Finding a really good doctor
09/03/23 00:49
When we moved from South Dakota, one of the challenges was establishing new relationships with doctors, dentist, and other health care professionals. Our first move was to the town of Mount Vernon, where we sought out care givers even though we suspected that we would be moving to a location further north. After we found and purchased our home here in Birch Bay, we continued for a while to drive to Mount Vernon for health care. That practice, however, was less than convenient. From where we now live, it takes about 50 minutes to drive to Mount Vernon. We started over with the search for health care. The city of Bellingham has a wide range of health care providers and is a reasonable distance from our home. We’ve found some providers even closer in Ferndale. Checking with our insurance company for the list of in network providers, we happened upon the Ferndale Family Medicine practice. It is a fairly small physician-owned practice that is linked with a network of family practice facilities. I chose my doctor randomly as a physician who was receiving new patients who was available on a day that was convenient for me. I expected to obtain a referral to a dermatologist from that doctor.
I got lucky in my choice of family physician. It turned out that in addition to her family practice residency, she had completed training for dermatology. She is able to provide my dermatology as well as my general care. I have really appreciated her thoughtfulness and thoroughness. I have to be careful with dermatology because I have had instances of squamous cell carcinoma that have had to be removed. In my second dermatology exam with my new-to-me doctor, she found a spot. A biopsy was performed and I was scheduled for a small out-patient procedure to remove the lesion. She did a beautiful job of removing he cancerous cells and surrounding tissue so that I have had no further problems from that spot.
Not long afterward, I had to have part of a toenail removed. Instead of being referred to a podiatrist, she performed the procedure without a problem and I got immediate relief. Instead of having to work with a group of specialists, I have been able to receive the care I need from a single dedicated individual. My doctor does not work alone, however. So when she is not available, I have access to other physicians for telemedicine and emergency support. The clinic has an emergency care practice that is served by the same physicians as regular visits. The one time I needed to call after hours with a question, my doctor happened to be the “on call” doctor, and I was able to speak with her directly.
Yesterday, I was in the office for a diagnostic procedure and a bit of lab work and I saw my doctor briefly. In the course of the visit, I thanked her for taking time from her busy schedule to squeeze me in without an appointment and she commented that I was lucky because the day before she had delivered a baby and wouldn’t have bene available for me.
I thought to myself, “I’ve found a real old-fashioned family doctor!” She can perform routine exams, dermatology services, out-patient surgeries, and she is qualified and able to provide prenatal care and delivery care. I remember a time when one doctor would provide all of the care a community needed, but I had thought those days were past. I have since found out that there are multiple doctors in the practice who are qualified to provide both family medicine and ob-gyn care and there is another physician in the practice that is receiving advanced training to provide dermatology services to her patients.
I’m often critical of the state of health care in our country. Those of us who have plenty of insurance coverage are able to obtain first-rate care while others cannot find doctors to care for them. Americans spend more on health care than citizens of all other countries, yet our outcomes are worse than many other places in the world. Often physicians limit their practice to specialties, earning large salaries while providing only partial care to their patients. The maze of specialist providers and insurance company limits is confusing and difficult to navigate. Like flying on an airline, different patients are paying different amounts for services. It seems that there is no one in the health care professions who can explain why various procedures cost what they do. Charges seem to be arbitrary and there are many companies who are in the business for the high profits they can extract from care. From insurers to pharmacies, it seems that the high profits from health care cause prices to skyrocket.
In this confusing scenario, however, there are some brilliant and talented physicians who really care about providing care to their patients. There is no question that my doctor could earn a lot more money by specializing in dermatology. She could have avoided the cost of additional special training that she has received. She could work shorter hours and earn more money. But she has chosen the vocation of family medicine, providing general and comprehensive care for her patients. And she is not alone. Despite the problems of contemporary medical practice in the United States, despite the incredibly confusing mess of in network and out of network care providers defined by insurance companies, despite the unconscionable prices of the pharmaceutical industry, there are good people working hard to provide real care to their patients. I have been fortunate to find one of them. It is amazing and humbling to be on the receiving end of such wonderful care.
I suspect that I will be like others I have known. As I age, I will need to consume more medical care than was the case when I was younger. Small problems will need to be addressed before they become big problems. My body has been around for quite a while and there are some signs of wear and tear that weren’t present years ago. Fortunately for me, I’ve found a source of real care expertly delivered. I know that there are others who are not so lucky. I hope that there are young people aspiring to become physicians who are inspired by doctors like the one who serves me. She really is inspirational. Perhaps her dedication is being shared with others. It gives me hope for the future.
I got lucky in my choice of family physician. It turned out that in addition to her family practice residency, she had completed training for dermatology. She is able to provide my dermatology as well as my general care. I have really appreciated her thoughtfulness and thoroughness. I have to be careful with dermatology because I have had instances of squamous cell carcinoma that have had to be removed. In my second dermatology exam with my new-to-me doctor, she found a spot. A biopsy was performed and I was scheduled for a small out-patient procedure to remove the lesion. She did a beautiful job of removing he cancerous cells and surrounding tissue so that I have had no further problems from that spot.
Not long afterward, I had to have part of a toenail removed. Instead of being referred to a podiatrist, she performed the procedure without a problem and I got immediate relief. Instead of having to work with a group of specialists, I have been able to receive the care I need from a single dedicated individual. My doctor does not work alone, however. So when she is not available, I have access to other physicians for telemedicine and emergency support. The clinic has an emergency care practice that is served by the same physicians as regular visits. The one time I needed to call after hours with a question, my doctor happened to be the “on call” doctor, and I was able to speak with her directly.
Yesterday, I was in the office for a diagnostic procedure and a bit of lab work and I saw my doctor briefly. In the course of the visit, I thanked her for taking time from her busy schedule to squeeze me in without an appointment and she commented that I was lucky because the day before she had delivered a baby and wouldn’t have bene available for me.
I thought to myself, “I’ve found a real old-fashioned family doctor!” She can perform routine exams, dermatology services, out-patient surgeries, and she is qualified and able to provide prenatal care and delivery care. I remember a time when one doctor would provide all of the care a community needed, but I had thought those days were past. I have since found out that there are multiple doctors in the practice who are qualified to provide both family medicine and ob-gyn care and there is another physician in the practice that is receiving advanced training to provide dermatology services to her patients.
I’m often critical of the state of health care in our country. Those of us who have plenty of insurance coverage are able to obtain first-rate care while others cannot find doctors to care for them. Americans spend more on health care than citizens of all other countries, yet our outcomes are worse than many other places in the world. Often physicians limit their practice to specialties, earning large salaries while providing only partial care to their patients. The maze of specialist providers and insurance company limits is confusing and difficult to navigate. Like flying on an airline, different patients are paying different amounts for services. It seems that there is no one in the health care professions who can explain why various procedures cost what they do. Charges seem to be arbitrary and there are many companies who are in the business for the high profits they can extract from care. From insurers to pharmacies, it seems that the high profits from health care cause prices to skyrocket.
In this confusing scenario, however, there are some brilliant and talented physicians who really care about providing care to their patients. There is no question that my doctor could earn a lot more money by specializing in dermatology. She could have avoided the cost of additional special training that she has received. She could work shorter hours and earn more money. But she has chosen the vocation of family medicine, providing general and comprehensive care for her patients. And she is not alone. Despite the problems of contemporary medical practice in the United States, despite the incredibly confusing mess of in network and out of network care providers defined by insurance companies, despite the unconscionable prices of the pharmaceutical industry, there are good people working hard to provide real care to their patients. I have been fortunate to find one of them. It is amazing and humbling to be on the receiving end of such wonderful care.
I suspect that I will be like others I have known. As I age, I will need to consume more medical care than was the case when I was younger. Small problems will need to be addressed before they become big problems. My body has been around for quite a while and there are some signs of wear and tear that weren’t present years ago. Fortunately for me, I’ve found a source of real care expertly delivered. I know that there are others who are not so lucky. I hope that there are young people aspiring to become physicians who are inspired by doctors like the one who serves me. She really is inspirational. Perhaps her dedication is being shared with others. It gives me hope for the future.
