Looking for a new General Practitioner?

[dragonfly411]

Hey all. I am seriously considering finding a new general practitioner. The group I am currently with is pretty popular, but they generally run an hour or so behind, and there are many times where I end up just seeing a nurse practitioner because my GP ends up being over booked. I can't say that I've been overly satisfied with their answers for me either, and I can't say they've really kept me the most informed about my general health, what I should test, when I should check for vitamin/mineral deficiencies etc. Most of the time, the things that I do want checked they seem to disregard, even though it could be a possible answer.

I'm younger, and my GP was my mom's GP, so I've never actually had to go on a hunt for a new GP. What should I look for, expect? How does one go about figuring out if a GP is the right one for them? Do many GP offices schedule consultations?

Also has anyone worked with a GP that specializes in both Eastern and Western medicine, or other alternative medicines? I ask because I am a firm believer in Chinese medicines and alternative medicines/therapies, and would be interested in finding a doctor who has knowledge in both areas. Do others find this to be somewhat common? What have been your experiences with them?

My pediatrician was known for his ability to recommend what was best, and he recommended me to massage on several occasions and I found great success. It's too bad he wasn't a GP and that he is fully retired now.

 

[TooPatient]

I wish there was a website where everyone could go to review their doctors. It would make things so much easier if you could see stuff like how they are at sticking to their schedule, if they leave enough extra room during the day to fit in the emergencies that come up, how far out they are usually bookes, attitude of nurses, cleanliness of office, etc....

I've been looking for a doctor too. I like to call the office to ask a few questions -- if the receptionist is ditzy (brainless, clueless...) or rude then I move on to the next. If the office admin people are clueless, rude, unhelpful, etc then it will probably be a problem when you have to schedule an appointment, pay a bill, change insurance providers.....
If the office admin people are intelligent (can answer simple questions or know who to ask to get more information for me), organized, and friendly then all of that stuff should be a lot more pleasant to deal with.


I haven't gotten past that yet. I'm still attempting to find reviews online (there are a FEW out there, but they're hard to find and not always accurate or up to date) and talk to some offices.
Really interested to see what everyone else suggests.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Hi,

I saw a natural path who works with both western and more herbal-type doctoring. In fact, along with traditional, she also does accupuncture, etc.

How I found her was I had read up on food allergy testing and read about a specific test and took that info and called every natural path in the phone book until I found one that used that test and accepted my insurance for office visits. (I *had* planned to have her for my GP)

I knew the tests were not covered under my insurance. . .but they just became too expensive. After ringing up $700 in bills, I decided to stop because she insisted I needed more! What errked me was that I would have to call her over and over to find when the test results came in. With the final test, she said it would take 2 weeks. I waited that long and then another and called and I guess it had just been sitting there and nobody bothered to contact me. I sent a medical release form and had the results faxed to me.

For more specialized care - I did have a midwife for both pregnancies. Different than a GP, I know, but with that I picked a midwife group at a university.

 

[packrat]

Do you live in a pretty big area? I'd maybe just whip out the phone book and check the yellow pages. Or whoever does your massages might be more in the know about who to call, or if you have a chiropractor, he/she might have an idea. Our area is so small, we'd have to go probably an hour or better to find someone who was into Eastern/Western medicine. Although, it's hard to say until you talk to them, you know? Our Dr. doesn't dig chiropractors, but she does recommend massage.

It's important to have a relationship w/your Dr and feel comfortable with them, so yeah, if you're not feeling it, I'd definitely look around..talk to your friends and see who they go to and what they've experienced. It's hard to rely on calling the office and talking to the front staff, b/c at our office for instance, one has a "tone", the other can be rude, and the other can be flighty or ME, tho I generally am only there one day a week, however quite frankly I am exceptionally nice and polite. Luck of the draw I guess.

TP, there are websites to review Dr's..I can't think of them offhand but I've seen them several times when I've been googling for different medical things. I've seen where you can rate the staff and things like your wait time etc. Would be nice if there was a general one tho, that everyone knew about, like Toolhaus or someplace.

 

[dragonfly411]

TooPatient - I wish there was one too! I don't have a great deal of friends, so it's not easy for me to ask a lot of people to get reviews. My friends work at one office but from how they tell me it is run, I wouldn't want to go there.

MC - That's unfortunate that your experience was so rough!

Packrat - I live in a medium sized town. I mean in the end It's a Small World After All lol, but it's no Orlando or other metro area. We don't have a huge number of GP. I'd almost, ALMOST be willing to drive a small distance for the right GP, but I want to check local offices first.


I AM happy to report that I have found a new GYN. My best friend just began working for him, and she reports him to be one of the best doctors in the area and she wanted specifically to work for him because he also takes time to teach both his nurses and his patients. He's in the same practice as the woman I've been seeing, but I think I'd rather have my friend as my nurse anyways, as I know she knows how to do her job in a very professional manner.

 

[neatfreak]

This may be late, but I just needed to make a comment about Naturopaths. Naturopaths are NOT the same as physicians. In some states they can be licensed and some do go to a school similar to the first 2 years of medical school (basically the science/anatomy classes). MANY MORE do not though--and they are not necessarily required to do residency training, clinic hours, or many other things that are required of traditional MDs or DOs. The training they undergo varies so widely that I would not trust a naturopath with only that "credential" with my medical care.

If you want to incorporate these viewpoints/methods into your health care it's best to find a family physician or other primary care provider who is an MD or a DO *and* who is certified as a National Board Certified Naturopathic Physicians through the ANMCAB. These practitioners have gone through medical school, an accredited residency program, and have done a huge number of mandatory clinical hours. This is in addition to passing licensing exams and participating in continuing medical education on a yearly basis.

Another great choice is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. A DO is a different type of doctor, often more holistic in viewpoint, but with the same training requirements as MDs. They are also often a good middle ground between Naturopath and a more "traditional" western MD. They go to different medical schools and then residency programs can be osteopathic or allopathic (traditional). You can feel very confident in the abilities of a DO just as you can an MD.

I am not saying that all Naturopaths are quacks but there are enough of them out there who are that it is important to understand the differences in training, know what type of training your practitioner has, and be comfortable with the level of training they have.

Docs that would have been considered "GPs" in the past are now more likely to be family physicians or internists. So those might be some keywords to use when looking for a new doctor, as general practitioner isn't used much by the younger physician crowd in the US.

Sorry, I'm done.

 

[phoenixgirl]

I had a bad experience with my GP too -- always, always, always at least 45 minutes behind, even first thing in the morning. How do you get behind when there are no prior appointments?

I just switched to the sports and family medicine practice where my husband had been going. The two doctors are huge into athletics as you might have guessed, and DH is friends with one of them through cycling. So far they've been great -- always on time, got me to check my cholesterol for the first time, gave me a Tdap at a subsequent visit but included it on the bill of a prior visit . . .

Now I wonder, why did I put up with that other lame practice for so many years?

As far as finding a doctor who also practices eastern medicine, how about calling some acupuncturists and asking if they know of any doctors who recommend acupuncture? You can work backwards that way.

Good luck!

 

[packrat]

I'm not sure how other offices run, but our Dr. has privileges at the hospital, so if she's on call and someone comes in to the ER before our office starts for the day, she's behind before the first patient gets there. Or if one of the OB's is up in the ward in labor and it's time for the baby to come. We run into it all the time and believe me, it is the most frustrating thing ever. We're late more often than on time. If you were to run into that again, I would definitely say something and ask what is going on, you never know what's going on behind the scenes!

 

[dragonfly411]

Neatfreak - That is DEFINITELY what I am looking for.

Thank you all for the information too. I'm still working on looking.

Packrat - The office of my GP has four working doctors and two nurse practitioners. I know that my personal doctor does sometimes go on call for the hospital next door. That being said, I still don't feel like it should be a regular occurrence that every time I go I either am an hour behind or have to see the nurse practitioner (who in the end isn't as thorough).