How do you handle full time medical needs?

A few months ago we received notice that our 20 year plus MD was retiring. We had worked out with him ways to fill our needs as full time RVers. Now we need to fill that void through the Tricare system. How do other full time rv travelers renew their prescriptions and get consistent medical care?

Moving that medical history from one location to the next can be a problem. Finding MD's that will see you on short notice with little or no medical history.

We move from one place to the next on a weekly basis. We are trying to see all of this great country a little at a time. This makes medical care more difficult if not imposable.

Thanks for any information you can provide.

Prescriptions through Express Scripts mail. Just need to plan ahead on where to have them mailed to.

We've never had problems finding a MD to see us on short notice or walk-in. We usually look at TriCare's website for a list of participating MD's in the area. We carry our medical records with us. However, we don't have serious or long-term medical problems.

We use TriCare Standard, which gives us the flexibility to use any MD we want. Search these forums for "TriCare" and you'll find more info.

We are not full time but travel extensively so my wife has her prescriptions on file at Walgreens and gets a 90 day supply at a time. When travelling if she needs to fill a script we have always been able to find a Walgreens and walk in and they always give me a refill. Not once in 10 years of travel have we had a problem this way. Walgreens has a great pharmacy website for keeping track of your scripts and how many refills you have remaining and they will always contact the issuing MD for another refill if when on the road I do not have another refill remaining. She has TriCare Prime so she pays $3.00 for any 30 day supply. No pain medication prescribed so in the past forums I know some folks have a problem getting that refilled. You may still need to get an MD somewhere who is your Primary MD so your meds are dispensed and controlled by one MD and see them at least twice a year so they will continue to refill the meds.

Larry is correct about using Tri-Care Standard if you are not going to be in a specific area for extended periods. We have a home in Oklahoma but still use Standard so we can use any doctor we want. We also travel extensively around the country although are not considered fulltimers. (I spent several years in the insurance business and refuse to have anything to do with an HMO type situation, which Tri-Care Prime is.)

We get all our prescriptions through Wal-Mart Pharmacy. Like Walgreens, they have a nationwide computer set up and we have had prescriptions filled all over the United States. (Except in Key West. There is no Wal-Mart in Key West. On that one we had to go to Walgreens. Fortunately, the wife had a written script with her that she had not had filled before we left home. First time it needed to be refilled we just went to a Wal-Mart and had it transferred.)

We use a local doctor here in Oklahoma City as our family doctor. We make an appointment with him once a year and then make sure we are here during that time. He writes our prescriptions for 90 days worth with three refills each. That pretty much covers between doctor's visits but if there is a problem all I have to do is call his office, give them the number to the local Wal-Mart and they call in our prescriptions for us. That also gives us a place where all our medical records are in one place. If we need to see a doctor anywhere else in the country all they have to do is call our family doctor's clinic for any info they need.

Pretty much everybody has had to figure out what works best for them. Hope the feedback you've received helps.