Return to “My doctor is now posted 06 & 07.....”
Getting older is not for the faint of spirit, is it?Oldgringo wrote:I seem to see various doctors more than I used to. The pre-procedures now includes questions asking if I've fallen lately and if I've had any suicidal urges or desire to kill anyone. I answer "no" to the first question and "give me a minute" to the second. The nurses {giggle}. Well, those who know me do.
When I was talking to my doctor yesterday.....the appointment which initiated this thread......he complained to me that medical practices have become commodities, which corporations buy and sell just like they do real estate or mortgage loans. He told me that this practice had been bought and sold 4 times since he went to work for it (I was only aware of one of those sales). When I first became a patient at this practice, we had just recently moved to Texas (2006), and I needed a new doctor so I could continue with medications I needed. That doctor, Mike Cohen, moved his practice from Grapevine, on TX26 near the Walmart, over to its current location in Keller at Davis Blvd and Bear Creek Parkway a few years after I became a patient. A year or two after moving, Mike died unexpectedly of a heart attack while playing basketball with his son. I loved my doctor, and I still miss him today. He was a very good man. The doctor I have today was hired by the practice to replace Mike, and he has been my doctor now for about 5 years. I like him too, and he's a good man too. He advised me, since my insurance status is about to change, that I might be better served by finding a family practitioner closer to my home in Grapevine, since I just require semi-annual monitoring for blood pressure and thyroid levels. It wasn't a case of him wanting to be rid of me as a patient, it was a case of his belief that the quality of care and standards of practice are bound to suffer as a result of this trend, as more and more medical decisions are taken out of the doctor's hands and governed by the corporations that trade in this commodity. He said that, as of the most recent sale, he's not even sure who his bosses are. For his own part, he will probably be returning to teaching at a medical school, which is what he did before he stepped into this practice, where he'll stay until he retires. He's really saddened by what is becoming of his profession, and the trend toward corporate takeovers of medical practices, and the commoditizing of his profession.rotor wrote:What you are seeing is the corporate takeover of medicine- that's a much scarier situation than a 30.06/07 sign. The doctor can't control what signage is placed. He also has no control over how you are treated and where he sends you for treatment. Don't think that you are getting the "best" care now that the hospital/corporation owns the doc.