College kids and doctors

[Anonymous]

If you have a college-aged child, do they handle their own medical needs in terms of setting up appointments and going? My ds is terrible about it and just texted me to make him a specialist appointment for tomorrow, which I highly doubt can happen. He is working all summer, weird schedule he does not know in advance, so I have no way of making him a future appointment and knowing if he can actually go.

[Anonymous]

Yes, college kid makes their own appointments. If it turns out they need to reschedule, they call and reschedule.

[Anonymous]

I mean if you don't mind doing it ..then do it.

We taught both of ours how to.

[Anonymous]

My son is a sophomore. It’s a mix right now. He has made his own appointments in college town. He sometimes needs support re -how to send a message in a patient portal; navigating high deductible plan and confirming coverage etc.

[Anonymous]

Our health care system is so complicated it takes a village to navigate. I help where I can. I don’t butt in unless welcomed. They will help me with the same as I get old.

[Anonymous]

My daughter makes her own appointments. But she'll talk to me before hand about which doctor she needs to see.

[Anonymous]

The first couple times, you may need to sit next to them while they call and make the appointment. Some have a lot of anxiety about this!

[Anonymous]

My kids (boys) mainly needed a dental cleanings and you had to secure those appointments early due to the month schedule (June and Dec) so I handled it. There wasn’t much else to schedule. If they required a specialist appointment, I probably would have made it happen so ensure it was done.

[Anonymous]

Really depends. Simple checkups are fine, but when things are more complicated, there's a lot of red tape -- dealing with referrals and networks and gap exceptions, or navigating the Bermuda Triangle that is the physician-insurance-pharmacist loop to get expensive prescriptions approved. I've tried to sit with my kid while she makes some of those phone calls, but it's challenging enough for adults to navigate our ridiculous/impossible health system, it would be unfair to make her do it alone.

[Anonymous]

Yes, they started at age 17.

[Anonymous]

Dentist appts, I call and try to get them fit in once I know when they'd be home after the 6 month mark

For gp, when they run out of meds (adhd, b/c), it's up to them to call for renewals, and tell the docs office when they'll be back in town to be seen

[Anonymous]

Mine started making her appointments at like 12 or 13.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have a college-aged child, do they handle their own medical needs in terms of setting up appointments and going? My ds is terrible about it and just texted me to make him a specialist appointment for tomorrow, which I highly doubt can happen. He is working all summer, weird schedule he does not know in advance, so I have no way of making him a future appointment and knowing if he can actually go.

Tell him to grow the hell up you are not his secretary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter makes her own appointments. But she'll talk to me before hand about which doctor she needs to see.

Same with my kid.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, I set the appointments. He knows how to do them. He has a nice insurance. But for the life of me, he stinks at setting up the appointments. At the same time, he lives on his own, pays all his bills on time, so I guess, he is mature in some way.