My current (new to me last year) primary care doctor is a pill pusher. Based on his reviews and bio I would not have thought so but he wanted to put me on 3 drugs. He said I was over 50 so nothing I could do but take pills.

Anyhow, I went low carb, lost weight, fixed my issues. I want a new doctor that will actually want to provide guidance without pushing pills. But apart from social media, which I'm not on, I can't really rely on reviews. There seems to be no way to speak to a doctor before signing up, if you can even find one taking patients.

Anyone have suggestions?

Some how you need to do a survey of nurses who have worked with various doctors.... if you can gain their trust they will tell you the truth. But you know the final secret is the doctor is actually workin for YOU and you can decide ultimately what is best.... heck, they really should not care since they get paid for you showing up whether you take their advice or not.

Who remembers when both doctors and lawyers could not advertise... it was a violation of their ethical standards.... there was a reason for this.

Get recommendations from people you know who actually go to the doctor you’d like to see. Word of mouth is the best indication, but understand everyone doesn’t think like you. Someone who wanted a quick fix might have been thrilled with multiple prescriptions and thought the doctor was great.

Yes you can’t reply on reviews like health grades, etc as they are set up to show only the 4 & 5 star reviews to the public. Lower reviews go to the practice/doctor only. That’s why all those scores are always 4.8 out of 5, etc.

Look for someone that has Lifestyle Medicine and/or sports medicine tied to their history or profile in some way. These are going to be the more progressive sorts. Many/Most docs are tied to healthsystems now. So you can start at their website. I might make a few probing calls to inquire and focus my search.

quote:

Originally posted by mojojojo:
Get recommendations from people you know who actually go to the doctor you’d like to see. Word of mouth is the best indication, but understand everyone doesn’t think like you.

+1
Excellent advice and what I did when my old doctor tried pushing pills on me also. 50+ years old so I can relate. He also missed a diagnosis on my leg that my new doctor caught and I had to have surgery.

Ask some friends and relatives who they like, who they go to and ask your own questions pertaining to your personal care.

quote:

Anyhow, I went low carb, lost weight, fixed my issues. I want a new doctor that will actually want to provide guidance without pushing pills. But apart from social media, which I'm not on, I can't really rely on reviews. There seems to be no way to speak to a doctor before signing up, if you can even find one taking patients.

Anyone have suggestions?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Forget the stars and the internet. Some doctors literally browbeat patients into leaving good reviews. Check credentials. I prefer MDs who went to American Medical Schools. Choose a doctor younger than yourself who has ties to the community and will be around ten or twenty years. Ask your friends. The most important physician is your primary care as he will make referrals to specialists if needed. I waited one year to see my primary care for the first visit. He returns my calls, has same day appointments if needed and takes care of refilling prescriptions.

Good luck

We asked The Tomminator’s doctor, if you were looking for a doctor, who would you go to? She gave us two names.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
The most important physician is your primary care as he will make referrals to specialists if needed.

Good luck

If you have a PPO for insurance, you don't need a referral, you go wherever you want to go.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That depends on the specialist and availability. If you would like to be seen promptly go through your primary care doctor. Cardiologists here are busy and would generally not accept patients without a referral. They want their patients screened.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
The most important physician is your primary care as he will make referrals to specialists if needed.

Good luck

If you have a PPO for insurance, you don't need a referral, you go wherever you want to go.

True. I found this out when I wanted my doc to refer an ear/nose/throat doc for minor but chronic congestion. He wanted me on Flonase for 90 days first. Wtf. So I found a doc and scheduled on my own. Of course he didn’t see an obvious issue so prescribed me Flonase for 90 days and said that I needed to try that before having an mri scan. Fucking doctors just want to sell drugs. It’s disheartening. I’m considering skipping health insurance and doctors if I retire early. The cost for them to just prescribe dangerous drugs isn’t worth it. I wish there was just insurance for infections and injuries.

You may wish to consider a Concierge practice. No insurance involved. It has been discussed on the Forum before. A friend of mine runs such a practice, he gets to spend more time with patients, less frustration and no dealing with PPOs and other insurance mumbo jumbo.

There are several practices in your area: Just Google concierge medicine westminster ma

Never had a problem going wherever I wanted without a referral.

I guess it depends on the Doctor.

Edited to add:

Got to thinking more about this. My Thursday shooting group discussed this exact thing 3 days ago after shooting.

Of the 10 there, 6 have no primary care physician but have PPOs and go wherever they want, which is mainly specialists from endocrinologists to oncologists to neurosurgeons and even cardiologists.

Of the remaining 4, they all have HMOs and are required to have referrals.

When I call a specialist, the first thing they always ask is who referred me. I tell them no one, that I have a PPO. They ask for the insurance particulars, check and begin making arrangements for an appointment. No problem.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Flash-LB,