How to choose a primary care doctor?

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How to choose a primary care doctor?

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2010 Nov 17, 7:59am 3,344 views 11 comments

New health plan, new facilities, new doctors. How to choose one?

I've had several different ones the last 20 years. One worked in a hospital setting and seemed ok, except in retrospect perhaps too busy with serious stuff to handle piddly day-to-day matters with walk-in patients. The second one could not diagnose himself out of a paper bag, even if you put all the evidence right in front of him. The third one has been the best by far. He listened pretty carefully and generally would follow through if there was something wrong or otherwise would explain why if it was nothing serious. He found one ailment I was only vaguely aware of myself, although he needed some input from me.

So, how do you choose a doctor? Just try one out and see how it goes? I'm especially thinking about the hospital versus clinic/office question, because I have a continuing hunch that hospital doctors are difficult to schedule and may not, as I indicated, be very interested in preventive maintenance because they have bigger fish to fry. OTOH, in the hospital setting there may (or may not) be more specialists somewhere down the hallway who can perhaps give a quick consult.

My best experience so far has been with a large clinic, but not a hospital setting. What do people think? I should perhaps add that my new choice has either a small clinic or a large combined clinic/hospital.

Also, there are all kinds of web sites that rank doctors. Are any one of them any good? I looked at several and could not even find my own doctor there.

Comments 1 - 11 of 11 Search these comments

SFace 2010 Nov 17, 8:11am

If there are no leads/referrals, go search him/her on yelp.

Clinics are more customer service oriented (which makes sense because doctors compete for clients) but the practice eventually tend to want to squeeze every dollar from your insurance to maximize their revenue. I presume when you say hospital setting, you're talking about HMO like Kaiser which are more expense focused and does not have the customer service motivation. I'll choose the clinic, but the practice needs to have great reputation that values your time. I hate practices that overbooks at my expense as I view my time is as valuable as their's.

justme 2010 Nov 17, 10:01am

Good input, keep'em coming.

3 pkennedy 2010 Nov 17, 10:29am

I like larger outfits because they take care of everything. They have doctors for everything. For an HMO it makes it much easier, you get a referral to someone within the clinic and you're done. They're happy to do it because it's within their group as well.

Also if you've got a semi-emergency and your primary isn't available you can generally go to any of the primaries within the group.

I use PAMF in Palo Alto, I'm not sure what it's considered. I think a lot of quality comes from the squeaky wheel syndrome. If you're unhappy with what they've done, you get loud. This seems to be the case for almost all medical issues I've seen, unfortunately.

elliemae 2010 Nov 18, 10:39pm

If it's an hmo, the plan pays the doc a monthly amount whether he sees you or not. It ain't much - so if you see him monthly the only difference he'll get is the small co-pay you make.

IMHO, look in your book of primary's and then ask around, check 'em out online... clinic or office based is better IMHO because they're usually private practitioners rather than working for the plan itself. But I've met some awesome physicians who worked for plans, and those who worked as independent contractors. It depends upon the doc and the relationship you have with him.

I've been fortunate enough to have the same MD for 20 years. Smaller towns allow that. She is wonderful and was "there for me" during a really tough time. She also knows when to refer me out.

justme 2010 Nov 21, 8:58am

Thanks, interesting to know that the copay goes into the pocket of whoever sees you.

zzyzzx 2010 Dec 13, 4:27am

Just pick one where the office sounds good over the phone, or maybe the most convenient one.

elliemae 2010 Dec 14, 4:59pm

zzyzzx says

Just pick one where the office sounds good over the phone, or maybe the most convenient one.

holy crap! that's like saying you should choose a school for your kids because they have lots of empty desks. This is your healthcare - choose your doc carefully. Not MD is for every patient.