Good point about bringing your own medical records to each doctor's office as we all hate repetition and filling out that same form at every office we go go. "Musical doctors" seems to be more prominent these days as well with HMOs and we have several older archived features on the same issue. It' is not a matter of what doctor you want to see, it is more like what doctor can you see that fits the contract. BD
I have multiple sclerosis, and I saw an excellent doctor for eight years until he informed me he was dropping all his MS patients because he didn't think the HMO was reimbursing him sufficiently for their care. This left three available neurologists who see MS patients from whom to choose. In this situation, using The Times' suggestions for choosing a doctor is an unattainable luxury.I had to laugh at some of the advice in your essentially helpful article. Helpful in some other country, perhaps. In my HMO, I have very few choices. I like my primary care physician, who has been my PCP for more than 10 years, but the penalty is that I'm stuck with specialists in the same medical group.
Doctors' staffs, in my experience, are always delighted when you tell them they can keep the list and put it directly in your chart, as you have it on the computer at home. Whether a doctor's office is computerized or not, patients should also take responsibility for keeping their own basic "medical records."
The HMOs' bureaucrats basically dictate which doctors are available. So far, I have not felt free to choose my doctors.
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