My family physician decided to close his practice about three months ago, leaving me and his other patients in search of health care elsewhere.
Let the record show that I loved my former doctor. In the thirteen years we were together he listened, truly listened, to me. When we had a disagreement of opinion on how to proceed, we resorted to empirical evidence. I argued that it was my body, and I knew it better than anyone else. He claimed authority with medical knowledge. So we’d come to a mutual understanding of how to solve a particular problem. It was a marked difference in approach from the Chicago doctor before him.
I understand his reasons for closing as explained in a letter: mounting costs, smaller reimbursements, increased paperwork, longer wait period for payment. I would probably have done the same thing.
However, it does create a problem for any former patients who are Medicare-age. Not a lot of physicians accept new Medicare patients because of the increased frustration regarding the problems listed above.
Fortunately, my husband goes to a different family practitioner. So I called his office to see if he would accept a spouse on Medicare as a courtesy and learned that, yes, he would. Today I had my first appointment with him.
I waited over an hour to be seen. My former doctor never was late. I began to build that chip on my shoulder as the minutes passed. My former doctor would never have had to deal with that. I wasn’t sure this would work.
To be fair, when the doctor finally came into the examining room he apologize profusely for being so late. “Three nightmare appointments, back to back,” he said. I would have accepted this but for the fact that my husband says he always runs late.
I’m not a particularly docile patient; I challenge, I question, I want logic to back up what the doctor says. In fact, I suspect some physicians hate to see my name on their daily appointment sheet.
Regardless, at the end of our forty minutes together I was impressed. This doctor asked salient questions, accepted my requests and observations, and looked me in the eye regularly. He also made some recommendations about various medications I’m taking, and he had the data to back up his opinion. I left feeling pretty good about the situation. And I plan to return. But I do intend to work on his promptness for appointments.
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