Primary Care Doctors Do You Have One?

L

Lon

Well-known Member
Location
Central California
I saw my Primary Care doctor this afternoon and told him I appreciated him being the Conducter of my Medical Orchestra. He had never heard his job described that way and asked if he could use it.
I said of course. A good PC is the first line of defense of keeping us healthy. Early detection from BLOOD TESTS by two of my former PC physicians is responsible for me being alive today From the tests that they read they referred me on to a Oncologist that caught a disease early and treated it successfully. A similar situation occurred later that caught a Life Threatening condition early.
 

Primary Care/Family doctors are becoming increasingly in short supply. Presently, more than half of the medical students are working towards a Specialty...because of the higher pay in the Specialties. Most studies looking at this situation predict that within the next decade, there will be a major shortage of primary care doctors. Presently, that shortfall is increasingly being filled by Osteopaths and/or foreign doctors immigrating to the U.S....however, even this is barely keeping up with demand. As the population ages, and people are living longer, this will become an issue in the not too distant future.
 
Yep. My PCP live across the street from me. Not that I would ever impose upon her (yes , her). But she is taking a year off starting in January so I will have new one.
 

I've been looked after by my general practitioner for at least 35 years.
He has served me very well and when he retires I will transfer to his junior partner and continue with the same practice.
 
I've been seeing mine for 30 years.. He cared for my parents in their later years also.. He's probably just a few years younger than I am, but he won't tell me how old he is.. but I anticipate that eventually I will have to see a new one after he retires.. Hopefully he will turn his practice over to someone I like.
 
Warrigal said:
I've been looked after by my general practitioner for at least 35 years.
He has served me very well and when he retires I will transfer to his junior partner and continue with the same practice.
Click to expand...

I experienced the same thing a couple of years ago. The doctor that I'd had for many years, retired, and I picked up with a younger associate. Nice guy but I still prefer the retired doc.
 
I have been seeing mine for more than 30 years. He was just starting out when I saw him in an emergency room, and we just clicked. He opened a practice and that is that. He is a one man office so I am planning on us aging out together.

Maybe it is a benefit of being a long term patient,but if I call in the morning, I will be seen with in a few hours. The wife and I get routine blood tests every 8 weeks and he will call Sunday afternoon to discuss the results.
 
I switched to my current PCP in 2007. At that time I was totally frustrated with the one I had, who I felt was not being attentive to my needs and would often brush off any issues. I had complained to him often that the pain in my right hip was becoming unbearable. His response..take Advil. After a couple years of this I started looking around. The lady I found seemed perfect on paper, with a specialty in Gerentology. So I went to her. When I was telling her about my hip she asked if my prior doc had ordered X-Rays. No. Referred me to a ortho? NOPE. She did both. Turns out my hip was in sad shape..an X Ray proved I had no cartalidge left in it. I was scheduled for hip replacement surgery within a few months of my first visit to her. I have stayed with her and really do like her. An unrelated aside, that my fellow posters in the Northeast, especially, will get is that her last name is Wegman. And yes, she IS related to the grocery chain.
 
My insurance provider (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) requires a PCP and it's printed on the ID card. This was also true for other health insurance I've had with other national companies.
 
I have had the same PCP for about 15 years or more. He's great, but getting towards retirement. I see him about once a year for a physical, but sometimes go longer and will see his PA. I actually found that the PA did a more thorough annual exam one year and she spent more time with me.
 
I have a PCP. I would never consider using another VA doctor. The last one butchered up my Achilles tendon. It took two neurosurgeons three surgeries to fix it to the point where I now have no issues with walking or running. Medicine has come a long way.
 
My insurance doesn't require a PCP as such but I have a regular doctor who "farms me out" to specialists if he can't handle the problem. I guess the only difference is that my insurance plan doesn't require formal referrals.
 
I've had one most of my life, but, I plan to have one again very soon. I will be going to a Novant facility, I believe the doctor you start with will be your primary for as long as he or she is with the medical group.
 

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