I need to find a new medical provider, because mine is not very good. They take forever to read labs, generally very dismissive of my concerns, and delayed addressing a now serious health issue that will require yearly monitoring and eventually surgical intervention.
So how did you find yours? Recommended by a friend, some sort of directory (what do you look for in that case?), did you just get lucky?
I’m good at lots of things. Navigating the US healthcare industry is not one of them. My wife is in the industry, so I let her find one for me.
My medical care provider is awesome. UW Health (University of Wisconsin) is a non-profit organization that was built on top of a student healthcare system. They focus on treating the patient, not the condition, and have managed to build a staff who really believe in that. The system is associated with the UW Medical School, so it has access to the latest equipment and specialists in almost every area. In ten years, I have met one person there who did not impress me. She turned out to be from a temporary agency.
UW Health is perpetually understaffed, like all medical providers, because the business model for insurance companies is to prevent sick people from getting the care they need. They still manage to provide excellent care, but there are often long waits to see people.
Not many options in the area that were:
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Accepting new patients
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Accepted my insurance
It was basically down to 2 options at that point and I chose the closer of the two. They’re fine, no complaints, but I know others who have had bad experiences with other providers at that practice. But then I’ve heard worse about the other place, so…
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Luck. I was told I could be seen nine months out, then got a random call that they had an opening that Wednesday. I might be dead had that not happened.
Zoc Doc and reaching out to in network providers and being persistent with checking in for openings from cancellations is my best advice. Good luck, it’s hell out there right now.
Ha, that’s bold of you to assume I have a doctor at all.
Most people are limited to the doctors in their area that take the insurance provided by their job, which often narrows down your choices a LOT.
In the USA, (maddeningly) insurance companies are the gatekeepers of healthcare, so work through them. Your health insurance might have a tool on their website to search for doctors that take your insurance, which will save you a lot of time making sure you stay in network.
Otherwise, you should be able to call your health insurance provider and ask them.
Say you’ve done that. How do you choose one? What criteria should I look for? Where they went to school? Are health grades any good?
I hardly have a doctor (Who can afford that?) but I use the insurance website to search for nearby providers because coverage is most important to me. Then, I look at reviews of their offices on Google Maps before calling to see if they’re taking new patience for final selection.
My wife is resourceful in such matters.
Can you put your wife on the phone for me?
She said your insurance provider should have a list of in network doctors.
Maybe I should have rephrased this. I can find a doctor. How do I choose one?
Oh, you just have to try them out. Pick one that you feel listens to you and takes what you say seriously. We live out of town so she started with who had the closest office.
She doesn’t have a secret method. I was just bragging on my wife that does what I’m too lazy to do, she makes the phone calls. If I like the doc she sent me to she calls the same one next time.
Thanks! I’ll post there as well.
I checked who my insurance provided
I knew I wanted my primary care provider to be an internal medicine specialist at a clinic which does not do pediatrics, so that narrowed it down a good bit. From there, I started reading patient reviews. Then I checked that they accepted my insurance.
I got a list of providers that I could use with my insurance, and there was only 1 viable choice within distance. I ain’t driving all the way to San Francisco for the other choice.
I try to take care of my health as much as possible because I cannot afford to have a medical emergency.
I did emr training for physicians for over a decade and become good friends with several of them, so I basically have a few that I use as concierge services. I call them, tell them what’s up, and they order what I need. In return they can call me up whenever and I’ll did whatever computer/tech problem they have.
I got my primary care doctor from a family member recommendation. Most specialists I see are based on her recommendation (even if there’s not a formal referral). My wife has a less-common medical condition and found her primary care doctor from a local Facebook group for people with the condition where people were sharing doctors they’d had good experiences with.
I think that insurance I had in the past or currently has some sort of lookup for doctors in-network and people were able to leave reviews. I’ve actually had some success with that, trying to see from the reviews who I might jive with. I feel like I’ve had more success from talking with people and seeing if they like their doctor, though.
