Those pesky physical check up forms ...

<p>My son had his annual physical today. We have a form that must be filled out by the doctor’s office and filed with the school – also with his rowing club and it’s part of his visa application for his year abroad.</p>

<p>The doctor’s office is now charging $10 for each form. I don’t really begrudge them their ten bucks … and it’s going to take a few days to a week to produce this form. Which is a problem and started me thinking.</p>

<p>It’s the same stupid updated information every single year. And it has to be copied over by hand, out of the patient’s chart every single time. By a nurse apparently.</p>

<p>Why isn’t all this charting and forming computerized? Wouldn’t it make sense? I know each organization has their own specific form – and most of the time they are perfectly happy to accept the school form photocopied and stapled to their form with the ID info.</p>

<p>What am I missing? If a six doctor pediatric practice has what … 10,000 kids in the practice and half of them (conservatively) need the physical form every year for something at $10 a pop … that’s a lot of dollars. </p>

<p>Why are the doctor’s offices so backwards about this? or is it just <em>my</em> pediatrician – with the practice that was recenly named best docs in the state for pediatrics?</p>

<p>(Thinking there must be a reason … if not a better way!)</p>

<p>Our fee was $5 yesterday to fill out the form. The college will not take attachments, MUST be on their form. I was just so glad they did it at the last minute for me, I would have paid more. I misread the due date on the medical forms.</p>

<p>I believe that pediatricians are the lowest paid doctors. I love ours and am so sorry to have to leave the practice this year.</p>

<p>I always fill out everything that I possibly can. If you have a physical at the same time you bring in the form, there is no extra cost. I try to make it so the doctor doesn’t have to do more than sign their name and make a couple of check marks. I did get him the meningitis shot even though I’m not positive it’s required at his future school.</p>

<p>Our doctor’s office does their own “School/Sports/Camp” form. They have the basic info filled out when you arrive for the physical, and fill in the rest as the appointment goes along. The vaccines are on a 2nd page, they are listed on a xerox of the page in your file that only gets updated when a new dose or vaccine is given. It states at the top of the front page of the form that this is the ONLY school/camp form that the office will provide, and it is to be considered valid for one year from the date of the physical, and that a photocopy should be deemed acceptable. There is a spot on the bottom that says, “I, the parent, signify by my signature below that no major changes have occurred in my child’s health since the date of this physical.” They tell us to take the form home, copy it as needed, and sign/date each copy when turning it in to school/ camp/etc. I have yet to have a problem with anyone accepting this form, it has all the standard info on it and has always been accepted. There is no charge for this form.</p>

<p>I haven’t tried to send it to college yet, though… I think I will do what Sueinphilly suggests, fill out all that I can on the college’s “official” form, including the vaccines, and just have the dr’s office fill in the data from this exam and sign it.</p>

<p>I recently moved my son from the pediatrician to an adult practitioner. The pediatrician’s office charged 25 cents per page to copy his medical records and send them out.</p>