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#1
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OT how to choose a doctor
may seem a very odd question, but the situation in the UK is you might have
a choice of which surgery you register at, but then you just get the doctor you are given. I've been lucky in that the doctor I've had since I was 18 has been excellent. We will be in Seattle for a week in early August and are considering trying to find a doctor at that stage as with current health troubles for me we'll need one fairly fast when we get there, so it seems better to have at least some idea in advance. But I have not one clue about how primary care works in the US. Presumably you do have generalists, but I'm not sure what you call them, but I seem to have picked up that they only do the adults and you'd register the children separately at a pediatrician? Here, we all have the same doctor, which is very convenient for us. I think I know what questions to ask when I get to the point of determining do I want this person to be our doctor, it's just how do I actually get to that point? Should I ring round some surgeries (clinics?) asking some basic questions and then visit the preferred one? I literally have no idea! Cheers Anne |
#2
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OT how to choose a doctor
Anne Rogers wrote:
may seem a very odd question, but the situation in the UK is you might have a choice of which surgery you register at, but then you just get the doctor you are given. I've been lucky in that the doctor I've had since I was 18 has been excellent. We will be in Seattle for a week in early August and are considering trying to find a doctor at that stage as with current health troubles for me we'll need one fairly fast when we get there, so it seems better to have at least some idea in advance. But I have not one clue about how primary care works in the US. Presumably you do have generalists, but I'm not sure what you call them, but I seem to have picked up that they only do the adults and you'd register the children separately at a pediatrician? Here, we all have the same doctor, which is very convenient for us. I think I know what questions to ask when I get to the point of determining do I want this person to be our doctor, it's just how do I actually get to that point? Should I ring round some surgeries (clinics?) asking some basic questions and then visit the preferred one? I literally have no idea! Step one is to figure out your insurance. Unless you have a traditional indemnity program, your insurance will likely have a list of in network providers, so that's where you start. Most insurers will have a website with a list of in network primary care physicians (and they'll usually list whether or not they're taking new patients). Primary care physicians usually have their specialty listed as internal medicine, family practitioner, pediatrician (for the kids), or maybe general practitioner. A family practitioner will see the whole family, though some will limit their practice to adults and children over a certain age. Odds are pretty good that you can find a family practitioner if you want one. Some family practitioners also do obstetrics, but some will refer you out to a midwife or OB for care during pregnancy. Once you have an idea which doctors or practices you want to interview, call and ask for a consultation appointment. These are usually done free of charge, but you are at the end of the line scheduling wise, so it might be a challenge to get several consults scheduled within a single week that's coming up so quickly. Still, it never hurts to try. You can also ask the receptionist if they have any information you can pick up or a website you can look at. They will all likely have information about hours and basic policies. Some will also have a practice philosophy statement that might be of use to you. Getting statistics is more challenging, if that's what you're looking for. Best wishes, Ericka |
#3
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OT how to choose a doctor
Anne Rogers writes:
: But I have not one clue about how primary care works in the US. Well, the first thing is that it is not monolithic! My health insurance is provide by my employer through a PPO. What this means is that there a a number of doctors and clinics that they contract with. If I choose one of these doctors, I get care for a small fixed rate, usually $15 for general practice, and $30 for specialists. If I choose to go to a doctor "out of network" (not one of the contracted doctors, I have to pay 30% of the billed fees ( a lot more at the rates charged). There are a lot of ways to find doctors. My health provider has a website with all the contracting physicians in it. I can ask for all of the contracted physicians with a paticular specialty within so many miles of a location. (Example: All ENTs within 20 miles of San Jose, CA). You could also use the phone book yellow pages, ask a friend, or walk up to someone on the street. Of course, you might have to ask them if they are contracted with your provider. That is the basics. If you have further quetions, let me know, Larry |
#4
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OT how to choose a doctor
From what I've read I got the impression we can use whoever we want, they don't restrict it to a list, but I'll double check. There is a list of covered providers, it's a large portion of the doctors in the area though. You need to make sure it's a doctor in network. You don't have to have a primary care physician though and you don't need referals for specialists though it doesn't hurt to have one. If you check through the company health site (company name health dot com) there's a section to do a doctor search and you can do it by area and speciality. We have a main doctor for me and DH and a pediatrician for the kids. We just found a ped we love and haven't wanted to switch despite the drive to get to her office! Jessica |
#5
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OT how to choose a doctor
Anne Rogers wrote:
Step one is to figure out your insurance. Unless you have a traditional indemnity program, your insurance will likely have a list of in network providers, so that's where you start. Most insurers will have a website with a list of in network primary care physicians (and they'll usually list whether or not they're taking new patients). From what I've read I got the impression we can use whoever we want, they don't restrict it to a list, but I'll double check. There are basically three broad sorts of plans. A traditional indemnity plan doesn't have a list of providers. You go to anyone you choose, and insurance will reimburse (up to whatever their limits are). A PPO has a list, but you aren't restricted to their list of in-network physicians. However, if you go outside the network, the insurance will have more limitations (will pay less, won't cover some services, etc.). An HMO only covers the use of in network physicians and services. So, if your plan says you can go to anyone, maybe it's a traditional indemnity plan or maybe it's a PPO. If it's the latter, it's still usually best to go in network if you can find someone you want to use. Primary care physicians usually have their specialty listed as internal medicine, family practitioner, pediatrician (for the kids), or maybe general practitioner. A family practitioner will see the whole family, though some will limit their practice to adults and children over a certain age. Odds are pretty good that you can find a family practitioner if you want one. Some family practitioners also do obstetrics, but some will refer you out to a midwife or OB for care during pregnancy. what does it mean to be listed as "internal medicine"? That's sort of loosely like a general practitioner, for all practical intents and purposes. I doubt I'll be needing statistics, but from the way it sounds it looks like I do need to be doing the research now and making contact, the last thing we need is for one of us to have to go in soon after we get there and end up making the wrong choice due to lack of time! It's not the end of the earth. You can always change. You're not locked into the first one you go to. Obviously, it's much nicer to deal with someone you like, but it's not difficult to change. Best wishes, Ericka |
#6
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OT how to choose a doctor
jess wrote: From what I've read I got the impression we can use whoever we want, they don't restrict it to a list, but I'll double check. There is a list of covered providers, it's a large portion of the doctors in the area though. You need to make sure it's a doctor in network. You don't have to have a primary care physician though and you don't need referals for specialists though it doesn't hurt to have one. I'm not sure if Anne specified her plan, so if so and you're responding based on that, ignore me. But it depends on the plan whether you need referals or not. Some plans require a referal from a primary care physician before you can see a specialist the first time. |
#7
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OT how to choose a doctor
I'm not sure if Anne specified her plan, so if so and you're responding based on that, ignore me. Though I've not mentioned the company explicitly on here, when I first mentioned it and said how comprehensive our plan was Jess guessed the company, as her husband works there. Thanks Jess for the info, we hadn't found that site yet and thanks cjra for cautioning us! Anne |
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