Mr.
Zimmerman,
Following
up on letters to the editor after your feature about searching for a new doctor
in the July 2013 issue of Palms West
Monthly:
We
recently discovered that The Palm Beach County Library System offers a Consumer
Health Information Service. That service’s
website provides links to many resources valuable in the search for a new
doctor or hospital. Librarian Mindy Rose
regularly presents “Finding Your Florida Doctor” at branch libraries throughout
the County, wherein she shows attendees how to make the most of these tools.
The Consumer Health Information Service page may
be found at http://www.pbclibrary.org/consumer-health
and invites users to call or e-mail the librarians.
Amos O. Daré, M.D.
Palm
Beach Brain & Spine
_____
Letters
to the Editor
Doctor search strikes nerve with
readers
Editor’s
note: It would be an understatement to say we were a bit surprised by the
number of emails we received regarding Ernie’s recent quest to find a new
family doctor (“Searching for a new
doctor can be a bitter pill to swallow” July 2103 issue).
Little
did we realize we would hear from so many of our readers desperately trying to
find a family doctor with whom they connect.
Thank
you to all who took the time to drop us an email.
Below
is a sample of the emails we received …
Reader looking for doctor who really
tells it like it is
Ernie,
Please
tell me who your doctor is. My husband
and I have been struggling to find a good respectable and caring doctor in the
Loxahatchee/RPB area.
We
had a doctor for the past 16 year who went into the concierge practice which
was not affordable for us and now we have exhausted efforts to find the “right”
doctor.
People
refer us to their doctor and they tell us why they like that particular doctor
and it’s exactly what we don’t like: “Oh, they’ll give you all kinds of
prescriptions,” or they tell us “he approves of our lifestyle which includes
alcohol consumption.” That’s not what we
want to hear.
We
want a good ole doctor that gives us thorough exams and offers healthy advise
for good living.
We
would love to try your doctor … HELP!
Patty
Hanbury
Loxahatchee
New to area, reader looking to find
good family doctor
Ernie,
I,
too, am looking for a doctor after relocating from Massachusetts. I was spoiled by the female doctor I had up
north. She always listened, asked many
questions and never rushed me out of her office before she gave me her
directives.
So,
yes, I would like to know the name of this husband-wife duo so that I may
contact them. You’re an answer to one of
my many requests. Thank you.
Steve
Lacroix
West
Palm Beach
We must take control of our health
when working with doctors
Hi
Ernie,
I
was interested in your article since I’ve worked in healthcare for years, work
in a hospital and have my own personal experiences with doctors.
I
like my doctor, who also takes time with patient, and doesn’t rush them out the
door.
It
is very hard to find a good doctor today and the horror stories I hear from
patiens are amazing and sad.
We
cannot put doctors on pedestals and treat them like God. We have to be in control of our own bodies
and do a little research, and decide what’s best for us, using the doctor’s
advice and our own instincts.
Glad
you found a good doctor.
Marianna
Astor
Wellington
Husband, wife team practice might be
exactly what reader is looking for
Mr.
Zimmerman,
I
read your July 2013 article in Palms West
Monthly with great interest. Seems
we have similar histories.
I,
too, am a Vietnam Veteran. I am not a
retired New York City police officer, but my father was an officer/detective
with the 41st and then the 32nd precincts having retired in 1968.
The
reason I am responding to your article is because of our shared recent
history. Not long ago I received a “sayonara”
letter from our PCP because “the face of healthcare delivery and reimbursement has
changed so dramatically,” and so he decided to leave his solo-private practice.
We
had been with him for several years through some trial and tribulations due to
either injuries of age related. Like
you, this change was not welcome and similarly we began the hunt in much the
same way as you describe.
We
had been asking friends as well as medical professionals at a hospital that we
volunteer at. We have narrowed it down
to two choices and were about to look into both when I came upon your article.
I
am reticent to have a female PCP (don’t ask), but my wife might welcome
same. So it seems to us that you have
found the promised land of PCPs.
Are
we curious to know who your new doctor is?
You betcha!
Chris
Fries
West
Palm Beach
Reader also searching for new doctor
Hi
Ernie,
I
enjoyed your article about searching for a new doctor, especially since I am
going through the process right now.
I
would appreciate the name of the doctors you found to help me in my
search. Thanks,
Gladys
Maloy
Wellington
New to area, reader looking to find
good family doctor
Hi
Ernie,
First,
I wanted to say “thank you” for writing that article regarding finding a new
family doctor. I found it very
informative and I could relate to so much of what you said.
Anyway,
I know things are different here in Florida, but having to pay to be a member
of a practice before you can even see the doctor is just “over the top.” To give you a little history, my husband and
I just moved here from Wilmington, N.C., and I am trying to find a family
doctor.
Because
we have only been in our new home for one month, we don’t know enough people to
get recommendations, and it’s on the top of my priority list because my husband
is a diabetic and he will be needing to have his prescriptions filled soon.
We
bought a house in Buena Vida in June.
Any information you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks you.
Susan
Leonard
Wellington
Reader finds doctor worth concierge
fee
Ernie,
I,
too, recently decided to change my internist after many years. After a similar search as your to no avail, I
called my gastro doctor who is absolutely the most caring and personalized one
I ever needed for that type of exam.
I
found out from his nurse that he was adding internal medicine to his practice
as concierge. Well, being I trusted him
and liked him, I felt it was worth the fee, which was a little below the norm.
When
I did this I was having some health issues which we discussed over the phone
and he changed some pills and schedule an appointment for one week later.
No
only was he on time, but he gave me a full physical which was over an hour and
sent me for other tests.
Two
days later he called me with positive results.
Two weeks after that, he called me to see how I was doing. That is what being a doctor was in the old
days when we grew up.
Like
you, I eel I can live for ever. Must be
a Brooklyn thing.
Dave
Segal
West
Palm Beach
_____
Searching for a new doctor can be a bitter pill to
swallow
By Ernie
Zimmerman
Posted
July 2, 2013
Due to
recent circumstances beyond my control, I had to part ways with my doctor who
had been my primary care physician for the past 15 years.
I took
this news pretty hard, as I’m not one who embraces change easily. In fact, I
don’t embrace change at all. I hate change. Come to think of it, that’s
probably why I’ve stayed married to the same person for over 40 years.
It seems
that lot of primary care doctors in our area and across the country are
starting to practice medicine in a new way. They are going to a concierge-type
model, where their patients must be “members.”
Some
physicians call it a “VIP” service. They say by limiting the number of patients
they serve they can provide more personalized care. The catch is that there’s a
yearly fee to see these doctors.
Fees go
as high as $1,650 a year – and some doctors may even charge more than that. The
way I figure it, if I go to a doctor on average twice a year for checkups, that
comes out to $825 per visit – right out of my pocket – above what the insurance
company will pay.
If
there’s one thing I hate more than change, it’s shelling out money
unnecessarily.
So Sharon
and I began the hunt for a new primary care doctor. I started by asking friends
about their doctors. I naturally thought that good old word of mouth would be
the best and fastest way to go.
In some
ways it was, in other ways it wasn’t. I ended up being quite surprised by the
number of people I spoke to who were not crazy about their current doctor – and
the reasons varied.
Some said
that on a typical visit to their doctor, they first had to endure feeling like
sardines packed into a small waiting room with other sick people.
Other
friends told me their doctors were nice enough, but they could hardly remember their
doctors’ faces as nurse practitioners almost always handled the visits.
And a few
of my friends said they felt as if their doctors rushed through exams, not
taking the time to get to know their patients and hardly giving the time to
answer questions.
Needless
to say, this was making our hunt for a new doctor very difficult, and at one
point we thought we’d never find the “perfect” doctor for us.
That’s
when I decided to make a few phone calls to doctors’ offices on my own. The
person who answered the first call I made said I could have an appointment in
two days – what she failed to tell me was that this doctor just sold his
practice and the next day would be his last. They couldn’t even tell me what
doctor would be taking over.
I tried
another office and was told I could have an appointment in one week with a
nurse practitioner. If I wanted to see the doctor, I would have to wait at
least six weeks, maybe longer.
The
search continued.
Just
before giving up hope, I made one more call to an office in Royal Palm Beach,
where I was asked a very interesting question: Would I prefer to see a male or
female doctor?
At first,
the question threw me off a bit, but after some thought I decided I’d see the
male doctor.
To my
delight, I was able to see the doctor within a week, and I’m happy to report
that my quest to find a doctor ended successfully.
Not only
did he give me a very thorough physical and exam, all the lab testing was done
in the office.
It turns
out that he and the female doctor who share the office are married – kind of a
husband and wife tag-team practice. That made me feel even more comfortable.
Probably
the best part of the visit was that I didn’t feel rushed – all of my questions
were answered in a way that even I could understand.
I was
even impressed with the office support staff.
So, my
advice to anyone searching for a quality doctor in this area, don’t give up,
they’re out there.
Curious
to know who my new doctor is? Just send me an email and
I’ll be happy to tell you.
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