Retirement and good doctors (father-in-law, 2013, states, respects)
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Almost all of the large well respected hospitals are teaching hospitals. Unfortunately not all teaching hospitals are created equal. I was involved with inspecting many that I would not want to visit as a patient. There is a large university teaching hospital near me. It appears to be poorly run and over utilized. Last year I was admitted through the ER and quickly decided I needed to transfer to another hospital. Unfortunately teaching and large sizes do not necessarily mean good treatment.
Just because some people have insurance plans that require them to go through a gatekeeper (i.e., primary care physician), that doesn't mean that everyone has that same restriction. I can make a direct appointment with any specialist in the country (or the world for that matter), and have it covered by my Blue Cross plan. Now admittedly, the amount that BCBS will pay will vary depending upon whether the medical professional is a preferred,participating or non-participating provider, but in no case will I have to go through a primary care doctor.
I have excellent health insurance and I could make direct appointments anywhere I wanted. But I cannot do without my family doctor (primary care doc.) We have so many specialists now in every kind of practice of medicine probably good and some not so good in their field.
Whenever and whatever may be wrong with me I head to my family doc and he will refer me to a specialist. In the past I had to have a total knee replacement surgery. I went in to my family doc, we sat down and discussed surgeons and he knows I am holding his feet to the fire as if it was his own knee that needed the surgery. He has never led me astray and he is always honest with me. Every procedure I have ever needed by another doctor a copy is in my file with my family doc.
I am not a fan of teaching hospitals either. The worst care I ever got was from doctors associated with a teaching hospital. And as I've aged, I have no desire to be treated by a "rookie", thank you very much.
IMHO you need a good local hospital as well as a good doctor, because guess what? You can have a great doctor but if you're brought to the ER and admitted, and your great doctor isn't affiliated with that hospital, then he or she won't be able to be part of your care while you're in that hospital.
That's why, in my ongoing research about where to retire, one of the things I check is what the closest hospital is and how it ranks, as well as what its specialties are. (It's also one of the reasons why I crossed Delaware off my list.... lack of good hospitals in any area I'd want to live in)
Almost all of the large well respected hospitals are teaching hospitals. Unfortunately not all teaching hospitals are created equal. I was involved with inspecting many that I would not want to visit as a patient. There is a large university teaching hospital near me. It appears to be poorly run and over utilized. Last year I was admitted through the ER and quickly decided I needed to transfer to another hospital. Unfortunately teaching and large sizes do not necessarily mean good treatment.
If by chance you're located on LI, I can pretty much guess which teaching hospital you're talking about... and it's the one that inspired my previous post, LOL
On the other hand I have had great care at the NSLIJ facility that I went to. On the flipside, the care I got at one of the diocesan-affiliated hospitals was just as bad as the teaching hospital was. And the attitude of the people employed at the Catholic hospital was, across the board, the absolute worst I've ever experienced in my life. My son had the same experience at that hospital as well; unfortunately it was the closest to where we lived at the time.
I have excellent health insurance and I could make direct appointments anywhere I wanted. But I cannot do without my family doctor (primary care doc.) We have so many specialists now in every kind of practice of medicine probably good and some not so good in their field.
Whenever and whatever may be wrong with me I head to my family doc and he will refer me to a specialist. In the past I had to have a total knee replacement surgery. I went in to my family doc, we sat down and discussed surgeons and he knows I am holding his feet to the fire as if it was his own knee that needed the surgery. He has never led me astray and he is always honest with me. Every procedure I have ever needed by another doctor a copy is in my file with my family doc.
Wow, I'd like a family doctor like that. I've moved around and have had to start over many times. One good doctor got left behind not because of moving but because he stopped accepting insurance. That was about 15 years ago. There were enough people who could afford to pay out of pocket and he was not an ordinary run of the mill doctor--he could actually think out of the box. Or, I could say, He could actually THINK! Now the doctor just says, "Need any prescriptions?" And he's ready to leave the room.
If by chance you're located on LI, I can pretty much guess which teaching hospital you're talking about... and it's the one that inspired my previous post, LOL
On the other hand I have had great care at the NSLIJ facility that I went to. On the flipside, the care I got at one of the diocesan-affiliated hospitals was just as bad as the teaching hospital was. And the attitude of the people employed at the Catholic hospital was, across the board, the absolute worst I've ever experienced in my life. My son had the same experience at that hospital as well; unfortunately it was the closest to where we lived at the time.
I am sure you guessed correctly. There is no reason to give details but I am not too happy that I live within 2 miles and I don't trust the care at that hospital. I used to work for the NSLIJ system. There are lots of great docs and well-known specialists in the system and it helped that I was an insider. I had a surgery and 4 day stay at the main Manhasset hospital. Great surgeon but very stressed out and inadequate nursing and housekeeping. That was several years ago. Hopefully those issues have improved. I have had good experiences with a couple of the Catholic hospitals. I really trust St Francis for cardiac care. In fact I left said teaching hospital in the middle of the night on a Christmas Eve against doctor's orders and had a relative drive me to St Francis. It turned out that the original diagnosis was incorrect but I had good followup at SF.
We live in about the best area for high quality medical care and even here getting that care can take a lot of research and luck. I would not base future living areas solely on medical care. Other factors can also be valuable. After this winter I am anxious to begin traveling again. I will be traveling out West in a small RV. In some places, getting any sort of medical care is an issue. I might need to drive for hours to get to a small clinic. On the other hand Bryce Canyon, or Glacier or the Canadian Rockies are worth taking some risks. If it were not for the grandkids I would have left LI and never returned.
I read somewhere that Catholic hospitals, overall, rate highest w/ patient satisfaction, followed by University/Teaching hospitals, and for profits tending to have the lowest ratings.
Wow, I'd like a family doctor like that. I've moved around and have had to start over many times. One good doctor got left behind not because of moving but because he stopped accepting insurance. That was about 15 years ago. There were enough people who could afford to pay out of pocket and he was not an ordinary run of the mill doctor--he could actually think out of the box. Or, I could say, He could actually THINK! Now the doctor just says, "Need any prescriptions?" And he's ready to leave the room.
That is why I could never give up my family doc. In today's world it's difficult to find and have a relationship with a primary care doctor. Where I live the three major hospitals have bought up all the private medical practices. My doc and his partners held out as long as they could until they finally joined Carolina Medical Center. Now there is 15 or 20 doctors at the clinic but I have never had to see anyone but the one who has been treating me for years.
In addition, all the pharmacies now how nurse practitioners on every street corner treating people with minor things.
Medical care is all big business now $$$$$ head 'em up, move 'em out, ka-ching, ka-ching!
I have worked in a number of teaching hospitals. Honestly, those are places where I do NOT want to be hospitalized. You have dozens of interns, residents, etc., usually overworked and stressed treating you. It is a very impersonal environment.
My local community hospital knows me by name, has all my records there. When I am hospitalized, my internist and his partners and my specialists visit me frequently and monitor my care. They make sure that I get the proper care. Also, the hospital administrators in this area have received a lot of hospitality industry background and make the hospital a pleasant place.
My local community hospital knows me by name, has all my records there. When I am hospitalized, my internist and his partners and my specialists visit me frequently and monitor my care. They make sure that I get the proper care. Also, the hospital administrators in this area have received a lot of hospitality industry background and make the hospital a pleasant place.
This is what I am looking for. The last time I was in the hospital neither my GP nor my Cardiologist bothered to show up. When I was sent to the cath lab, the Interventionist didn't bother to show up either. The head nurse called the Cardiac Interventionist who told her that he was very busy on the golf course and she should find someone else to do it. It was the very last time I ever used that cardiologist or cardiac interventionist again.
I've learned that I have to be very proactive in my care. The doctors here are learning to take me seriously.
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