Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with physicians

San Francisco insurance confusion

eschatfische — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:16:30 -0800

What's the deal with the Brown and Toland vs. Hill Physicians division in San Francisco medical care? Why must San Franciscans with HMOs be referred to specialists who not only accept your insurance plan, but are also part of the same medical group as the referring doctor? I've always found the demarcation of Brown and Toland vs. Hill Physicians doctors in San Francisco to be strange. Having to go to specialists who not only accept your insurance but who are also part of a specific medical group is certainly inconvenient and problematic for patients, and it doesn't seem to be so great for the doctors, either.

Is there a reason San Francisco medical care is divided into these sub-groups? Does this actually benefit anyone to add an additional layer of middlemen? Is it like this elsewhere? I can't recall experiencing this anywhere else, and Googling doesn't seem to help explain the origins of these groups.

Thanks!

Primary care doctor / GP in Chicago area?

korpios — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:12:40 -0800

I'm fairly new to the Chicago area; now that my medical coverage has kicked in, I'm looking for a good general practitioner / primary care physician. I live in Oak Park, but that's not really a restriction; I'm certainly willing to travel a bit for an excellent doctor. So, Chicagoland submodule of HealthFilter: your suggestions?

Is there a doctor in the house?

Nathanial Hörnblowér — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 08:28:16 -0800

Listening to this story about hospital interns on NPR yesterday got me thinking about the practice of interns and residents working around the clock. What is the purpose of this? Is there a shortage of interns in this country that they need to work 80 hours a week? Or does this schedule supposedly prepare them for life as a physician? I know physicians are on call from time to time, but is it realistic to think they'd be working 24 hour days back to back on a regular basis? As the NPR story points out, what about the safety of the patients the interns are treating *now*? Is there a doctor here could can shed some light, or are they all too busy working to read MeFi?

Legal issues in reviewing doctors online...

greatgefilte — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 22:11:10 -0800

A question about the legal issues involved in setting up a site similar to epinions, only for physicians rather than products... After hearing one too many horror stories about bad experiences with doctors and dentists, I'm almost tempted to follow the lead of dcdoctors and construct something of the sort for my area. No doubt there's worries of litigation, as the founder of dcdoctors was informed.

But, would the same issues of defamation and slander apply if reviews were made anonymously? Or if there were some sort of standard form one could fill out, with ratings on a number scale, ala HotorNot or RateMyProfessors?

I know you lawyers out there can't dispense advice, but your strictly theoretical musings are appreciated.

How do I find a family doctor?

chiababe — Sun, 05 Sep 2004 21:44:38 -0800

How do I find a family doctor?

American Doctors Practicing in Canada

LittleMissCranky — Fri, 16 Jul 2004 08:09:08 -0800

Anybody know anything about American doctors practicing in Canada? [more inside] What does an American doctor have to do to be able to practice in Canada? Is it difficult to get a job? How much do Canadian doctors make?