What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

FBG Health Poll - Do you have a PCP? (1 Viewer)

My PCP is specialty trained in:

  • Family Medicine

    Votes: 42 51.2%

  • Internal Medicine

    Votes: 21 25.6%

  • Pediatrics

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Medicine and Pediatrics

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • OB/GYN

    Votes: 1 1.2%

  • My PCP is a Naturopath, Homeopath, or other alternative medicine provider

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 3 3.7%

  • I don’t have a PCP

    Votes: 14 17.1%
  • Total voters
    82
D_House

D_House

Footballguy
Interested in how FBGs use health care. It seems like most of us (58%) get vaccinated against influenza, but relatively few (12%) get it at a PCP’s office.

I define a primary care provider (PCP) as any health care provider that manages chronic diseases and also provides preventive care - immunizations, referrals for cancer screening, etc.

ETA: I don’t have a PCP 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have one. My wife gets a yearly physical from him but I do not as I get mine via work. I also don't go to him for shots. It's to easy to just walk in to any pharmacy to waste time making an appointment for a flu shot.

 
My primary Dr is a former anesthesiologist and is also trained in Family and Internal Medicine. He's been my Dr for 17 years now.

 
Use my PCP for physical and visits every 3 mumfs to make sure my kidney/liver aren’t failing from meds and to reorder meds.  couple of bumps and bruises along the way too.

 
The health system in my dying New England mill town is too big AND too small. Once, we made every gear used in the WW2 military buildup, but the factory which took seven different power plants along the Black River to operate has been closed for over 20 yrs. Too industrial to countrify for leafpeeping tourists, the only revenue center was the county hospital. Though non-profit, the board & town agreed that turning it into the regional medical center for SE Vt would be the best way to go and they spent millions buying all the area's medical practices and recruiting new ones to the medical building they converted from one of the mills etc etc

And nobody came. The hospital filed Ch. 11 last summer. There are 3 MDs left - the hospitalist & two practices each personed by an MD and a declining flock of PAs, NPs, AANPs & LMNOGBTXYZs to tend the vast halls of health we've constructed for a town of 8000. The ER is a horrorshow of incompetence now that it's staffed by what medicos a bankrupt rural health system can afford to pay. Really quite delightful. Molly lollies would actually be an improvement...

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Go twice a year to get blood work to make sure everything is in order. Would highly recommend it, you have no idea what may be out of whack. 

 
wikkidpissah said:
The health system in my dying New England mill town is too big AND too small. Once, we made every gear used in the WW2 military buildup, but the factory which took seven different power plants along the Black River to operate has been closed for over 20 yrs. Too industrial to countrify for leafpeeping tourists, the only revenue center was the county hospital. Though non-profit, the board & town agreed that turning it into the regional medical center for SE Vt would be the best way to go and they spent millions buying all the area's medical practices and recruiting new ones to the medical building they converted from one of the mills etc etc

And nobody came. The hospital filed Ch. 11 last summer. There are 3 MDs left - the hospitalist & two practices each personed by an MD and a declining flock of PAs, NPs, AANPs & LMNOGBTXYZs to tend the vast halls of health we've constructed for a town of 8000. The ER is a horrorshow of incompetence now that it's staffed by what medicos a bankrupt rural health system can afford to pay. Really quite delightful. Molly lollies would actually be an improvement...
Click to expand...
This is a sad story writ large across rural USA. I’m not sure how to bring providers back to these areas. I think this is where telemedicine will fill some of the gap.

 
Looking to switch mine, I hate his office.

Been with him forever but his office staff sucks

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Capella said:
Go twice a year to get blood work to make sure everything is in order. Would highly recommend it, you have no idea what may be out of whack. 
Click to expand...
Unless you have chronic medical problems or take medications which mandate it, there’s probably no good reason to be tested so often. Given enough studies, you’re bound to get a false positive and a bunch of unnecessary downstream testing. “VIP care” often causes more harm than good, and adds to healthcare costs.

Even yearly physicals haven’t been shown to be beneficial. Basically the only bloodwork that is recommended for routine preventative care is a cholesterol panel and diabetes screen. And maybe PSA, but even that is controversial. If normal, all those tests require follow up only every 3-5 years.

 
Terminalxylem said:
Unless you have chronic medical problems or take medications which mandate it, there’s probably no good reason to be tested so often. Given enough studies, you’re bound to get a false positive and a bunch of unnecessary downstream testing. “VIP care” often causes more harm than good, and adds to healthcare costs.

Even yearly physicals haven’t been shown to be beneficial. Basically the only bloodwork that is recommended for routine preventative care is a cholesterol panel and diabetes screen. And maybe PSA, but even that is controversial. If normal, all those tests require follow up only every 3-5 years.
Click to expand...
Nah. I’ve been doing it for 10 years. Haven’t had one unnecessary downstream test and with my insurance I pay practically nothing. If nothing else it’s just peace of mind. 

 
Capella said:
Nah. I’ve been doing it for 10 years. Haven’t had one unnecessary downstream test and with my insurance I pay practically nothing. If nothing else it’s just peace of mind. 
Click to expand...
It's just a matter of time. If each test has a 5% error rate, after 20 tests, there's a 64% chance you'll get a false positive.

And not trying to pick on you, but patients and providers being disconnected from the actual cost of testing is a major reason our medical care is so wasteful and potentially harmful. In the face of repeatedly negative bloodwork, would you continue biannual testing if you had to foot a portion of the bill?

Another article on the subject

And another

 
Terminalxylem said:
It's just a matter of time. If each test has a 5% error rate, after 20 tests, there's a 64% chance you'll get a false positive.

And not trying to pick on you, but patients and providers being disconnected from the actual cost of testing is a major reason our medical care is so wasteful and potentially harmful. In the face of repeatedly negative bloodwork, would you continue biannual testing if you had to foot a portion of the bill?

Another article on the subject

And another
Click to expand...
I do pay a portion of the bill, 26 times a year. 

 
Yep. Go for the annual to make sure my liver enzymes are humming along and doing the Lord’s work, plus a couple more times for check-in ok ADD meds. She’s kinda hot. Need to hurt myself more often for extra visits.

 
gianmarco said:
Should be an option for physical every 3-5 years. Yearly physicals for healthy adults aren't necessary.
Click to expand...
I go yearly because its covered, I want a flu shot, and they need to take my blood for reduced insurance rates.  If those weren't in play, I think the 3-5 years feels about right.

 
gianmarco said:
Should be an option for physical every 3-5 years. Yearly physicals for healthy adults aren't necessary.
Click to expand...
Maybe it's old habit, after being forced to get a physical every year. But I actually am glad to do it now.

Doesn't hurt that my doc is surprisingly attractive. 

 
The General said:
“If only we caught this last year Mr. gianmarco”
Click to expand...
Yea a family friend dropped dead about 18 months ago. My understanding is cholesterol was probably spiked since his last visit and he had a heart attack. Guy seemed fit, like a 170 pounds and was on the treadmill at the time. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
gianmarco said:
Should be an option for physical every 3-5 years. Yearly physicals for healthy adults aren't necessary.
Click to expand...
You’re right. Despite the anecdotes, life threatening illnesses don’t usually crop up overnight without symptoms. And plenty of people die each year from medical errors and complications of hospitalization.

But what is preventing you from only getting a physical every 3-5 years?

 
Capella said:
Yea a family friend dropped dead about 18 months ago. My understanding is cholesterol was probably spiked since his last visit and he had a heart attack. Guy seemed fit, like a 170 pounds and was on the treadmill at the time. 
Click to expand...
That sucks. Who knows if the yearly doc would help. For everyone of these there’s the guy who eats crisco every morning and lives to be 90.

I don’t know what I get from my yearly doc visit but they do a blood test and cholesterol profile is in there.

Cant hurt, and you get time off work for it guilt free!

 
The General said:
That sucks. Who knows if the yearly doc would help. For everyone of these there’s the guy who eats crisco every morning and lives to be 90.

I don’t know what I get from my yearly doc visit but they do a blood test and cholesterol profile is in there.

Cant hurt, and you get time off work for it guilt free!
Click to expand...
Yea I mean anecdotal evidence is just that but I like to make sure everything is in order and I pay my share of insurance money. To each his own, doesn’t matter to me at all what people decide to do. 

 
Capella said:
Yea I mean anecdotal evidence is just that but I like to make sure everything is in order and I pay my share of insurance money. To each his own, doesn’t matter to me at all what people decide to do. 
Click to expand...
Yeah for every sad story like your friend you do hear of the guy who doesn’t do anything and lives to 90.

I do like seeing the numbers every year. It does give you some type of idea of what’s going on in there.

 
The General said:
That sucks. Who knows if the yearly doc would help. For everyone of these there’s the guy who eats crisco every morning and lives to be 90.

I don’t know what I get from my yearly doc visit but they do a blood test and cholesterol profile is in there.

Cant hurt, and you get time off work for it guilt free!
Click to expand...
But it can hurt. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in this country. The  Choosing Wisely campaign was created to eliminate a lot of of the unnecessary (and potentially harmful) medical practices.

This stuff has been studied, and there are evidence-based guidelines to help guide patients and healthcare providers. You can check out Choosing Wisely and the USPTF to help you know what’s up.

And even though you can’t change your genetics, you can do your best to optimize your modifiable risk factors for disease by maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking or drinking excessively and keeping up with preventative medical care which has proven benefit.

 
Terminalxylem said:
But it can hurt. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in this country. The  Choosing Wisely campaign was created to eliminate a lot of of the unnecessary (and potentially harmful) medical practices.

This stuff has been studied, and there are evidence-based guidelines to help guide patients and healthcare providers. You can check out Choosing Wisely and the USPTF to help you know what’s up.

And even though you can’t change your genetics, you can do your best to optimize your modifiable risk factors for disease by maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking or drinking excessively and keeping up with preventative medical care which has proven benefit.
Click to expand...
My annual checkup telling me my cholesterol has gone up 8% isn’t killing me. It’s information with which to work with. They aren’t taking out a kidney here.

 
The General said:
My annual checkup telling me my cholesterol has gone up 8% isn’t killing me. It’s information with which to work with. They aren’t taking out a kidney here.
Click to expand...
No, but if a spurious result leads you to start unnecessary medication or partake in a stress test that isn't indicated, bad things can happen.

 
The General said:
Well sure but wouldn’t this be an issue if you were just going every 4 years or what have you?
Click to expand...
Yes, but the probability of an abnormal test result goes up the more tests you have done. See my post to Capella upthread, which shows the math behind the likelihood of a false positive with repeated testing .

A lot of medical tests have have false positive rates of 5% or greater. Not sure about cholesterol panels per se, but the classic example of a screening blood test that is frequently ordered without demonstrable benefit (and potential for harm) is PSA. 

 
Annual bloodwork is a great idea for most adults, even if you relatively healthy. 3 to 5 years? Huh? That's odd. Your numbers could change drastically in only a few months. 

Besides, a lot of insurances now cover annual bloodwork and physicals free of charge. Why not get it done?

 
Hmmm...I see my protests are falling on deaf ears.
 

How do you you guys determine which/how often medical tests are necessary?

 
Terminalxylem said:
Hmmm...I see my protests are falling on deaf ears.
 

How do you you guys determine which/how often medical tests are necessary?
Click to expand...
Personally, I get the "typical" tests done with my annual bloodwork per my doctor's recommendation.  This includes glucose for diabetes, cholesterol, and other tests to see how my kidneys are functioning, white blood cell count, etc.  I also pee in a cup and they test that. 

https://www.healthline.com/health/blood-tests

Your doctor will typically recommend that you get routine blood work at least once a year, around the same time as your yearly physical.

But this is the bare minimum. There are several major reasons you may want to get blood tests more often than that:

You’re experiencing unusual, persistent symptoms. These could include anything from fatigue to abnormal weight gain to new pain.

You want to optimize your health. Knowing levels of various blood components, such as HDL and LDL cholesterol, can allow you to tweak your diet or fitness plan to minimize unhealthy habits (that you may not even realize are unhealthy). This can also maximize the nutrients you put in your body and more.

You want to reduce your risk of disease or complications. Regular blood tests can catch the warning signs of almost any disease early. Many heart, lung, and kidney conditions can be diagnosed using blood tests.

Talk to your doctor first if you want to get certain tests more often than once a year.
Click to expand...

 
This reminds me - I missed my physical this year....

I should probably  find a new guy then get a physical...  

 
Terminalxylem said:
Hmmm...I see my protests are falling on deaf ears.
 

How do you you guys determine which/how often medical tests are necessary?
Click to expand...
I dunno man you seem to be educated on the topic and I appreciate the links but “go to the doctor less” is not a take I’m ready to really listen to. Everybody should do what’s best for them. 

 
Capella said:
I dunno man you seem to be educated on the topic and I appreciate the links but “go to the doctor less” is not a take I’m ready to really listen to. Everybody should do what’s best for them. 
Click to expand...
That’s not what I’m saying. Hopefully the links convey the message more effectively.

By all means, go to the doctor as often as you like. But getting routine bloodwork and other testing in the absence of symptoms is rarely indicated. I know it may seem counterintuitive, but you may be doing more harm than good.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Top