Courtesy of Microsoft Clip Arts
I don’t know about other places in this country or the US, but I have found a distinct trend in patient care here in Edmonton. It’s pretty hard to get a family doctor now. If you move, you are probably going to have to visit a clinic similar to a walk-in clinic. Then if you’re lucky, the clinic will take you on as a permanent patient where you get to make an appointment time, but not always see the same doctor. And of course you don’t get seen anywhere near to your appointment time.
When we first moved to Alberta, we lived in Leduc, a small town of a few thousand people about 20 minutes south of Edmonton. We were able to get a family doctor because a new doctor had just joined a family practice recommended to us. We kept the same doctor when we moved to Beaumont (about halfway between Leduc & Edmonton). Even when we moved to Edmonton, we lived on the south side of the city & were unable to find a new doctor, so we kept the doctor we had in Leduc. Now we have moved to the North East end of the city & it’s at least an hour long commute every time we have to visit the doctor.
I guess what I find disturbing is that the power has shifted all to the doctor’s/clinics side. They get to decide if they will take you on as a patient or not. As patients, we used to decide which doctor was the best fit for us. Now it seems as if we need to take the doctor/clinic that will accept us if we want consistent patient care.
Is it the same where you live?
benzeknees 
Apr 04, 2013 @ 02:06:26
Well, as I also live in Canada but in Ontario it is much the same. I know people who are having to go through such a process and go on a waiting list to get a GP…We were very fortunate when we moved I called offices near us beforehand and was so surprised to fine a doctor in her own single practice 10 min. from us and she has been so good.She is ‘old school’ thinking and if you need in the same day because you are really sick..you get in the same day, and she even carries a pager 24/7….
The good thing though about living in Canada is that whenever you do need care you know you are covered by the healthcare system ….even if we do have to go to a clinic or ER…Diane
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 02:22:50
Unfortunately, in Edmonton, the average wait at an ER is 10 hours unless you’re bleeding to death.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 03:30:46
I’ve heard from someone else that lives in Alberta the same thing…Sometimes it’s a bit of a wait in ER here but it’s not the average that you have… wonder why Alberta?? Diane
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 04:00:54
Same thing in Spain, the government assigns you a doctor according to where you live, you make an online appointment for whenever that doctor is available, then when you finally get the appointment you have to get a number and wait like if it was the fish market for you number to be called.
I got private insurance and now I get to see the doctor I want, the same doctor that works for the government works for a private hospital, the treatment is sooooo different, they treat you like a person with the insurance card, and like a piece of meat in the public hospital.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 12:44:25
Alberta has talked about putting a 2 tier system into health care here since the province is quite wealthy. People with money would be able to pay to get better health care, supposedly freeing up doctors for the masses. Unfortunately I think we would lose more doctors to the upper tier & still be in the same place . It’s very frustrating.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 04:46:19
Nope, not here. I found a family practice with lab, x-ray {I’ve heard} mammogram, etc and had an appointment a week after I called. Before we moved, there were a few practices that literally were full, but most you could get into a few weeks out.
I also got right in to a university rheumatologist {who was simply awful, so I won’t be going back to him} so now I get to shop around.
Of course, once Obamacare kicks in, this will all change and we’ll end up like you all……
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 12:45:44
It’s nice to know there are still places where you can get good care. What state are you in?
LikeLike
Apr 05, 2013 @ 21:32:22
That was NM before and NC now. Different health insurance companies but similar coverage. The s**t has yet to hit the fan. Check back in a year or two….
LikeLike
Apr 05, 2013 @ 22:01:45
You’re in NC now? My daughter was living in Charlotte until last summer & near Greensboro for 6 years before that.
LikeLike
Apr 07, 2013 @ 11:08:46
That is my backyard. I am in SC. There is no care worth having where I am. Even the hospital is awful. I drive nearly 100 miles (one way) for care.
LikeLike
Apr 07, 2013 @ 12:59:28
There is the triangle area which is supposedly well-known for medical with top facilities. (I’d steer away from UNC Rheumatology, though). I have come to learn that quacks are everywhere and you need to sift through them. At least in the US right now we HAVE the ability to weed through.
Charlotte is 300 miles away from me, fwiw.
LikeLike
Apr 07, 2013 @ 13:02:39
Well-known, yes. Unfortunately, some of the press is actually negative, and truthfully so. I have been hospitalized more than half a dozen times in the last 7 years and had only one positive experience across four hospitals. I am so ready to leave here! (Charlotte is 50 for me.)
LikeLike
Apr 07, 2013 @ 13:14:36
What’s your recommendation? Know any good rheumies? Obviously, I don’t plan on going to the hospital, but one never knows. It surely is agonizing having to wade through it all, isn’t it?
LikeLike
Apr 07, 2013 @ 13:17:56
Unfortunately, no. Around here, very few ppl treat it with anything beyond home remedies. There seems to be no interest in treating patients and very little in the way of updated research. You are stuck with whatever the doctor learned (however long ago that was) and what the drug reps are recommending to make quota this month.
LikeLike
Apr 08, 2013 @ 08:26:34
What’s interesting to me is that *the best* doc I’ve found is older. At one point, I had been thinking older doctors were too set in their ways to be open-minded, because that had been my experience to that point. I am very glad I was wrong and was able to find a good one…………..
LikeLike
Apr 07, 2013 @ 15:12:20
So it sounds like it’s just as frustrating down in the NC/SC area for you & Red as it is here. Don’t get me started on Rheumatologists – I had a horrible one in Wpg. I’ll have to write a post about it (maybe when I get to “R”?) because it’s too long to talk about in a comment.
LikeLike
Apr 08, 2013 @ 08:25:17
Yes, please do! The bozo I ran into a few weeks ago had, apparently, never heard of sero-negative rheumatoid nor sulfasalazine for treatment of RA, etc etc etc. I am seriously considering flying back to NM once a year just to get to see a GOOD doctor. Sheesh.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 06:54:41
It seems that no matter where we live, we have to put the “care” back into “health care.” xoxoM
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 12:46:42
I agree with you Margarita, it seems like the health care system is more about money than patients lately.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 10:26:32
depends on your insurance. we have a very big network to choose from, so we are lucky. but some offices do fill up & limit taking new patients…
moving & finding new dr’s is tough as it is!
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 13:11:49
Are you in the US? If so, may I ask what state? I’m trying to get a picture of health care in different areas.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 12:43:08
Oh man don’t get me started. No docs here at all taking patients and the walk in clinic docs are down right abusive. I’m pretty stuck with that..
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 12:47:29
I haven’t even ventured into the “clinics” here. I’m still doing the long commute to Leduc.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 12:49:56
well if you have a good doc it’s worth it too keep them!
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 18:27:28
I’ve been with the same specialist for years, and will probably go to another doctor in the same office when he retires.
I’ve been lucky in not having to stay with bad doctors I’ve had.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 20:57:14
Unfortunately we moved across 3 provinces so it was difficult to stay with the same doctor.
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 20:20:45
What is this world coming to?
LikeLike
Apr 04, 2013 @ 20:57:42
I know!
LikeLike
Apr 05, 2013 @ 19:02:18
Hi, there,
Coming through on the challenge. Things have changed where i live as well. We used to have a family doctor, but nowadays, people visit any doctor they like.
LikeLike
Apr 05, 2013 @ 21:59:05
Well, thanks for stopping by! What area do you live in? Canada, US?
LikeLike
Apr 05, 2013 @ 20:58:30
The answer really is don’t get sick. Or, if you do, it should be as the Florida congressman Alan Grayson said, “Die Quickly.”
LikeLike
Apr 05, 2013 @ 22:00:48
Unfortunately, I need to have meds renewed every 3 months or so because of anxiety, depression, etc. They don’t just hand these meds out a whole bunch at a time or just as a drop in at the pharmacy.
LikeLike
Apr 10, 2013 @ 01:43:47
“Our” family doctor “fired” the wife for being too needy. She went five years of clinics till the daughter’s agreed to take her on, but now wants to semi-retire and concentrate on hematology. Fortunately the doctor she shares space with is picking up the slack. Our clinic is only four blocks away. Always a new face, but always good treatment.
LikeLike
Apr 10, 2013 @ 02:57:52
When we were moving from NW Ont. I went to the clinic there & asked for my medical records – the doctor there told me I would have a hard time finding a doctor to take me on because of my health history. Had no problem finding a doctor when we got here, just can’t seem to find one since we moved.
LikeLike
Apr 10, 2013 @ 07:42:26
I once went to a doctor who was accepting new patients and came recommended as being very good. I waited 3 hours to see him- he was taking new patients, and even though I had an appointment, it still ended up being a three hour wait. But still, I sat there, having hope that fresh eyes could take the few records I brought with me and make some sense out of them.
After waiting all that time, he came in, asked me two questions and then told me he could see me because he didn’t think there was anything he could do for me that all the other doctors couldn’t have done. I was “too challenging” for him.
I went to my car and cried before I was able to drive home. Shock doesn’t even describe it.
And then- he had the balls to bill me for the visit. I was furious. I disputed the charge and won. His billing service was ticked he tried to bill. I hope his office remembers that if he ever turns someone else away. Sheesh.
Anymore, I think there is littel incentive for doctors to stay up on research and try to be good. They are going to get paid regardless, even if their wage is going to go down because of the flood of people coming in. Meh.
LikeLike
Apr 10, 2013 @ 07:43:11
*coudn’t see me.* Good grief!
LikeLike
Apr 10, 2013 @ 10:58:10
It seems like doctors have all the power whether it’s in Canada or the US
LikeLike
Apr 10, 2013 @ 11:32:19
Yep. It’s frustrating, to say the least. 😦
LikeLike