PROFESSIONAL ISSUES

The snowbird shuffle: What to do when patients head south for the winter

Treating seasonal patients requires good preparation and communication by physicians.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Sept. 22/29, 2003.

The woman had a hard time leaving her doctor in the North. She had just arrived in Florida, one of the scores of Americans, particularly retirees, who flee Northern states to live out the winter months in warmer climates. But she came with a throat ailment, one that nearly closed her larynx and sent her to the hospital.

Treating her in intensive care was Michael G. Stampar, DO, an otolaryngologist in Punta Gorda, Fla. He wanted to put her on antibiotics. But first she used her cell phone to check with her Northern physician.

"She said, 'I have to ask my doctor at home,' " Dr. Stampar said. "This is the guy who wrote her off as a sore throat yesterday. Of course, he was extremely supportive" of Dr. Stampar's suggested treatment.

Dr. Stampar is used to the dynamics of treating seasonal residents -- snowbirds -- who spend winters in the South and summers in the North. Charlotte County, where Punta Gorda is located, grows from about 140,000 to more than 200,000 people when snowbirds arrive.

Seasonal residents who flock to destinations across the country pose a unique challenge to physicians. Doctors in the patients' home states must prepare their patients for the trip, giving them appropriate medical records and medications, while also coordinating care with physicians at the patients' destination. Doctors who get the patients work to provide continuity of care to people they see half of the year, juggling snowbirds with their regular patient load.

Physicians who treat seasonal residents said they master the challenge through good preparation, communication, patience and flexibility.

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