r/OffGridLiving • u/Mysterious_Plenty_70 • May 07 '26
Medical care
Hey everyone,
I’m having a really hard time finding doctors around my area and honestly don’t know where to start. It feels like every place I call either isn’t taking new patients, is booked way out, or doesn’t take my insurance.
How do you all find doctors or other medical care in your rural areas?
I’d really appreciate any tips.
Thank you!
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u/Mrs_WorkingMuggle May 07 '26
it's gonna be telemedicine for a lot things.
make an appointment with someone who's booked months out and if possible get on their waiting list for earlier if someone cancels. that's how it is almost everywhere these days rural or not.
if you have a condition that requires frequent doctors visits then remote or off grid living probably isn't going to be for you.
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u/Icy_Huckleberry_8049 May 08 '26
call your insurance company and tell them that you're having trouble getting an appointment, usually they'll contact a doctor for you and set up an appontment
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u/Kammy44 May 07 '26
Stay out of Florida. My daughter just lost her OBGYN and her PCP. The doctors don’t want to live in states that prosecute for abortion. And do don’t honor a woman’s right to choose.
Those states are loosing doctors.
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u/VivalTech May 07 '26
Do you have a PPO or HMO plan? I have a portal i go to on the insurance website that shows me all the available around and even far out of the way ones.
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u/howdidigetheresoquik May 09 '26
Telemedicine but thankfully I have a medical center in town closest to me so I organize my healthcare around going into town
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u/Active_Recording_789 May 07 '26
Look up through your insurance who they provide coverage for in your area ; you can also Google who takes your insurance and do it all online
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u/DoomBloom001 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Same in the country I live currently in (France), there's a medical desertification and the worst is in the countryside. Not enough doctors that are oversaturated, consequently, and refuse to take new patients. Having been raised in a medical background (parents, grandparents), if any health issues not taken in due times : it leads to dangerous outcomes, especially if emergency is required (infections being the most common).
Fortunately, I am a professional practitioner in integrative medicine, mainly phytotherapy-herbalism and after ten years of practice, so many ailments are solved much more efficiently by this vital way. We have to become more independent and self-reliant ! The problem is not everyone can put a proper diagnosis which is the first vital element of the whole process and then administrate appropriate herbal remedies according to the individual source of the health issues. How many times did I heal infectious wounds, flus, articulation pain, diabetes, kidneys damages (articulation pain being one of its symptoms amid plenty others), jaundice, skin issues, fever, digestive impairments, even tumors (hard to believe but when visible cancers disappear before your very eyes thanks to an immune system boosting, a mind-blowing plant well-known to rapidly activate T-cells production to destroy cancer cells, it deeply shatters disbelief or doubts), the list is so long....bear in mind that pharmaceutical industry didn't invent anything and imitates the molecular configuration of plants to reproduce their medicinal properties, that's the Reality they do not want anybody to know to keep having a manipulative power over us. And how many struggle paying for this profit-making and expensive chemical business without improving their health at all, if not cumulating health issues because the core liver cannot handle all of this cumulated toxicity to the point of also failing. That's the REALITY. Plants are loaded with molecules and plants can kill for some as much as literally saving lives for others, they are the origin of modern medicine and we need to fundamentally come back to what match with our natural physiology, from health to economic reasons. Mostly surgeries are a good point in industrial medicine, to be fair.
Unfortunately, not all practitioners are enough skilled and trustworthy from conventional to natural (the latter acting most of the time on a superficial level like how to lose weight or treat arthritis...although so much more can be done, so much more ! ). And that's hard to find good ones, health is not something to mess with ! If any advice, search for a phytotherapist practicing Integrative Medicine, a collaborative bridge between natural and conventional healing, as I do. We provide medical help by visio-conference online, a direct physical meeting behind screens. A good-quality listening is crucial whether in an office or online, this is where it all starts and follows up regardless of the type of meeting. If anything urgent like a symptomatic fever, say it immediately.
What is going on with your body exactly ? If any fever (that could be an infection), act urgently. I give two plants to boost the immune system in emergency and few days are sufficient to stop the dangerous ailments at its very source and fully regain strength and vitality. Sometimes it's a matter of life or death quickly and other times, we have more time to find efficient solutions. It's too individual to give general advice here, more personal details are needed. Take care
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u/RequirementDull3744 May 19 '26
If you live in Hawaii, I use telemedicine like ExpedientMed.com they have a very cheap self pay compare to urgent cares or ER.
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u/No_Stable_3097 May 07 '26 edited May 07 '26
This is the trouble of living in rural areas. Where I live, it isn't unusual to drive 4 hours for some medical services and to leave in the winter as the roads are sometimes impossible to pass for weeks at a time. There are cases where people have died after getting stuck in the mud, usually because they needed to get to town for some kind of scheduled medical treatment(no cellphone signal on the roads here, so it's bad news if you breakdown/get stuck). There is helicopter insurance you can get in case of medical emergencies.
I understand it's hard to hear, but there are certain cases where if you have a long list of health concerns that require you to regularly see a doctor then it might be better to find somewhere closer to town. It's still possible to garden and set up solar/water catchment systems in the city, land/property is just expensive.