just go to the ER of a hospital or what? Is this only for people who are really ill? Back home, you can usually find a private clinic and get an appointment within the next few hours, but here it seems almost impossible.

This seems like something that no one really explains anywhere and all the information provided here applies only when you're on campus or if you get into an accident and really need to get to the ER.

missemily516 · 11-02-2009, 05:30 PM

Have her look for an Urgent Care center - they are private clinics and are cheaper than going to an ER. She can look in the local phone book in the yellow pages under "Urgent Care". Usually they have extended hours and you can walk in without an appointment.

twomules · 11-02-2009, 05:35 PM

If she is in an urban area, search for a CVS Minute Clinic. CVS is a chain of drugstores and pharmacies. I'll put the link below. They can help if you think it is something relatively uncomplicated like a sinus infection or a bad cough/virus and she needs prescription cough meds or antibiotics.

If there is not a CVS type place, do a search on the city name and walk in clinic or urgent care clinic. A walk in clinic will be similar to a minute clinic. An urgent care center is often a section of a doctor's clinic for someone who is sick with no appointment or a service of a hospital that is one degree lower in urgency than an emergency room.

Minor illness exam

Good luck. I hope she will be feeling better soon.

oldfort · 11-02-2009, 05:35 PM

If you are sick, you should be able to an appointment right away. You don't go to ER unless it's an emergency.

I assume your gf has HMO where she is suppose to go to a doctor in her network. It only applies if she is within her zipcode. If she is traveling or outside of her home base, and there is no in network doctor, then she could go outside of her network. The best thing to do is to call up the customer service number on the website. Once that's confirmed, then just call up a family doctor to make an appointment. Most doctor's office would take you right away if you are really sick. Keep on calling until you get an appointmnet, don't take no for an answer.

eof · 11-02-2009, 06:34 PM

OK, thanks for the information. I think the problem is that she needs to see a doctor instead of a nurse and doctors seem to be harder to find. She had pulmonary embolism a few years ago (a nice side effect of birth control pills that is rarely mentioned...) and she has asthma. Consequently, she doesn't trust nurses anymore if she has respiratory problems, because a nurse misdiagnosed her pulmonary embolism and she almost died.

She actually called Aetna's customer support first and they provided her with the list of phone numbers for those places I mentioned earlier. They don't seem to have a clue regarding which ones actually take a patient right away... Again it's seems like the typical customer "support".

Well better keep calling then. There are like hundreds of medical providers in her network in the area where she is (major city).

ucsd_ucla_dad · 11-02-2009, 06:56 PM

The easiest way to do this is to go to an 'Urgent Care' clinic where she is that accepts Aetna and that'll probably be most of them. At the urgent care they'll see her and she'll be seen by a doctor if necessary although the first step is often a triage nurse and then often a PA (Physicians Assistant) or doctor would see her. If they use PAs there and it's something the PA can't handle then they'd probably have a doctor see her.

The urgent care is usually quicker and cheaper than the ER. She can just walk-in to an urgent care - no appointment is needed - at least to the ones I've been to.

arabrab · 11-02-2009, 11:41 PM

Aetna probably has a phone number on her insurance card, and if you call them they should be able to tell you what urgent care centers are "in network" and near where she is now.

romanigypsyeyes · 11-03-2009, 12:21 AM

That's strange that it's 6 weeks to get an appointment. The hospital system I use guarantees same-day or next-day appointments (if it's after noon). I have Aetna too.

What part of the country is she in?

Upsilamba · 11-03-2009, 12:45 AM

Did she mention specifically that she wants to see a doctor because she's sick? Six weeks sounds more like the wait for a regular, once a year check-up, so maybe there was confusion somewhere.

swimcatsmom · 11-03-2009, 12:59 AM

Most towns have some sort of urgent care clinic that is easy to get an immediate or walk in appointment with. We have a doctor but have had to use the urgent care clinic in our town a couple of times when we have been sick on weekends or days our doc is otherwise not available. We have Aetna as well and the urgent care clinics are covered under our plan. My daughter also used an urgent care clinic in her college town when she was sick outside of the University clinic hours (well she was sick during them but didn't get to feeling bad enough until after they closed for the day).

LasMa · 11-03-2009, 01:32 AM

The ability to get into a doctor's office quickly depends a great deal on what part of the country you're in. Out here in Calif, it can be tough. Last year I needed to see my doc for an urgent (not emergency) appointment. They couldn't get me in for 4 weeks. Routine appointments, exams, etc -- 3 months. Often, an urgent care clinic is the only way to be seen on a timely basis, and there are MDs on staff there.

mimk6 · 11-03-2009, 02:36 AM

In parts of the country, primary care doctors are very impacted and it can easily take weeks to get in. Offices that have not seen a patient before don't feel compelled to take a new patient right away, even if they are sick. When DD had an HMO plan, the only thing covered outside of her area was an ER visit. A visit to a doctor outside her area would be on her dime.

cnp55 · 11-03-2009, 06:52 AM

It can be very important to actually say to the receptionist "I'm sick and I need to be seen. Today, if possible."

If they push you off because there is nothing available or they don't take new patients or whatever ... ask what alternatives are available locally, such as an urgent care clinic. Ask, very nicely, for help.