Health Care Needs

[Old_Mil]

Hello,

I just wanted to reach out and get everyone's thoughts on this.

I'm a physician who will be retiring earlier than I thought.  As part of this plan, I had given some thought to selling my house, moving in to some sort of ambulance/RV/bus, hitting the road, and just seeing and taking care of patients for free and do some good for humanity.

I'm still trying to figure out what the specifics might look like, but first question: for those of you who are on the road right now, is there a need for something like this?

I'd probably focus on taking care of people who didn't have Medicare, Medicaid, or insurance through work.

 

[rvwandering]

Old_Mill, I don't think you have ever been officially welcomed to the forums so - Welcome to the CRVL forums! Your idea sounds excellent! There are plenty of nomads who can't afford insurance and would love to get advice and simple treatment from a traveling physician.

To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[nature lover]

Welcome to the forum. As to your Question there are plenty of people on the road with health problems who cannot afford to pay for it. I’m fortunate enough to have Medicare and when I started this life on the road I was completely out of debt. Now the co-pay of 20% on Medicare and four hospitalizations in the last year and a half I’m $7000 in debt. But as you say there are those who do not have the blessing of Medicare or other coverage who have it a lot worse than I do. I’m certain that no matter which area you travel and you’ll find people who at least need your advice and direction and some who will need more. God bless you for being willing to help. I don’t know what the liabilities would be but you might want to start a thread on this forum about health concerns and give some generic advice. Again welcome.

 

[Cammalu]

That all sounds fabulous but what about the insurance you will have to pay? I believe Doctor’s have to pay massive amounts for malpractice insurance don’t they? Gotta protect yourself for sure.

 

[Old_Mil]

Welcome to the forum. As to your  Question there are plenty of people on the road with health problems who cannot afford to pay for it. I’m fortunate enough to have Medicare and when I started this life on the road I was completely out of debt.  Now the co-pay of 20% on Medicare and four  hospitalizations in the last year and a half I’m $7000 in debt.  But as you say there are those who do not have the blessing of Medicare or other coverage who have it a lot worse than I do. I’m certain that no matter which area you travel and you’ll find people who at least need your advice and direction and some who will need more. God bless you for being willing to help.  I don’t know what the liabilities would be but you might want to start a thread on this forum about health concerns and give some generic advice.  Again welcome.

I appreciate the replies.  I won't be personally eligible for Medicare for a long time.

Medical practice is very heavily regulated; anyone who sees Medicare or Medicaid patients falls under the regulatory authority of CMS.  I don't think that this sort of endeavor would be compatible with trying to cross all the t's and dot all the i's to keep the government happy.  Also still trying to figure out the best way to do this logistically, particularly with regards to the insurance.  For a physician in commercial practice that can be 30,000-100,000 a year in insurance premiums.

I could get an Arizona license and go to Quartzsite every year I guess, Arizona seems to view doctors who are volunteering their services favorably and gives them additional legal protections... but every state that I did this in would require me to get a separate license, and not all do that.

 

[MrNoodly]

If you can figure out a way to make it work, you would be in high demand. There are many many people who want to be nomads but have health conditions that require frequent doctor visits.

 

[jacqueg]

Hello,

...I'm a physician who will be retiring earlier than I thought.  As part of this plan, I had given some thought to selling my house, moving in to some sort of ambulance/RV/bus, hitting the road, and just seeing and taking care of patients for free and do some good for humanity.

I'm still trying to figure out what the specifics might look like, but first question: for those of you who are on the road right now, is there a need for something like this?...

Absolutely there is.

You'd have to draw your own lines for what you are willing to do, and what you aren't.

Or, maybe you'd find it better to affiliate with a free clinic. Most of them have fixed locations, but there is at least one very large clinic that travels - for the life of me, I can't remember its name! (Serves thousands in a long weekend.)

Edited to add - it's called RAM - Remote Area Medical. https://www.ramusa.org

 

[MotorVation]

I rarely have to see a doctor due to illness thankfully, but I can tell you this, it's a major pain in the ass to get a Rx refill. I've been doing online consultations since my doctor retired last year. With the virus going around, (I'm fully vaccinated) I'm in no rush to sit in a new doctors office or an urgent care filling out paperwork. I get all my Rx's filled at Walmart as they're nationwide and I have a pharmacy account.

There's always a need for good doctors

 

[john*thomas]

As noted, just because you have Medicare or Medicaid does not mean you can afford health care and that is a sad statement.

 

[sreesekelley]

My first thought was doctors without borders. That would entail travel, doing something for humanity, and no worries about legal stuff.

Except for advanced first aid, advice, and referrals, I don't know what else you could do without a mobile clinic. simple things like lab work, xrays would require people to go somewhere else regardless.

I'm sure plenty of folks would like to hit you up for advice but professional advice opens up the legal can of worms.

Great idea! I hope you can figure out a way to put your skills to use.

 

[maki2]

I would certainly appreciate having you volunteer some time. Important thingsnvolving such as a blood pressure check, checking a mole to see if it looks potentiially cancerous. Doing a few educational talks would also be great. Things such as recognizing the early signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion are of huge importannce to daily health in that geographic location.