I just did an intake with Welcome Health Medical Group and they are new and now in Los Angeles and Orange Counties here in CA. They take Medicare and HOPING they are Legit...I need a doctor like this as my getting to doc offices is more difficult. Anyone of you know of this type medical service in your areas? My long time doc is becoming more demanding of me getting there, she's a distance and a huge challenge to get to her. And does anyone here besides me NOT buying into the SmartPhone and Apps world? My desktop does all I need in my life. I would like the photo deal but not desperate enough to dive in.
Never heard of that medical group. No devices here other than desktop and flip phone which is seldom even on.
Ed, group is new and forming in CA and as they've said, so goes CA, so goes the nation.. Many many seniors could benefit as many are homebound. ,
Remote medicine is the new norm for the U.S. since Covid. I won't participate, as I think taking BP. listening to chest and such is part of the whole process. If I can't see the doctor, or at least a mid-level, I am not there.
We simply can't live without Apps and iPhones. Just like we can't live without tv, even though our combo internet/tv costs us $225 per month, but we get great tv cable stations.
I have not heard of this company before, @Joy Martin , but it looks to me like it would be a good option for you and other people who are not able to get to a doctor’s office easily. Here is the website, for anyone who wants to check them out: https://welcomehealth.org/ As long as your computer has a webcam on it so that you can do online appointments, I do not think that you would need to have a smartphone or tablet with apps on it, but I am not sure how that would work. You would have to ask, but they are probably aware that some seniors have not kept up with tech advances and can’t work a smartphone or tablet. I looked at their website, and there is a choice of at least three insurance companies that these doctors accept. It only shows three doctors with the company, no matter which insurance company you choose, so hopefully, one of those doctors would work for your needs. I think that most companies now offer phone consultations, and video chats with doctors when you do not actually need to be checked out by the doctor physically, and also they have visiting nurses/doctors that come by for an annual checkup each year. We have had that with our Humana Advantage plan and also with United Health Care (which is one of the companies accepted by Welcome Health Medical Group). Humana also calls us several times a year just to go over how our health is doing, and make sure that we are being seen by our primary care doctor when needed, as well as offering the tele-health video chat services anytime we needed that. As someone who has used a smartphone and iPad for a lot of years now, I think that even if you needed to have one to use for your health care, you would adapt to using it and really like it. It is so very easy to keep track of all of your health information with a tablet and the information can go straight to your doctor, so he has everything he needs when he is talking to you for your appointment. United Health Care had a special weight scale and tablet that they gave me to help monitor my congestive heart failure, and each day, it sent the medical information in so that the doctor could see how I was doing. I do not know if they still do that, but it is really helpful to be able to interact with your doctor about your health in such an easy manner.
I have a smart phone that keeps trying to force me into apps and upgrades. Even tracfone would not let me keep my 4g flip phone. I shop very little and don't bank online. I use my laptop too.
Hi and again, they are saying the Medical System for all this is NEW . What is prompting all of it, how about many old people can't get around...and out... And living without apps and TV is very very easy. Just like living without vaccines is doubly easy... This is where the house call doctors are coming in. They can even draw blood if that is necessary. Since I take so many supplements and meditate and do other holistic supports, pharma ie western medicine is not huge in my life. On the smartphone and app world, it must be that the younger world is so addicted to all this stuff and drowning in credit card debt.
That is an absurd and incorrect generalization that people are being programmed to believe, @Joy Martin . It may be true in some cases, but it is certainly not true in all cases. Like most other propaganda, it is just that…… propaganda. There is nothing more addicting about my iPad or my iPhone than there is about having a laptop or desktop computer, at least in the way that i (and many other people) use it. For me, it is a tool, no different than the Oster Blender in my kitchen. It does a job that i want it to do, and i am happy to have the convenience of using it, just like i like using the blender better than the old hand-cranked eggbeaters we used to use to blend things up with. People can be addicted to all kinds of things, but that does not mean that the thing itself is addicting. Some people are addicted to cars, or guns, or even exercising; but none of those things are addicting in and of themselves. It is all in how you use it.
Ironically, we just had a member say they "couldn't live without their smartphones". I was alive before 1995 or so, so I didn't have smartphones, internet, or even many of today's appliances like an airfryer. I can live without any of them. I would greatly miss the community here, but I am not going to die if it goes away.
I've had an iPhone for years and a Blackberry before that, and I rarely use it, and even more rarely for anything other than making phone calls and texting. Besides those that came with it, I have only about two apps on my iPhone. I've had computers since the early 1980s, and although I spend a great deal of time on my computer, I earn a living through my computer and have earned an income through the computer for much of that time. There is no addiction involved. Are some other people addicted to iPhones or the Internet? I'm sure there are, but people have long been addicted to one thing or another, long before this kind of technology came along.
I looked this up the day your started this thread, Joy. The company that started this service (SCAN Group) is a non-profit Medicare provider that has been around for 7-8 years, if I recall correctly. They created Welcome Health Medical Group 2 years ago or so. This article does a better job of explaining this program than the business' websites do.
That's quite a leap to equate addiction to technology with "drowning in credit card debt." And I agree with @Don Alaska -- I enjoy technology but I have lived many years without it just fine. I am "addicted" to good coffee and books, though. As far as doctor house calls, I'm not aware of such a service in my area but thankfully I don't need it at this time.
Interesting, I guess, nothing was said about Scan. And already Dr. Goldwater is scheduled to see me Dec 7....now I'm wondering. At this point in my life I need my 3 scripts kept up and it's great if I can be seen at home whenever. I'm healthy but my damaged body and 3 meds.....BP and thyroid. We'll see how this unfolds..
There's no reason they would say anything about SCAN, anymore that any other subsidiary or wholly-owned business would invoke the name of their parent. I would absolutely not worry about that. They are not being sneaky. Your relationship is with Welcome. I'm sure it will work out fine. I'm glad you got an appointment so quickly.