[sandy67]

I've just found out from my agency that we need to have the medicals from 8 different docs/specialists. I didn't think we had to have this for our region. I'm so bummed out!

Has anyone done this and do you know of any little tricks, or ways of getting this done easily? I can't imagine how much this is all going to cost, I'm starting to get very discouraged.

Any help/advice appreciated.

Sandy.

[bmarsicano]

I was the first person to get it done for my agency and in the region. It took about 3 half days to get it all done. It wasn't bad at all. You just have to undress for a lot of the doctors, they are all women. My translator was with me the entire time. It cost about $50.

[sandy67]

So you had it done in Russia? Moscow?
It is supposed to be part of my dossier, so how does that work?

[catmele]

We had to do this 2 years for Tomsk. I was totally stressed about it but it ended up not being too bad. What we did was send a Mass email to every person we know begging for help of people who know doctors, have doctors in the family, have a friend of a friend who is a doctor etc who would be willing to help us. We ended having to go all over the place to get the signatures but it did not cost us much besides copays & gas. We found out our email got sent all over to churches,etc so we were very, very thankful.
Good luck! FOr our agency we also had to get copies of all the licenses so make sure to ask if they think you should get these also
Cathy
Mommy to Erik (b 4/23/03; adopted 1/19/04)
In paperchase for little girl

[bmarsicano]

I had it done in Khabarovsk. I don't know how it works with the dossier, but I heard that it was only good for a certain amount of time, I could be wrong on that.

[Jim_in_PA]

Sandy...first things first. Confirm with your agency whether you need to do it "in region", "in Moscow" or "in the US". From there, you can make your plans. Each region's requirements are different so don't make any assumptions as it could be costly.

[cici32]

I agree with Jim. Check to see where the form needs to be completed first.

We had to do it for our region, Chelyabinsk. It was only valid for 90 days. However, we were able to have our family doctor sign off on all areas. We also included a copy of her medical license and a letter from the Chief of Staff of Johns Hopkins {our agency obtained this for us} stating that Family Practicioners were able to make initial diagnosis in all areas listed on the form. {not the exact wording but basically what it said}. I don't know if other regions have been accepting it this way or not. For that matter, Chelyabinsk could have possible changed their requirements since we were there in September.

[mssylouis]

Also confirm with your agency whether a doctor can sign for more than one specialty. We actually had to have 8 different doctors sign the form. We also got caught in the "MD" versus "DO" thing. Our primary doctor is a DO (doctor of osteopathic medicine -- same training and licensing as an MD in our state), and we had to get a letter from the State licensing board explaining this. In retrospect, I would have stayed with all MDs to avoid this issue. But since my method of choosing doctors was simply - call those listed with our insurance and go to the ones who can see us the quickest (and whose receptionists said I could have a copy of the license) - I didn't even think about the MD thing.
Also, while you are visiting the doctors, get copies of the licenses, even if your agency says they are not necessary. It will save you alot of agony if your agency changes its mind down the road. We were told copies of these licenses "may" be needed in the future, but currently aren't. Then 3 weeks later, we were asked to send them in. Luckily we had collected them as a "just in case." (The only thing we were actually ahead of the curve on for this whole process!)

[cathvash]

It sounds like you must ask several questions:

1. Done in States, Moscow, or Region? (as Jim brought up) If you consider doing it at home, identify your $$/insurance situation (will you just be paying copays, or responsible for more?), and ease to access (can you do all of this within a few days at the same facility, or must you go all over town over a period of "weeks"?)

2. Specific Doctor Requirements Does the region allow your family doctor to complete it, and if so, do they also require a letter from the State Board of Medical Examiners (or could you get a letter from the local Chief of Staff?) OR must it be completed by 8 different specialists?

3.. Timeframe requirements both for when it is due, and how long it is good for. Will they allow you to do it in Moscow during trip #1, or must it be submitted prior to trip #1? It seems that most people doing it in Moscow have reported the process to be surprisingly painless and at reasonable cost. -think I'm going to do this if they don't jack up the fees.

4. If they require verification of current licensure, will they accept online verification obtained through the State Board? (Some docs have balked at providing copies of their license...) I would add to make sure none of the licenses are due to expire before your court date.

[sandy67]

Thanks for all your responses. It has helped a lot. We're looking into doing it on trip one in Moscow. Our adoption will be from Moscow city or Moscow region.
We have found out that certain districts within these regions do not require it. I guess we could be lucky....but who knows.