Can I Keep My Doctor at an Assisted Living Facility

Growing older can be a challenge filled with uncertainty. As such, your loved one may be apprehensive about changing things up and moving to an assisted-living facility. After all, many older individuals like a sense of organization, and suddenly having to think about moving can throw everything into confusion. Another thing that may be a source of anxiety is the thought of change. One of the things they may be wondering about is whether or not they will be able to keep their doctor if they move into a facility.

The good news is that they can keep their doctor if they need to move into a facility. It’s important to inform your loved one’s doctor if they (or you as a family) have come to the decision of moving into an assisted living or other type of personal care facility. In doing so, your doctor will place the elder on his or her list of patients they see at the assisted living facility.

This brings up an important point though: if you are at the point of considering whether or not moving into a facility is the right choice, be sure to ask the doctor if he or she already visits the facilities or personal care homes you are considering. If they do, then they’ll have regular rounds there, and this is important because it means the doctor will see your loved one on a regular basis—and perhaps even more regularly than they are being seen currently.

While your loved one undoubtedly has his or her own doctor, it’s also important to know that many assisted living and personal care facilities will have one or more doctors of their own that will do regular rounds at the facility. If your loved one (or the family as a whole) isn’t fully happy with the regular doctor, you may give some thought to switching to the doctor that regularly visits the facility. Doing so will allow your loved one to be seen with more regularity if the current doctor doesn’t make regular visits to the assisted living facility or personal care home.

So, if your loved one has been nervous about the possibility (or reality) of having to move somewhere new, hopefully the information in this article brings some comfort to them and their loved ones.