An Interaction with my Doctor Today

[Michigan_Bill]

So today I went to my doctor for my annual Medicare appointment. The doctor has a list of questions to ask and so on, and the doctor documents everything for the government program. (For those outside the US, Medicare is the federal government health program for seniors. With all the usual attendant bureaucracy.)

One of the questions was smoking. "I have taken up pipe smoking in my retirement, and I smoke one pipe 3 days a week," I said. We discussed it a little. We had a bit of give and take. Finally she said, "l will put down non-smoker."

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she meant that the risk to my health was not worth whatever gymnastics Medicare requires and then documenting it all. So it seemed to me anyway.

I’m not asking anyone to draw any medical conclusions from this little episode. But I found it quite amusing.

 

[didimauw]

So today I went to my doctor for my annual Medicare appointment. The doctor has a list of questions to ask and so on, and the doctor documents everything for the government program. (For those outside the US, Medicare is the federal government health program for seniors. With all the usual attendant bureaucracy.)

One of the questions was smoking. "I have taken up pipe smoking in my retirement, and I smoke one pipe 3 days a week," I said. We discussed it a little. We had a bit of give and take. Finally she said, "l will put down non-smoker."

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she meant that the risk to my health was not worth whatever gymnastics Medicare requires and then documenting it all. So it seemed to me anyway.

I’m not asking anyone to draw any medical conclusions from this little episode. But I found it quite amusing.

When I went in for depression and anxiety meds, I told my doc I was a pipe smoker and had no intentions to quit. She told me she was glad I had a way to relax.

 

[warren]

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she meant that the risk to my health was not worth whatever gymnastics Medicare requires and then documenting it all.

You want your neighbors to pay for your health care. Your doctor wants her moneys. So, damned the rules, it's a win-win for you and her. It seems to be the American way, a little fraud never hurt the taxpayers. Much. I must admit I'm not aware of any particular penality for smokers. There may be one or more somewhere in all the bureaucratic paperwork though.

 

[vosBghos]

NorthWest Piper has a YT vid about a friend of his saying he smoked pipe and his health insurance provider just said mark down non-smoker as they are mainly concerned with cigarettes. I mean seriously could you imagine the questions form? How many bowls a day/week/month do you smoke? What kind of tobacco is it? And so on and so forth?

 

[Hillcrest]

I mean seriously could you imagine the questions form? How many bowls a day/week/month do you smoke? What kind of tobacco is it? And so on and so forth?

You mean like the "What are you smoking in November?" thread ??

 

[vosBghos]

You mean like the "What are you smoking in November?" thread ??

Precisely

 

[Winnipeger]

So today I went to my doctor for my annual Medicare appointment. The doctor has a list of questions to ask and so on, and the doctor documents everything for the government program. (For those outside the US, Medicare is the federal government health program for seniors. With all the usual attendant bureaucracy.)

One of the questions was smoking. "I have taken up pipe smoking in my retirement, and I smoke one pipe 3 days a week," I said. We discussed it a little. We had a bit of give and take. Finally she said, "l will put down non-smoker."

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she meant that the risk to my health was not worth whatever gymnastics Medicare requires and then documenting it all. So it seemed to me anyway.

I’m not asking anyone to draw any medical conclusions from this little episode. But I found it quite amusing.

When I told my doctor I smoke a tobacco pipe up to 10 times a week all he said is, "I enjoy a pipe too sometimes."

 

[bullet08]

I don't remember last time they asked me about the smoking. Either that or I blocked it out.

 

[skydog]

I went to a Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor to have some growth removed. My dentist had noticed it and it wasn't related to tobacco use and after testing it was found to not be cancerous so no worries there. While in the ENT office the doctor asked about tobacco use so I told him I'm a pipe smoker expecting him to start asking about frequency and giving me the "dangers" speech. Instead he got excited and started telling me how he had started occasionally chewing tobacco and how he didn't think moderate use was a concern. Caught me off guard but I think he was just enthusiastic to have someone to talk about tobacco with haha!

 

[brian64]

One of the questions was smoking. "I have taken up pipe smoking in my retirement, and I smoke one pipe 3 days a week," I said. We discussed it a little. We had a bit of give and take. Finally she said, "l will put down non-smoker."

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she meant that the risk to my health was not worth whatever gymnastics Medicare requires and then documenting it all. So it seemed to me anyway.

That's exactly what it is. The "system" has no way to deal with nuance. It's all a one size fits all thing....and not just for tobacco....much of the whole medical model works that way.

When they come up with this stuff, they're only thinking about the majority of people...and "smoker" to them always means a cigarette smoker. They don't even know a 3 bowl a week pipe smoker exists...you're not supposed to exist....you're complicating things for them......you're not even on their radar...and when they're trying to document what you're telling them, it's like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole....it doesn't compute....your choice is not in their drop-down box form.

They don't want to hear those kind of details....they just want a yes or no........either you're a smoker or you're not. And if you say yes, you're a smoker and don't elaborate, you will automatically be thought of as a daily cigarette smoker. Pipe smokers, especially very light pipe smokers like you, are just a pain in the ass because you're not exhibiting the behavior they expect of the human subjects.

 

[paulfg]

I went into hospital in january for heart surgeryand as it was a private insurance job the first thing I had to do was meet the insurance company agent at there office in the hospital.
They completed a questionaire and when the smoking question came up I answered pipe smoker and he wrote pipe smoker a few bowls a week on the form,no more question re smoking were asked.
they didnt seem bothered by my answer.

 

[captpat]

My previous GP was a pipe smoker, my current one is a former pipe smoker who has tried to convince me I should quit; for now I enjoy it and the risk seems low. I think the Medicare question is mostly for data collection, it doesn't seem to affect coverages/copays etc.

I have heard that some companies are using these types of screening questions as well as drug tests to ascertain if one is a tobacco user. Tobacco users then pay a higher premium for employer sponsored health insurance. This is the opposite of where I used to work where one could buy down their premium some by accumulating good health points.

 

[telescopes]

Overly intrusive governmental questions in my way of thinking deserve overly extrusive responses. The bureaucracy is NOT the social contract. If my doctor asks me a question that is originated from him or her and it directly pertains to a question about my immediate health, yes I’ll answer truthfully. But if he is parroting a question for some nonsense from the government, I can do the same.

 

[mbmoehl]

Thankfully I haven't needed to see my GP since I really took up the hobby in May, but I when to my dentist for a cleaning the hygienist gave me so much crap about it.

 

[Jef]

Well my company insurance just started a $600 fee per year if you are a tobacco user. I just started on medicare, so I was so happy to cancel.

 

[kcghost]

Doctors can be funny at times. I'll go in for the annual wellness physical and he ask if I am still smoking, and I say "Two pipe bowls a day and a cigar'. He doesn't really care my answer, but he just writes it down and that is that.

 

[Andriko]

The last time a doctor asked me about smoking, which was about 15 years ago (probably the last time I went to a doctor also), I told her I smoked. She asked how many. 'About a pack a day, a bit less maybe.' She just went 'Oh that's fine.'

 

[OverMountain]

So today I went to my doctor for my annual Medicare appointment. The doctor has a list of questions to ask and so on, and the doctor documents everything for the government program. (For those outside the US, Medicare is the federal government health program for seniors. With all the usual attendant bureaucracy.)

One of the questions was smoking. "I have taken up pipe smoking in my retirement, and I smoke one pipe 3 days a week," I said. We discussed it a little. We had a bit of give and take. Finally she said, "l will put down non-smoker."

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she meant that the risk to my health was not worth whatever gymnastics Medicare requires and then documenting it all. So it seemed to me anyway.

I’m not asking anyone to draw any medical conclusions from this little episode. But I found it quite amusing.

She did you a favor and showed expert judgment. I’d say you have a doctor that is still thinking and not just reading Obamacare cue cards off a screen.

 

[Searock Fan]

My doctor told me to stay away from tobacco, so I only smoke my churchwarden.

 

[olkofri]

Not to put words in her mouth, but I think she meant that the risk to my health was not worth whatever gymnastics Medicare requires and then documenting it all. So it seemed to me anyway.

More probably the reason was the establishment's definition of "smoker" as "someone who uses tobacco more than 5 times a week". 3 pipes a week leaves you out of that.