It’s that time of year again – people rushing to the doctor’s office before Jan. 1st.
Dr. Laura Morris is a family practice physician in Fulton and Chief Medical officer for Ambulatory Care with Columbia-based MU Healthcare. She explained the year-end patient surge to Missourinet.
“We definitely do see a surge in those requests,” she said. “I think people maybe have met their deductible for their health insurance. Also, there are sometimes maybe incentives from employers to complete an annual wellness visit by the end of the year.”
Morris said the year-end surge is not just for checkups, but for elective procedures such as colonoscopies.
“I think we’ll see, you know, folks that want to come in and get evaluated so they can maybe have that knee replacement before their daughter gets married,” she said. “Or they’re planning a big trip next summer and they need to come in and get a head start on getting their vaccines updated before they go out of the country.”
Morris emphasized that it can be hard to get in to see your regular provider this time of year if you haven’t already made an appointment.
“As we approach the end of the year, if folks do come up on something that they absolutely need to get taken care of, my advice would be to be flexible and maybe consider seeing a colleague or consider availability in a different location if that’s something that is important to make sure it gets done at the end of the year,” she said.
Otherwise, you’ll likely have to wait till the new year to see your regular physician – not counting emergencies. You can also ask your doctor’s office or healthcare provider if they have a waiting list in the event someone who already has an appointment has to cancel.
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