How do I find a new primary care physician?
December 14, 2022 4:22 PM Subscribe
I've decided I need to find a new PCP because my current PCP isn't meeting my needs. I know how to find PCPs in my insurance network who are accepting new patients, but what I don't know how to do is find one that will actually work with me on my health issues and not reduce me to a few numbers on.a chart (at least in any sort of efficient manner).
I've been going to my current PCP for a little under 2 years now after not having one for a long, long time and having a sudden recurrence of a years old health issue. Since I started seeing him, I've begun treatment for a few chronic conditions, two of which are being treated by specialists, and one being treated by my PCP. My PCP seems to have zero interest in how those other conditions are being treated or if either of them are interacting in any way with the condition he's treating me for. I'm very happy with my specialists, for what it's worth.
Additionally, when I visit my PCP, I feel I'm just being reduced to a couple numbers, not a whole human being. There is a particular focus on my weight, which has gone down but has also stalled out despite concerted efforts on my part. He also leaves no room to bring up other concerns or questions. Frankly, the only good thing about him is that he doesn't run behind and I'm in and out of the office really quickly every time.
After an appointment today, I'm finally ready to find a new PCP and get the care I deserve. I really want to find a doctor who will actually be interested in treating me as a whole person, and who won't just reduce every problem to me being fat.
Besides just finding another doctor who is accepting new patients, scheduling a new patient appointment, seeing how that goes, and repeating until I find someone I like, how do I find the right doctor for me? I don't have many friends who are in a similar position as me to ask for recommendations, and when I've tried searching for fat-friendly docs I've come up blank. Are there resources out there you've used before that have helped? Any other suggestions?
(I'm based in the US, btw)
I've been going to my current PCP for a little under 2 years now after not having one for a long, long time and having a sudden recurrence of a years old health issue. Since I started seeing him, I've begun treatment for a few chronic conditions, two of which are being treated by specialists, and one being treated by my PCP. My PCP seems to have zero interest in how those other conditions are being treated or if either of them are interacting in any way with the condition he's treating me for. I'm very happy with my specialists, for what it's worth.
Additionally, when I visit my PCP, I feel I'm just being reduced to a couple numbers, not a whole human being. There is a particular focus on my weight, which has gone down but has also stalled out despite concerted efforts on my part. He also leaves no room to bring up other concerns or questions. Frankly, the only good thing about him is that he doesn't run behind and I'm in and out of the office really quickly every time.
After an appointment today, I'm finally ready to find a new PCP and get the care I deserve. I really want to find a doctor who will actually be interested in treating me as a whole person, and who won't just reduce every problem to me being fat.
Besides just finding another doctor who is accepting new patients, scheduling a new patient appointment, seeing how that goes, and repeating until I find someone I like, how do I find the right doctor for me? I don't have many friends who are in a similar position as me to ask for recommendations, and when I've tried searching for fat-friendly docs I've come up blank. Are there resources out there you've used before that have helped? Any other suggestions?
(I'm based in the US, btw)
Do you know any nurses? IME they have a better sense of the doctors in town than anyone else, so can recommend someone who will suit you. Barring that, you could ask one or both of your specialists who they think would be best.
posted by DrGail at 5:16 PM on December 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by DrGail at 5:16 PM on December 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
Google Maps lets people review clinics and you will find many reviews mention the doctors by name. I would guess that yelp and other review sites will have the same.
posted by soelo at 5:34 PM on December 14, 2022
posted by soelo at 5:34 PM on December 14, 2022
Speaking of nurses, my experience is that nurse practitioners give really good and attentive care. I deliberately chose a nurse practitioner as my current PCP. My NP has a much better "bedside manner" than the MD i used right before. The NP is more respectful of me, the patient. Also, NPs have less total training than MDs, but more in pharmacology, for instance.
posted by NotLost at 7:01 PM on December 14, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by NotLost at 7:01 PM on December 14, 2022 [7 favorites]
If you trust your specialist, maybe they can recommend someone.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:32 PM on December 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:32 PM on December 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
Seconding find a nurse practitioner. They’re trained to see you as a whole person. I’ve gotten much better care from NP PCPs than MD PCPs.
posted by brook horse at 7:40 PM on December 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by brook horse at 7:40 PM on December 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Seconding ask the specialists or the specialist's nurses. I did this the other way around: needed to replace my specialist and my PCP's nurses recommended my new specialist (who is fantastic!).
posted by gentlyepigrams at 7:42 PM on December 14, 2022
posted by gentlyepigrams at 7:42 PM on December 14, 2022
concierge medicine was invented for just this sort of situation and set of needs. a concierge doctor will be just as nice and respectful as an NP, and has the great advantage over an NP of having gone to medical school.
(I don't think you necessarily need an MD for primary care if all you need from primary care is referrals, occasional prescriptions, standard screenings. but you do need one if you need someone to coordinate specialist care for several complex conditions and respond to your questions/concerns about treatment effects and interactions.)
the only thing is this costs lots of money. luck or recommendations can get you a nice and attentive doctor, and that by itself will be a step up. but the quality of care you get will be limited by the amount of time they can afford to spend on a single patient, and this is not something determined by their skill and compassion alone.
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:07 PM on December 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
(I don't think you necessarily need an MD for primary care if all you need from primary care is referrals, occasional prescriptions, standard screenings. but you do need one if you need someone to coordinate specialist care for several complex conditions and respond to your questions/concerns about treatment effects and interactions.)
the only thing is this costs lots of money. luck or recommendations can get you a nice and attentive doctor, and that by itself will be a step up. but the quality of care you get will be limited by the amount of time they can afford to spend on a single patient, and this is not something determined by their skill and compassion alone.
posted by queenofbithynia at 8:07 PM on December 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
Try a search of ratemds.com. In Google, enter your city and terms you’re looking for (the condition your GP is treating, or maybe phrases like “fat-friendly”, “fat positive”, or “weight neutral”, and, I suggest, “thorough”), then limit the search to ratemds (just write “site:ratemds.com” after your search terms). That will pull up doctors in your town with reviews with those phrases.
If nothing promising turns up, scour the normal ranked doctors’ reviews in order of ranking. The first few pages will likely be deceased or retired doctors, then you’ll get docs whose practices are full, somewhere after that you’ll see decent ones with openings. Dig deep, sometimes the ones with only a few reviews are great. (The doctors I’m actually happiest with aren’t even on there, they’re so new to doctoring.)
Watch out for fake reviews, usually that looks like the same person wrote a bunch of them, or there will be a lot of short reviews. More authentic reviews will have specifics in there, maybe anecdotes with a fair amount of detail (specific procedures, timelines etc).
It’s sometimes hard to know what to make of reviews of female doctors, though. However competent or thorough they may be, patients often parse or express this in terms of the doctor being “caring” or “kind”. Or the docs may actually BE caring and kind, but not actually the most thorough. I’d rather see someone even unpleasant if I knew they were thorough in their diagnosis and strong advocates when needed (although ones like that usually are also kind or at least professional). Mentioning this because my dad’s AWESOME cardiologist had a few reviews where people complained she wasn’t “nice” or something like that… man, she is just very precise in her communication and not necessarily warm and charming like a daytime talk show host, so what (in fact, *good*, cardiologists should be more interested in numbers).
Finally, sometimes people write shit reviews about stuff like the office decor. Which, whatever. Complaints about office staff are worth reading because again maybe the staff really are unorganized and this will mess up your appointments, prescriptions and paperwork/actual access to care, or maybe they’re just introverted or slightly grumpy (for me this is also a case of “so what”).
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:26 PM on December 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
If nothing promising turns up, scour the normal ranked doctors’ reviews in order of ranking. The first few pages will likely be deceased or retired doctors, then you’ll get docs whose practices are full, somewhere after that you’ll see decent ones with openings. Dig deep, sometimes the ones with only a few reviews are great. (The doctors I’m actually happiest with aren’t even on there, they’re so new to doctoring.)
Watch out for fake reviews, usually that looks like the same person wrote a bunch of them, or there will be a lot of short reviews. More authentic reviews will have specifics in there, maybe anecdotes with a fair amount of detail (specific procedures, timelines etc).
It’s sometimes hard to know what to make of reviews of female doctors, though. However competent or thorough they may be, patients often parse or express this in terms of the doctor being “caring” or “kind”. Or the docs may actually BE caring and kind, but not actually the most thorough. I’d rather see someone even unpleasant if I knew they were thorough in their diagnosis and strong advocates when needed (although ones like that usually are also kind or at least professional). Mentioning this because my dad’s AWESOME cardiologist had a few reviews where people complained she wasn’t “nice” or something like that… man, she is just very precise in her communication and not necessarily warm and charming like a daytime talk show host, so what (in fact, *good*, cardiologists should be more interested in numbers).
Finally, sometimes people write shit reviews about stuff like the office decor. Which, whatever. Complaints about office staff are worth reading because again maybe the staff really are unorganized and this will mess up your appointments, prescriptions and paperwork/actual access to care, or maybe they’re just introverted or slightly grumpy (for me this is also a case of “so what”).
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:26 PM on December 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also when you find a doctor that sounds good, check your state’s licensing board website for any disciplinary actions that may be concerning.
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:27 PM on December 14, 2022
posted by cotton dress sock at 10:27 PM on December 14, 2022
You might look for a DO rather than an MD - they both go to med school, but an osteopath is trained to think about the body as a whole and how all the systems/parts work together. My PCP is a DO (recommended by a couple of nurses) and she has been super on the ball about coordinating with specialists. Every time I see her, she has already read recent notes from my specialists, reviewed the results from recent labs, and has really good, thoughtful insights. It's definitely the best, most conversational doctor relationship I've ever had, and I'm healthier for it.
posted by writermcwriterson at 7:54 AM on December 15, 2022
posted by writermcwriterson at 7:54 AM on December 15, 2022
Look for a family medicine doctor over an internist. If there’s a practice that has more than one doctor accepting new patients, I’d walk in and ask the receptionist which one is nicer.
posted by vitabellosi at 8:20 AM on December 15, 2022
posted by vitabellosi at 8:20 AM on December 15, 2022
I have personally had equally bad and good experiences w/ DOs and MDs. But every nurse practitioner I've seen is more thoughtful and attentive than every (non-specialist) doctor I've seen. Anecdotal, but there ya go!
posted by nosila at 9:01 AM on December 15, 2022
posted by nosila at 9:01 AM on December 15, 2022
When in doubt, choose the woman.
posted by charlesminus at 11:09 AM on December 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by charlesminus at 11:09 AM on December 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
If there’s a medical issue or concern you have someone in forums for it might have recommendations. I ask all my friends and coworkers and follow up with WHY in case they prioritize traits I don’t care about. I always choose a woman, and have better luck with younger doctors having more time. A more established doctor who is well reviewed will be overbooked and younger ones often have more enthusiasm for your ideas or requests.
I tried a MD in the “integrative health” division of my hospital system but still didn’t get a holistic whole person view from them. I felt that really depended on the doctor’s bedside manner (mine told me I could only ask her about 3 issues, for example, at my checkup). I’ve heard integrative health, DOs, and PAs are more attentive but I haven’t hit the jackpot with any I’ve tried yet.
posted by Bunglegirl at 2:19 PM on December 15, 2022
I tried a MD in the “integrative health” division of my hospital system but still didn’t get a holistic whole person view from them. I felt that really depended on the doctor’s bedside manner (mine told me I could only ask her about 3 issues, for example, at my checkup). I’ve heard integrative health, DOs, and PAs are more attentive but I haven’t hit the jackpot with any I’ve tried yet.
posted by Bunglegirl at 2:19 PM on December 15, 2022
Here is a list of weight neutral PCPs organized by state.
posted by little mouth at 3:19 PM on December 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by little mouth at 3:19 PM on December 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Also, just want to point out that your doc being down to business and not delving into you very much is probably a reason why he doesn't run late either.
posted by hydra77 at 5:13 PM on December 14, 2022 [3 favorites]