how to get off the "well-child" radar

[burnsis]

Originally Posted by ambersrose go to a general practice or "family" doctor instead of a pediatrician and you should not have this problem.

This. I go to a family doc just b/c they aren't as pushy about vaccines, and it keeps all our records in one place. In fact, once I tell them we don't vax, they don't seem to really care about scheduling WBV's.

[FeatherBrained]

Originally Posted by JAG's baby mama There are two possible reasons for this. 1.) your doc has probably either bought a new computer system or has upgraded to a point where reminders is an available function. Now you will get these regularly since it should be less labor-intensive to do them. 2.) The recovery act passed in 2009 requires docs to send out reminders of preventive medicine visits in order to qualify for incentive money from the government. I can't think of a doc or hospital around the country that does not want some part of those incentive funds. So you will start to see reminders more and more.

[3rockstars]

We don't do well baby or well child visits. We do end up visiting the office multiple times a year for illness for the asthmatic and med changes or refills for 2 out of 3 kids so we are regulars there but it's not for physicals or to track their development. I have 3 children, I used to be a daycare provider, and I was a special needs nanny, I have done my research regarding development. I knew my children's special needs and pushed for diagnosis when I needed to. I knew I wanted to discuss meds so I called the office and made the appt to talk about meds. I see them doing well and meeting milestones and growing and thriving so why would I call and make an appt for them??? I see myself as my girls' first line of defense for illness and I know our pedi went to medical school and knows more than I do, but she doesn't know my children or live with them. I call the pedi when I need her but otherwise, I see no reason to waste her time or ours with visits to check weight and have her tell me they are happy and healthy and right on track. I knkow that already. We do the necessary weight checks for meds and illness visits but I usually conveniently "forget" to schedule our well child visits. I love our pedi, she's really fabulous and she's never said a word about it. The way I figure it, she sees us, she doesn't need to worry that I'm medically neglecting them. And to be honest, she doesn't know us, she doesn't remember us and distinguish us from the hundreds of other families she sees. She has charts to remind herself before she comes into the room, so it's not about building a relationship with her. I respect her wisdom as a doctor and her knkowledge and her opinions. She respects my opinions and position as the parent and sees that I do my research regarding my children and their medical needs. There's no reason for well child visits for us unless the school requires a physical.

[3rockstars]

Originally Posted by atria Mamas, an honest question... Is it not medical neglect to skip all well child visits? We would love to skip them, too considering the same basically verbal abuse we go through about vaxes and growth percentiles. However, I would die if skipping well child appointments was ever held against me in any situation. I do not know what the future holds, and I have heard of this being used to claim medical neglect. It's just sad that we live in a world where a co-pay must be dropped for a well-child appointment. Sorry to de-rail the OP. My question was... medical neglect?

I think the "medical neglect" part of this is more parenting paranoia due to non-vaxing. CPS is called on the tiniest little things and a lot of us non-vaxers tend to do the once yearly or so well child visit just to prove we AREN'T medically neglecting our child. As long as you are on the books as having a pedi that you've visited in the last year or so, CPS can't touch you. But non-vaxing has been known to be an issue with CPS so non-vaxers get a little scared regarding the well baby visits. It just makes good sense to protect yourself since anything against the mainstream is considered "wrong" and could be misconstrued.

[atria]

I might just take my chances and schedule an appointment for myself with a family MD and see if they will accept my DD. I need an appointment for myself anyways.

I can't take much more of the anxiety the ped's office gives me. I feel like I'm going to court or something.

[3rockstars]

Originally Posted by atria I might just take my chances and schedule an appointment for myself with a family MD and see if they will accept my DD. I need an appointment for myself anyways. I can't take much more of the anxiety the ped's office gives me. I feel like I'm going to court or something.

if you are worried they won't see you if y ou won't vaccinate, you could always ask in a casual way.

you: hi, i'm wondering if you are taking new patients with XX insurance?
them: yes we are, do you need to make an appt?
you: sure.

make appt.

them: okay so we will see you X time and X day.
you: okay great. oh, before I forget, we don't vaccinate. That won't be a problem for Dr. X right????



see what they say. If they seem a little funny, let them knkow you won't be needing the appt after all. If they seem okay, keep the appt and see how it goes. Honestly, I saw a pedi that was known for not pushing vaxes and he didn't. He was good with that. But other facets of our "relationship" weren't perfect for me including hte super long drive out there. So I went with someone closer to home and figured I'd just fight the battle with the vaccine issue and hope for the best. I was incredibly surprised and delighted to find that our pedi was so laid-back and non-judgemental. I think the key to a great pedi is respect for the parent. She doesn't agree on not vaxing or doing well baby visits. She'd like us to conform to the norm. But she respects me and she knows I take care of my children and I'm not neglecting them and she asks my opinion on new meds or treatments for the girls and she takes my opinion seriously. When I suggested melatonin for my oldest daughter's sleep problems, she was on board 100% instead of pushing a conventional sleep drug. So going with the natural homeopath like we were didn't work for us. A mainstream pedi was where we found our match just due to the respect factor. My favorite day was when she said, "I want to try Gracie X meds, what do you think?" And the day she said, "how's Mady doing on X meds? Do you want to raise or stay the same on dosage? Mady what do you think about your meds?" It makes a huge difference to be asked what you think instead of steamrolled over.

[photomikey]

Originally Posted by FaeryGnomeHome see what they say. If they seem a little funny, let them knkow you won't be needing the appt after all.

I don't know if I would make the decision on a pediatrician based on the non-medical clerical staff who answer the phone. FWIW, when you see the ads on TV between Judge Judy and Jerry Springer for "BE A MEDICAL ASSISTANT IN JUST 9 MONTHS"... that's when the folks who answer the phones decided to get into that line of work. The doctor, on the other hand, has 10 years of college and constant training under his/her belt... and the nurse also has specialized training. That's where you should make your decision. IMHO.

[3rockstars]

Originally Posted by photomikey I don't know if I would make the decision on a pediatrician based on the non-medical clerical staff who answer the phone. FWIW, when you see the ads on TV between Judge Judy and Jerry Springer for "BE A MEDICAL ASSISTANT IN JUST 9 MONTHS"... that's when the folks who answer the phones decided to get into that line of work. The doctor, on the other hand, has 10 years of college and constant training under his/her belt... and the nurse also has specialized training. That's where you should make your decision. IMHO.

agreed, HOWEVER, if you can't even get past the clerical staff on the phone, chances are y ou won't like the practice's "tone" in general.

[sh0rtchica]

Originally Posted by atria Mamas, an honest question... Is it not medical neglect to skip all well child visits? We would love to skip them, too considering the same basically verbal abuse we go through about vaxes and growth percentiles. However, I would die if skipping well child appointments was ever held against me in any situation. I do not know what the future holds, and I have heard of this being used to claim medical neglect. It's just sad that we live in a world where a co-pay must be dropped for a well-child appointment. Our ped comes in to pester us about vaccinations, feeding schedule, sleeping through the night and crying it out, too much weight gain and growth percentiles, etc. and only spends 1 minute with DD! He looks her over as well as I do and that's it. Frankly, we can't afford to drop a co-pay every month to every two months when we don't utilize any special attention from the ped himself. But they do not care. I dread the appointments and even get chest flutters with anxiety over it as we are always not doing something right in his eyes. Then we are questioned about every facet of our personal and religious beliefs so that he can judge our religious exemption illegally. And no, we can't switch peds as he is the only one who won't dismiss us from the practice for non-vax. Sorry to de-rail the OP. My question was... medical neglect?

i know others have answered this, but i did want to jump in and say it can be. a friend's baby was taken away for this reason. the ironic part is that they WERE taking him for regular visits and additional check-ups since he was underweight. unfortunately, we think socioeconomics has a lot to do with it. the parents are unmarried, black, poor, and on section 8 and medicaid.

on the other hand, my DS didn't see a doc or a pedi for over a year. after we had a falling-out with his last pedi over vaxes, i dragged my feet finding a new one. but he's perfectly healthy and has never been sick (to the point he needed to see a doc). now we have a new doc who is wonderful, but we pay OOP because he doesn't take insurance. my DS is also very small (5% for H & W), but we have money so i'd be willing to bet they wouldn't come after us. or if they did, it would be purely perfunctory. sad.

[musicmom2x]

If a religious fanatic who doesn't seek treatment for a sick child on the belief that 'God will heal them' and the child dies and the court can't win a case against them then I don't think that anyone accusing you of neglect for not taking your child to well visits has a leg to stand on.....
just my 2cents