Primary care recs near Blacksburg, VA
March 19, 2018 4:30 PM Subscribe
I suddenly have to find a new primary care provider, and in this area it's very hard to find a good one at all, much less one that's taking new patients. I'm seeking recommendations. Tl;dr: Man or woman is fine, PA or FNP is fine but osteopath is not, must take Medicare, must be within an hour of Blacksburg, VA (preferably closer).
I've mostly liked my current primary care but am now running screaming. She made a very reckless decision about my care recently, and soon after doing so she disclosed a lot of my medical information to a family member for whom I had deliberately *not* signed a release. I am beyond livid but trying to keep that in check so I find a new primary care provider.
Aside from the usual desires of competence and being a decent listener, I do require some special accommodations. First, I have a number of chronic conditions. These are mostly managed by specialists, but of course they do come up in a primary care situation, and I want to be sure that my new primary care is adept at working with specialists.
One of my chronic conditions is being bipolar II. Sadly, I've found that a lot of primary care providers know very very little about that diagnosis. It's not uncommon for me to go to urgent care or similar and have them try to convince me that this or that symptom is related to my bipolar II diagnosis. It's super frustrating and interferes in ways such as doctors refusing to perform bloodwork because they think it's all part of the mood disorder. It's necessary that my new provider have some familiarity with mental illness or at least be willing to hear me when I voice my experience.
It's easiest for me to get to Blacksburg, but I can also swing Christiansburg or Radford. I'd be willing to try Salem or Roanoke as well if I could see somebody great there. As I said above, I'm equally fine with a male or female provider. I don't mind seeing an FNP or PA, but I prefer not to see osteopaths. I won't sever with my current provider until I have a new one, but I am understandably eager to get out of that relationship and would rather avoid being on a long waiting list. Please feel free to message me if that works better for you than answering here.
I've mostly liked my current primary care but am now running screaming. She made a very reckless decision about my care recently, and soon after doing so she disclosed a lot of my medical information to a family member for whom I had deliberately *not* signed a release. I am beyond livid but trying to keep that in check so I find a new primary care provider.
Aside from the usual desires of competence and being a decent listener, I do require some special accommodations. First, I have a number of chronic conditions. These are mostly managed by specialists, but of course they do come up in a primary care situation, and I want to be sure that my new primary care is adept at working with specialists.
One of my chronic conditions is being bipolar II. Sadly, I've found that a lot of primary care providers know very very little about that diagnosis. It's not uncommon for me to go to urgent care or similar and have them try to convince me that this or that symptom is related to my bipolar II diagnosis. It's super frustrating and interferes in ways such as doctors refusing to perform bloodwork because they think it's all part of the mood disorder. It's necessary that my new provider have some familiarity with mental illness or at least be willing to hear me when I voice my experience.
It's easiest for me to get to Blacksburg, but I can also swing Christiansburg or Radford. I'd be willing to try Salem or Roanoke as well if I could see somebody great there. As I said above, I'm equally fine with a male or female provider. I don't mind seeing an FNP or PA, but I prefer not to see osteopaths. I won't sever with my current provider until I have a new one, but I am understandably eager to get out of that relationship and would rather avoid being on a long waiting list. Please feel free to message me if that works better for you than answering here.
Sent you a PM.
posted by headnsouth at 5:24 PM on March 19, 2018
posted by headnsouth at 5:24 PM on March 19, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phack at 5:17 PM on March 19, 2018