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Just got a call from my doctors office. She will be leaving the practice/state in the spring. The PA can see me but as of yet, no doctor to replace her, one other doc in practice. My hubby's doc at another practice closer to home left at the end of last year. No new doc to replace him and other docs in the practice not accepting new patients. They referred patients out to 2 other facilities, one of which is my facility. So frustrated. My DIL is having same issue with pediatricians. She ends up using urgent care a lot since only one doc left in that practice.
We have 2 good size Banner hospitals in the area. They serve 4 large retirement communities and Surprise, Glendale, Peoria areas. It takes 3-6 months to get a meet n greet appt with new doc (internist-family physician). We try to book appointments around snow bird season, offices seem less hectic during the warmer months. If you have an emergency, you want your docs to practice out of your local hospital. I checked out Dignity Health and Abrazzo facilities. Much smaller with few docs in the West valley.
Anyone know what the heck is going on with Banner Health facilities and affiliated doctors??
If you have an emergency, you want your docs to practice out of your local hospital. I checked out Dignity Health and Abrazzo facilities. Much smaller with few docs in the West valley.Anyone know what the heck is going on with Banner Health facilities and affiliated doctors??
You have a big misunderstanding. PCP's no longer admit or do consults at hospitals. Hospitals hire their own in-patient internal medicine doctors called "Hospitalists" that work there full-time. So it doesn't matter if your PCP does not go to your local hospital because he or she will not see you there anyway. Many doctors are credentialed with certain hospitals and may have privileges there but that does not mean they admit and round on patients there. They had to get credentialed with certain hopitals to get on certain insurance plans. So just establish care with whoever you like regardless of whatever hospital they are credentialed with.
What you will find is many clinic/outpatient doctors will be leaving these large hospital chains. The reason is simple. They are being underpaid. They can go out on their own and make double the income. In the past, it was appealing to retiring docs to join these groups because they no longer had to manage a business and could collect a paycheck and have set hours. But over the years, these doctors incomes are dropping while their work loads are increasing. As a result, many doctors are leaving those large facilities and have to relocate or move because of non-compete contracts they sign that forbid them from practicing in a given area for a number of years.
I am so confused, I guess I don't understand how the AZ healthcare system works. My biggest concern is continuity of care, especially as I age and start to collect doctors. LOL So, my internist/family doc advises me to go to hospital to be admitted to investigate symptoms. My doctor will not see me in the hospital, a hospitalist will sort things out. How will my doctor be notified once I am diagnosed, will they have access to reports?
Back home, if I stayed with a Beaumont hospital affiliated doctor, all of my medical information could be accessed. So for example, if I went to my Internest for stomach pain, he could order blood work and tests and the results would be available through the Beaumont system Based on those results, I could choose a specialist/surgeon affiliated with Beaumont, and he would have immediate access to all of my blood and test results along with doctor comments. It was a good system to help prevent duplication of services. My Internist could also have access to the surgeon/specialist records after I am released from care. If I went outside of the Beaumont system for hospital care, my Internist would not have immediate access to those records.
I hate having to change doctors, and the long wait times to get into see one for an initial appointment is very frustrating. And I guess I will have to get used to playing doctor roulette, and hope I find someone who will stick around for a while
I am so confused, I guess I don't understand how the AZ healthcare system works. My biggest concern is continuity of care, especially as I age and start to collect doctors. LOL So, my internist/family doc advises me to go to hospital to be admitted to investigate symptoms. My doctor will not see me in the hospital, a hospitalist will sort things out. How will my doctor be notified once I am diagnosed, will they have access to reports?
Back home, if I stayed with a Beaumont hospital affiliated doctor, all of my medical information could be accessed. So for example, if I went to my Internest for stomach pain, he could order blood work and tests and the results would be available through the Beaumont system Based on those results, I could choose a specialist/surgeon affiliated with Beaumont, and he would have immediate access to all of my blood and test results along with doctor comments. It was a good system to help prevent duplication of services. My Internist could also have access to the surgeon/specialist records after I am released from care. If I went outside of the Beaumont system for hospital care, my Internist would not have immediate access to those records.
I hate having to change doctors, and the long wait times to get into see one for an initial appointment is very frustrating. And I guess I will have to get used to playing doctor roulette, and hope I find someone who will stick around for a while
Your doctor won't be notified, but will/can get copies of reports. If the hospitalist needs info from your doctor, they can get it. There's no duplication. If your hospitalist needs blood work, it's because he or she needs to know what your blood work looks like now, not what it looked like the last time your doctor ordered it.
Moving a long distance entails all sorts of changes. Hopefully once you find the internist and specialists you need here, you won't have to make many or any changes. I had to change my longtime PCP a few years ago when he left to work for the VA (and then left there, but ended up in a practice on the other side of the Valley where he doesn't have a general practice... so I know a little bit about what you are talking about. The days when your general practitioner came to the hospital are long gone here.
I am so confused, I guess I don't understand how the AZ healthcare system works. My biggest concern is continuity of care, especially as I age and start to collect doctors. LOL So, my internist/family doc advises me to go to hospital to be admitted to investigate symptoms. My doctor will not see me in the hospital, a hospitalist will sort things out. How will my doctor be notified once I am diagnosed, will they have access to reports?
This is not an AZ health system. This is how it is everywhere. PCP's simply cannot afford to work a full day in clinic and then go to the hospital and work another full day; it's really not fair to ask that of any PCP. They need sleep and have families too. For most of you, you cannot understand what that really means. You would have to work in your clinic from 8-5 and then drive to the hospital and round on patients and talk to all the specialists. Then you would have to answer phone calls throughout the night from nurses asking from everything about tylenol to ice chips to pain meds to lab values. Then you would have to go back there in the morning and discharge your patients which requires a ton of paperwork...mind you this is before you arrive to your office at 8 am. It's simply not feasible and the public doesn't really know what doctors go through. If they saw that, they wouldn't be feeling like doctors are slacking because they don't round on their own patients in the hospital. The hospitalist system has been in place for the last 20 years. This is really not new nor does it apply solely to Arizona. Your PCP will have access to all of your records but you must sign a release allowing the hospital to transfer records to him or her. A hospital cannot deny your PCP access to your health records if you release them to him regardless if he is affiliated with any particular hospital. Your medical record is your property.
Typically what happens is when you are discharged after a hospital stay, you inform the Medical Records department that you would like a copy of your stay and would like for them to be faxed to your PCP's office. In fact, the hospitalist who discharges you will typically ask that you follow-up with your PCP within 7 days of being discharged. You should also be proactive and provide your hospitalist with your PCP's information because in their final notes, they will ask for the record to be sent to your PCP's office.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 02-05-2016 at 10:02 AM..
You'll have a hard time finding a GP anywhere in America, potentially. Many are booked up or having waiting lists and/or long wait times to get in to see them. This is in part because the AMA and domestic doctors in general oppose opening up more medical schools, thus ensuring a shortage of doctors and, thusly, continued high demand and pay for doctors.
This is also why you see many foreign-educated doctors practicing anymore, particular in general practice or urgent cares, etc., because American doesn't train enough doctors domestically to meet America's demand for doctors.
I guess my opinion on this is pretty self-evident but ultimately the basic stuff -- I have a cold, can you do a strep test or see if I need antiobiotics -- will end up being handled mostly by nurses or nurse practitioners and even GP doctors will have huge patient rolls and only really see you for major stuff the nurses/NPs cannot handle. And urgent care will prove more and more convenient for basic medical care versus trying to get in to see a real doctor on short notice.
Which does make some sense, you don't need a decade of training to diagnose a thousand flus and colds every year.
You'll have a hard time finding a GP anywhere in America, potentially. Many are booked up or having waiting lists and/or long wait times to get in to see them. This is in part because the AMA and domestic doctors in general oppose opening up more medical schools, thus ensuring a shortage of doctors and, thusly, continued high demand and pay for doctors.
This is also why you see many foreign-educated doctors practicing anymore, particular in general practice or urgent cares, etc., because American doesn't train enough doctors domestically to meet America's demand for doctors.
I guess my opinion on this is pretty self-evident but ultimately the basic stuff -- I have a cold, can you do a strep test or see if I need antiobiotics -- will end up being handled mostly by nurses or nurse practitioners and even GP doctors will have huge patient rolls and only really see you for major stuff the nurses/NPs cannot handle. And urgent care will prove more and more convenient for basic medical care versus trying to get in to see a real doctor on short notice.
Which does make some sense, you don't need a decade of training to diagnose a thousand flus and colds every year.
I don't have a problem most of the time seeing a nurse practitioner. In fact, my favorite "doctor" of all time was actually a nurse practitioner. I just want to know how available health care is.
I don't have a problem most of the time seeing a nurse practitioner. In fact, my favorite "doctor" of all time was actually a nurse practitioner. I just want to know how available health care is.
What about urgent care walk in stuff?
I think the urgent care situation is excellent. There's a growing number of them and some of the hospital chains operate their own urgent care if you want to make sure you see a real doctor for an issue and not just a nurse. I've been to a couple different Honor Health (former Scottsdale Healthcare/John C Lincoln) urgent cares and they're very nice. And CVS/Walgreens/etc continue to expand their in-store urgent care locations.
I also get my DOT physical done every couple years at Concentra and they're okay too. As with all things, like the MVD, it pays to be waiting at the door when it opens or you might have a wait of an hour or two. Although a lot of doctors, even if you have an appointment, you still wait an hour or more.
I'll be moving to Sun City West in a month or so. Am I going to have difficulty finding a general practitioner?
No, you won't. The OP was confused and assumed that he/she required a PCP that was employed by a specific hospital system in order to have continuity of care if they were admitted to that particular hospital. You can see any doctor regardless of what hospital you are admitted at because your PCP is not going to admit or round on you in the hospital regardless. The hospital simply sends their records to any PCP upon the patient's request.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScottsdaleMark
I think the urgent care situation is excellent. There's a growing number of them and some of the hospital chains operate their own urgent care if you want to make sure you see a real doctor for an issue and not just a nurse. I've been to a couple different Honor Health (former Scottsdale Healthcare/John C Lincoln) urgent cares and they're very nice. And CVS/Walgreens/etc continue to expand their in-store urgent care locations.
I also get my DOT physical done every couple years at Concentra and they're okay too. As with all things, like the MVD, it pays to be waiting at the door when it opens or you might have a wait of an hour or two. Although a lot of doctors, even if you have an appointment, you still wait an hour or more.
I disagree. Everyone should have their own board certified primary care physician (M.D. or D.O.). There are plenty of them around. Anyone who says they can't find a PCP is simply not being resourceful. There are plenty of on-line tools like Ratemd's, vitals.com, azmd.gov, etc. You can do a search, compile a list and call their office and see if they are accepting new patients. It's with rare exception that a PCP does not accept new appointments. Having a consistent provider that you follow-up with, knows your history and can maintain your medical chart of you is invaluable particularly when you are admitted to a hospital.
I'm a cardiologist and I can tell you first hand that my patients who have PCP's always have better outcomes than those who don't have one. This is why I ask if my patients have PCP's and if they don't, I make certain they have one established before their next appointment with me. In my experience, I have been disappointed overall with the quality of care people receive at most urgent cares. I see a lot of mistakes or things that were not done.
Finally, did you know most PCP's offer urgent care. The public is unaware of this. Urgent cares want to make you think that you have to see them if you don't have an established primary care physician or are uninsured. It's not true. A lot of doctor's office do urgent care visits and will charge you the same rate or less than most urgent care offices particularly if you are paying cash and don't have insurance. If you call and ask for a cash discount because you are uninsured, they will give you one. This is also a good way to establish a PCP.
Here are some strategies to find a PCP.
1. Target young physicians - young physicians are not yet established so you can get in to see them and they will likely spend time with you.
2. Drive around - some places offer medical complexes where several PCP's will be in one location. You can go door to door and ask.
3. Ask Emergency Rooms for referrals. This is the easiest place to find and get established with a PCP.
Last edited by azriverfan.; 02-05-2016 at 11:43 AM..
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