Hacker News Reader

Comment by creatonez | Hacker News Reader

Specialists are great, but it would be so much better if healthcare systems did a better job at properly looping back in the patient's primary care / family doctor in on important health decisions. Primary care physicians, when not stifled by the system, have a remarkable ability to keep track of a patient's health over the course of several years and provide a balanced, realistic view of what might be needed. The way that PCP visitations have become shorter and shorter in a more overworked and hectic environment has done a great disservice to patients.

View on HN

I think that's basically a fantasy. My experience with primary care physicians is that they barely remember who I am, and they frequently move on to other practices. It's not uncommon to see a new person each time.

On my latest attempt to make an appointment they said that I am no longer a patient because I didn't come in during COVID, and that I would have to wait to get back in.

I decided I'd just go without until something bad happens. So far so good.

Yep, this is what the system has created. There's little incentive to stay within that career path, and nobody is helped by the fact that healthcare administrators and staff shortages are forcing doctors into 3 minute visitations that establish little to no connection with patients. It leads to so many "my doctors are idiots who couldn't figure out my condition" situations that are rarely caused by lack of education (not that there aren't any closed-minded doctors), but by lack of cohesiveness of the entire system. Healthcare urgently needs to go back to being a continuous process, not a series of tech support tickets.

The behavior you're describing is clearly an effort to economize use of doctors time. Since there is a cartel controlling salaries hospitals are doing everything legally possible to maximize their usage and shift work to cheaper labor.

Lookup direct pay family doctor office in your area. I pay about 80 bucks a month for doctor I can call, text, spend 30 minutes of I visit. She have arrangement with testing lab with really tiny costs for tests, x-ray, etc. And because of direct relationship, she indeed can track my health over the years.

I still have high deductible insurance to cover something serious, but otherwise pay cash for routine stuff.

This is the way - the Direct Primary Care model. Find the smartest DPC doc that you can and you will be free from so much of our broken system.

Have you had experience with the system?

My obgyn didn’t remember me when I went in pregnant for the third time. I’d seen her at least 20 times in the previous 5 years.

It's like that for most employed physician practices and a large number of group practices but if you can find a solo practice (i.e. a practice with one doctor and maybe one or more NPs), odds are they will be pretty decent.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com