The biggest single thing I miss about my hometown of Fresno, CA was my doctor. He was great: He was older (50s when I first started going to him), but very smart and up-to-date on all the latest medical journals, research AND pop-culture trends. He was really down-to earth and straight-talking. He wasn’t “directive”-based in his communication with you (eg, he didn’t just shoot off instructions and expect you to follow them unquestioningly), but he was also not a hand-holder, in the sense that if you were fat or doing stupid things, he would say so.
He was of a special breed: he did not accept any insurance plans but some insurers would reimburse a little to you if you filed claims for his bills yourself (provided you had a PPO or similar plan). Many people find this distasteful, but it meant he was not beholden to insurance company bureaucratic red tape, such as charge-per-visit copays, maximum visit duration, maximum exam frequencies, etc. He made sure all his patients had a 2-hour physical every 18 months, during which he would give you the full physical exam, in addition to lab work and EKG, then sit down with you and rattle off questions for up to a half hour about your lifestyle and behaviors. Most insurance companies don’t allow physicals to be more than 60-minutes of billable time. He could also do things like take a call directly with you (rather than just delegating this to his nurse or assistant) and if you spent 10-15 minutes discussing the funny red spot, he would either reccommend you come in, and get his money for the call that way, or tell you what to do and send a 18.00 bill for the call.
This, to me, resulted in a unique familiarity with my health that I don’t feel I’ve had in more than 5 years now. I have had very few health problems, but I never quite know how well I am. I got some life insurance late last year and was actually surprised when I got the preferred rate after my physical with them.
In any case, now I’m once again moved to a new home, and once again have another physician who I feel I’m meeting for the first time every time I go in. He has to look at the chart before greeting me to see what my name is, and when I call asking to talk to someone I’m told to come in so they can bill my insurance company for a visit in order to make talking to me worthwhile.
Does anyone know of any good online directories for physicians that accept patients without being beholden to insurance company rules or that will accept patients who want to pay cash for office visits? Maybe even a doctor who stays up-to-date on things like supplements and nutrition and such, but who won’t flinch at prescribing statins or chemo when warranted? If that was wrapped up in a doctor who would also not flinch at talk of butt-sex or boy-sex and could reccommend the best lubes and rubbers and toys, I’d finally feel that I had a doc as good as my old Fresno doctor. Alas…