Worst Health Mistakes Young People Make

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Executive Producer: Doctor Mike
Production Director and Editor: Dan Owens
Managing Editor and Producer: Sam Bowers
Editor and Designer: Caroline Weigum
Editor: Juan Carlos Zuniga

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** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **

[noelrivera]

The urgent care thing is more than just young people are doing it wrong ... The reason people go to urgent care rather than establishing long term PCP is because of insurance reasons and and job changes and moving locations. We live in a much less stable environment than people realize

[Mullethaver]

Urgent care is cheaper than going to primary care by almost 300$ for me. It’s the difference between affording care and not, I also work the only hours the doctors office is open. It’s not young people making these mistakes it’s the system forcing them into it

[winstonwolf]

Urgent cares are used more and more because you can't get in to see a primary doctor on short notice anymore. I had a possible infection, the doctors office literally said to go to urgent care if I couldn't wait a week to be seen. That is pretty much the norm now.

[regi]

Nothing but love for Dr Mike but I'm glad to see the comments calling this out.
I literally sometimes fantasize about being taken seriously by a doctor, especially one with time, expertise and resources.... a girl can dream

[nlyNE.]

Why we use urgent care:
—The PCP can’t see us for a long time and we need care sooner rather than later
—You are in college out of state ( or out of state for a different reason) and your insurance only covers urgent care or ER out of state
—You move often, don’t have a PCP, and can’t find a new PCP quick enough to meet your medical need
—Urgent Care is the appropriate place to go
—You don’t know which option is better for your needs and opted for urgent care, perhaps the wrong choice.
—You don’t like your PCP and get better care at urgent care
—Your medical needs happen outside the hours of your PCP, and while not an emergency, are better to take care of that day

[agarbanzo]

I don’t go to my PCP for every small thing because I don’t know if I’ll be charged $50 or $500. I once got charged $200 for asking about foot corn during a routine checkup. It’s the medical system that’s messed up not young people making bad choices.

[thehegemonca]

The reason why people go to urgent care is because its almost impossible to find a good primary care in many parts of the country. The issue is with healthcare, not the young people... Also people are much more mobile, which makes it difficult to be in one location with a specific doctor.

[D_To_The_J]

A lot of time for primary care you can't get an appointment until weeks or months out. Might be dead by the time your appointment comes up.

[ukeheliel]

As someone whose doctor literally went on vacation during the same week he had scheduled me to see him, with no coverage for the visit at all, I have to echo that urgent care/the ER is not simply because we don't want to or don't think about it.

I also went to the UC for a potential heart condition and was sent to the ER, told by the ER to book a followup and to mention that it was for an ER visit so they get me scheduled within a few days, only to be told by my PCP's scheduling that they couldn't possibly see me for at least 3-5 weeks. I like my doctor alright, but the scheduling is like this SO OFTEN that I don't even try to book appointments for anything minor or much major anymore. Sure, it's nice to have consistent care with the same people, but half the time I also have to re-explain my situation anyway. Or why he put me on XYZ medication.

Calling it a "mistake" that "young people" make feels really disingenuous. It's neither "young people" (I'm in my late 30s now, and I know people much older than me dealing with the same) nor an active choice being made out of ignorance or stubbornness. We're literally fighting insurance coverage, changing plans, doctors not having appointment availability, networks changing abruptly and without warning, and the cost of insurance added to any copays and consistent medical bills—and probably more that I've forgotten. At the very least, at least most urgent care locations will take most available insurance.

[ChrisPaqueta]

How is nobody talking about Health and Beauty Mastery. That book exposes industry secrets

[mandie]

Dr Mike, i have a PCP in NYC and i was extremely sick a few months ago. I went to see them and she zeroed in on a non symptom, largely ignored the actual issues (severely swollen tonsils where i couldn't even swallow water or broth) and told me to get my inner ears cleaned. Ran no tests.
Urgent care ran tests, provided suggestions, and prescribed medication. It didn't fully solve the issue but i felt way more SEEN by the urgent care team than my own PCP

[catherinegabriellajohnson]

The Urgent Care thing for me is more connected to how hard it is to make an appointment with a primary care doctor. If I start to notice something is wrong, it might take me 4 months to get an appointment with a Primary Care Doctor. It's really only an option for annual check-ups in my area.

[elffys]

they arent going to urgent care because it's convenient. they're going to urgent care because primary care usually requires insurance and they don't have that either.

[RoselynShade]

I understand your point, but not all primary care doctors are like you. When I was battling to get my gallstones diagnosed, which took them over a year and a half despite my test results, I was at a point I could only eat couple pieces of toast or else I had to have a trip to ER for pain medication. My primary care doctors told me 'Have you tried eating later, so you wake up later so you don't have to go back to sleep and can just go to work instead!'. Nurses in ER actually had some good inputs, has logged everything just so I could be put forward in the list and get my surgery earlier. I have no trust in primary care doctors based on my experience.

[MxmuPrm]

Last year I scheduled an annual preventative exam with a nearby pcp as a new patient. When I got there they took my vitals, weight, and asked family history. The doc saw me and ask me some general questions about my health, then I left. For that I got a $200 bill in the mail ($400 before my insurance kicked in) because it was billed as a “new patient visit” as opposed to a “annual preventative exam” which is 100% covered. I tried to appeal it and get it discounted, but they said that the doctor had already marked it as a new patient exam and there wasn’t anything I could do. The system in the US is so messed up…

[nicolek]

Some of us are forced to rely on urgent care or telehealth even when we DO have a PCP. Scheduling is often months out (three to six months in almost every instance). So, unless it's planned check-ups, you're forced to rely on urgent care.

[jtb]

The problem I have, is doctors and nurses telling me that I'm too young to be having a problem that I am having.

[thetribalwarrior]

As a millennial, the reason I go to urgent care instead is because every time I try to get a family doctor in my area they tell me it’s a 6 month-1 year wait. There’s no way I can make an appointment like that. In the times Iv tried something always changed in that time span forcing me to reschedule which resulted in a similar wait. (Yes I tried different groups)

[eternyti]

Also guarantee 95% of younger people, if they're like me, put off healthcare visits not just because of time and work, but because it's expensive AF even with insurance. I'd rather just deal with the pain until it goes away or find some other remedy rather than blow hundreds of dollars on a visit or medication that likely won't do anything. It's not our fault the system is terrible and we don't want to use it.

[brandonhoover]

It’s asinine how doctors can book so many patients that’s it’s considered wrong of a patient to discuss the problems they want to in a visit.
Having a doctor tell you no more problems now because I want to go the next person is such a huge problem that healthcare industry pushes on us.