Physical at Family Doctor

My wife went this morning to her apointment at her new Primary care Doctor.When she made the the receptionest said to her the doctor office policy was all new patients recive a Complete Phyiscal.She went ahead and schedualed that for today.When we arrived she filled out all the paper for being a new patient.The nurse called us back and went over her health history etc.My Wife told the Nurse she just had a her GYN exam back in December and that she really did not need a complet Phyiscal.And that she was here because she just needed a new Primary care Doctor.The Nurse said that it was office policy for all new patients to have a complete check up.She went along with it. The Nurse gave her a gown and told her to completly undress and to put the gown on to where it opened in the front.The Nurse left and the Doctor came in a few minutes later introduced her self to her and I.The Doctor went over her Health History and my Wife explained she just needed a new Family Doctor and that she just had a complete GYN/Mammogram done in December.The doctor said that was fine would like to do a complete exam any ways being a new patient.With that being said she started with her reflexes then her ears & eys.She then listed to her lungs and Heart.She the had her drop the gown and performed a Breast exam both sitting up and laying down.She then felt her stomach.She then performed a Pelvic & rectal exam except the Doctor told her since her PAP Smear was normal in December she would not do another one today.Very last thing she had her do was hop off the table and drop the gown completly.So she could check her back and do a complete skin check.After that she said she could get dressed and every thing looked good. My wife wondered is this normale to have to under go a complet physical when swicthing Primary care Doctors?When she just had the basics done in December at her GYN office.

It's wondereful !

This new Dr is a very good one and toroughly examines his patients

So, I have in mind you are very happy certainly you and perhaps your wife ?

friendly

It probably has something to do with medical liability. Considering it only takes a few minutes to do the exam and the liability for NOT doing the full exam you can bet every patient gets a complete physical exam.

I´ve never heard that somewone had to undergo such procedures only because he or she visited the doctor for the first time.

Doctors tend to perform complete physicals so they can get an Idea of what the baseline of the patient's health status is.

If I was the doctor I would have done the same thing, as for the strip completely after the pelvic and rectal it is to check for possible signs of skin cancer. Sometimes the Primary Care Phsicians (PCP) dont have all the records from the patient's specialists or other doctors they have visited a thorough physical is conducted in order to gather as much information as possible.

[quote author=rocky6989 link=topic=715.msg15827#msg15827 date=1216822933]

the thing i dont like about the family doctor is i go in all alone and when he asks me a bunch of personal questions i dont know if he would pass it on to the rest of my family

[/quote] A patient's medical record is privileged information. A doctor can not and will not let your family view your medical file without your permission. The only exception I can think of is if you are a minor and your parent/guardian having the right to view it.

Considering the current atmosphere of the medical profession, this seems reasonable. As has been mentioned, there is an issue with medical liability which hovers over every physician's head, so this particular doctor probably just thought better safe than sorry.

Most doctors (outside of the VA) that I know always do a complete top-to-toe on new patients.

It is one thing to read the records, but quite another to see for yourself. Sometimes "familiarity breeds contempt" and your old doctor might miss something, or something could have developed, unbeknownst to you, between the time your old doc saw you and the new one does. It's a good policy that should be the SOP everywhere.

Unfortunately, the VA keeps rotating doctors in and out, so you may see one doctor for a couple of years, then you have to start all over again with a new doc. Due to the number of patients they see in a day, they rely much more on the records than I believe they should.

I had a head-to-toe physical when I changed doctors a few years back. qv6486 is right, it's so the doctor can get a baseline of a patient's health.

A doctor cannot breach confidentiality of a patient once the patient reaches the age of 18. Even during adolescence a doctor can only disclose patient information to a parent if the life of the teen is in danger. I was one of those troubled kids who engaged in some high risk behaviors such as drugs, alcohol and unprotected sex. I was fortunate to have an Adolescent Medicine specialist looking out for me.

Last time I switched doctor I was just given a quick exam - weight and blood pressure with no clothes removers. I've just changed surgeries again - and have to have a "new patient" appointment within a month. It's with the nurse so I don't think it will be so detailed.

Whenever you switch doctors, they should do a complete physical and labs so that for the next appointment, the PCC will have a baseline.

Seems like her office wants to bill the insurance co for a full physical rather than a simple office visit.