I have a PCP and couldn't manage without one due to my cardiac history and asthma. They are always having to sign off on any procedures I need (like my ACL surgery) due to my heart. They are so good about gathering what they need from my cardiologist so as a PCP they can truly be the main contact for me.
Just today I sent them a message via the portal and asked for a refill on asthma meds because the fluctuating temps and humidity are making me wheeze. I reminded her that I was in for my annual physical in December. About 45 minutes later she messaged me back to say she sent the refills to CVS.
I go to urgent care maybe 1x per year? I'm prone to sinus infections and bronchitis, and the last few years I've found myself miserable over a weekend. Thankfully my PCP is good about squeezing sick patients in the day of (or within 24 hrs), but they do not have weekend hours.
PCP, but we use urgent care if we cannot get an appointment or if the office is not open (i.e. sick kid on Sunday). It costs me twice as much to go to urgent care.
Post by Shreddingbetty on Feb 11, 2020 18:51:22 GMT -5
I don’t have a PCP currently. I never go so after 3 years you are no longer considered a patient. I saw my OBGYN for the past 20 years but I switched insurances to my job after the divorce. I work at one of the two hospitals in town and my Ob is at the other local hospital. There I no OB anymore at our hospital (which is part of a large corporation ) so no one at our hospital can see local ObGYn anymore. And they wouldn’t let me self pay. So now I have zero doctors. Luckily I’m a PA so if i need something simple I can just ask one of my colleagues to write a script or even do it myself (part of the reason I never went to see my PCP plus I’m overall very healthy ). But now I need a pre-op appointment prior to eye surgery. Luckily one of my collègues/friend will do it. I should find a PCP but then I won’t go so not much use. I have never used urgent care. I went to ER once. I mostly just need to find someone for my yearly female exam (and that I refuse to do at my clinic)
Post by goldengirlz on Feb 11, 2020 19:04:06 GMT -5
I’m a member of One Medical. It’s kind of newfangled techy healthcare meets primary care meets urgent care meets concierge medicine.
I wouldn’t use them for anything serious (even though they have MDs on staff, they refer out for specialist care anyway) but they’ve been great for the kinds of everyday illnesses and injuries that pop up from time to time.
Post by SusanBAnthony on Feb 11, 2020 19:05:34 GMT -5
The cost is not a factor for me because we don't pay a copay, we just get a bill later (HDHP) and its always a mystery what that will be.
My PCP is great but she is also extremely popular so I can't get same day appointments. I use her for physicals and stuff that is scheduled like an IUD. But if I'm actually sick, I can't get in, and if I'm semi sick and can wait a few days, I probably still can't get an appointment. So I generally run to a minute clinic/urgent care as they can see me right away.
If PCP'd want people to go to them for sick care, they need to keep sick appointments open, and/or offer hours outside of 8-4.
I have to be on death's door to go to the doctor of my own volition.
If its not broken or I haven't lost at least a pint of blood then I'm taking care of that shit at home.
I do have to get checkups for my anti-anxiety meds so I establish a PCP when I move.
Omg I am the same way lol. The last time I had a sick visit I was pregnant with my now 2 1/2 yo. I ended up with the flu but what I really went for was bronchitis because I couldn’t catch my breath. My H just Ended up having the flu and if it was me I would probably not have gone based on his symptoms. He felt crappy and had a 100 fever. I would need to feel that way for a long time before I went 😳
Post by litebright on Feb 11, 2020 19:28:59 GMT -5
Most things I see my PCP for. They have walk-in hours in the morning every weekday, so if I get sick suddenly, I can just go in and wait until they can see me (and they usually get me in within about an hour/90 minutes).
The only time I've gone to urgent care for myself when I needed an xray to see if I had a broken ankle, versus going to the ER. I called ahead to make sure they had an xray machine, because not all urgent cares do. If I'd gone to my PCP I would've waited for an appointment in order to get an xray order, then had to go somewhere else for the actual xray. I went to urgent care rather than do two stops/charges.
I have also used Target or CVS clinics for things like getting a flu test on the weekend, and/or the grocery store pharmacy for getting my annual flu shot.
Post by wanderingback on Feb 11, 2020 19:36:47 GMT -5
I have a pcp. I think it's important to find one so you at least have someone if something comes up. Obviously I'm a fan of preventive care like pap smears, mammograms, colonoscopies, etc! Knock on wood, I'm healthy so I typically only go see mine every 2 years or so. I get a cold and GI bug about once a year to every 18 months, so nothing doctor worthy so I've never gone to urgent care.
I made my SO get a pcp 5 years ago when we started dating. He's in his 40s. Luckily he listened to me because his blood sugar and blood pressure were starting to creep up. Thankfully with some lifestyle changes all is good now, but he would've never known if he didn't establish with a pcp.
Where I work we are pretty much a 1-stop shop so I love the model, but I know that doesn't happen everywhere. You can get prenatal care, abortion care, IUDs, nexplanon, warts removed, I&Ds, etc. We take care of kids, adults, elderly, transgender care, HIV care, etc. It's nice that our patients can stick with one primary office for it all. Thankfully we have same day availability.
Post by killercupcake on Feb 11, 2020 20:08:44 GMT -5
I don’t technically have a PCP. My health insurance allows me to see my OBGYN as a primary care doctor, so I suppose I’d go to her if I had to but I typically just use telemedicine since there’s no copay and it’s so much faster.
I have a primary who is great, but if I can't get in with her I go to the UC affiliated with the hospital system she's in. My GYN is also in their system. Everything is online and I love it. Over the summer I needed an x ray and UC was $35 compared to the ER copay. My PCP reviewed the results and referred me to ortho - basically messaged them and had them call me to schedule.
I have a PCP and it is very hard to get same day appointments. So if I’m not feeling well and need immediate relief I go to an Urgent Care. For my kids, their Pediatrician makes room for sick visits so I will always seek them first.
Up until this last summer, I went to my OB/GYN for an annual and minute clinics for anything else. I finally decided I needed more comprehensive care (even though I still don’t generally see a doctor more than once or twice a year) so I found a PCP to help me with a seasonal allergy issue and will now use her for my Pap smears and what not. I feel really good about having finally made the switch.
Interestingly, she said she gets a lot of patients who are into their 50s and 60s who are just now making this choice. I’m glad I’m establishing the relationship early and that I have a go-to for basic stuff who knows my history.
I’ve never used urgent care unless it was actually urgent. I can only remember one instance in the last 5 years and that was for my kid on a Sunday.
I have no idea what PCP stands for, but we have a family GP (a huge stroke of luck in my province because so few GPs are taking on patients right now). Like pandora89, we also have walk-in clinics and emergency rooms at hospitals. No worry about payments because universal healthcare. Our doctor's office is a group practice, and there's no guarantee of getting seen by our doctor if we book an urgent appointment, but the advantage is that records are kept in-house and all their doctors are excellent. Lots of people I know can't find a GP and end up just going to walk-ins. Doctors here no longer want to operate practices since they don't want to run a business on top of being a doctor. Most prefer just to work the walk-in hours and bill the province directly. I think the province recently launched a Telehealth service for simple appointments like prescription refills, to try and free up wait times at actual clinics, but I don't know of anyone who's used the service yet.
Post by thebreakfastclub on Feb 12, 2020 6:37:38 GMT -5
I have never had a PCP in my adult life.
I have just used my ob for my annual exam. If I get a bad sinus infection or something like that, I use urgent care or teledoc. That's maybe every 2 years.
I probably should transition to a PCP and away from an ob, since I am done with kids.
I think part of the reason our PCP never has same days is that it is built to make patients utilize the walk in clinic. It costs us the same as far as co-pay. And it is under the same system so notes get sent to our PCP. But because of this, I stopped calling our main clinic years ago to get a same day appointment. They are just not a thing anymore. Or if I am able to get one it is like at 4:45 pm when I could get into walk in at like 8 am.
I'm really surprised to see so many of you say that your PCP doesn't have same day appointments. I wonder if this is different in different parts of the country? Or does it matter if your doctor is part of a larger health care system? My PCP and my kids are in the same hospital network. I've never had trouble getting a same day appointment. As a matter of fact, before we moved, I never had trouble getting a same day appointment at our old doctor either. As it is, I hem and haw over whether or not I'm "$40 sick" when deciding if I wanted to go to the doctor for a sick visit. If my only choice were UC at $100 a pop, I'd probably never seek treatment for anything unless I were on my figurative death bed. As a family we've used UC exactly twice. Once when my DD broke her arm, and I went back in December after a MVA that happened at night.
H and I have a PCP, the kids have a pediatrician. Our PCP is part of a practice that also has Urgent Care, so if I can’t get a same day appointment with him, I still go to the same office, and it costs about the same. I only use a true urgent care if I am sick on a Sunday, and that is twice as much as a PCP office visit. For the kids, the pediatrician has morning and evening walk in hours, if we can’t get an appointment during the day. We’re really lucky because we are within minutes of two large hospitals, and the one we go to really is a “one-stop shop” sort of place. In fact, I made an appointment with my PCP to do a skin check for me at the end of the month, because I have never been to the dermatologist, and the one I called can’t get me in until September.
I'm really surprised to see so many of you say that your PCP doesn't have same day appointments. I wonder if this is different in different parts of the country? Or does it matter if your doctor is part of a larger health care system? My PCP and my kids are in the same hospital network. I've never had trouble getting a same day appointment. As a matter of fact, before we moved, I never had trouble getting a same day appointment at our old doctor either. As it is, I hem and haw over whether or not I'm "$40 sick" when deciding if I wanted to go to the doctor for a sick visit. If my only choice were UC at $100 a pop, I'd probably never seek treatment for anything unless I were on my figurative death bed. As a family we've used UC exactly twice. Once when my DD broke her arm, and I went back in December after a MVA that happened at night.
I've been thinking this too - I've lived in several different states and this has never been my experience - thank goodness.
I think I prefer a PCP (primary care provider) just because I want someone taking a holistic look at my health. For example, I've had strep a couple of times this year and my doctor let me know that if I get it again, she'll recommend a tonsillectomy. I also had some digestive issues that UC could have treated, but she looked at the totality of my symptoms across a couple of visits and referred me to an ENT, where I got a diagnosis that I doubt UC would have made based just on the symptoms I was being treated for at the time.
My husband, on the other hand, has never had a PCP. He hardly ever gets sick and if he does, someone else in the house has probably already had it, so telehealth will write him a script without him having to leave the house.
Post by irishbride2 on Feb 12, 2020 10:29:33 GMT -5
My H doesn't have a PCP and it drives me nuts. We fight about it. IMO you need a PCP who compiles all of your various info from various doctors and can see trends that specialists and the like won't see. (Plus annual blood work and the like.) He has to go to so many specialists (due to being an amputee and having some other issues that require specialists so he feels overwhelmed with doctors). He also refuses to go to a dermatologist which is extremely frustrating as we live in FL.
The kids and I all have a PCP and we are fortunate that we have never been denied a same-day sick appointment.
Post by imojoebunny on Feb 12, 2020 10:38:18 GMT -5
I go to a small urgent care that acts as a PCP when I am sick. Most non-sickness things I have had have been GYN related, so I go to him for those. The urgent care we go to is the same small group of Physician Assistants we have been going to for 20 years, with one doctor overseeing them, not a typical doc in the box. They know my history, and that I am not a drug seeker. I have had terrible luck with the institutional doc in a box places (here, they are often attached to various hospital "brands"), like have never had a correct diagnosis, so avoid them, except when I think I am actually going to die and our regular urgent care is closed/unable to get me in.
My PCP is a gold mine for referrals and general care. It's hard to find a PCP that works with athletes. He's involved in all aspects of my health, and I usually go 2x/year. I try to get in to see him or another doctor in the practice if I am sick if I can't get in to see my a specialist (I work with several). I usually only go to UC if it's a holiday, I can't get in to see anyone, or I think I broke a bone or need stitches.
I’m jealous of everyone referring to copays. I haven’t had insurance that covered anything with a copay in a few years. My DD recently broke her finger and it was looking bad. Called her PCP as they have in-practice x ray, etc. they couldnt see us until the next day. I realized the urgent care down the street was likely to cost about the same amount (PCP office visit is around $180 plus x rays/ urgent care caps at $250) and we wouldn’t have to wait. Went to urgent care, was broken, and we had to see a specialist for it due to growth plate nonsense. This broken finger will cost us about $1k out of pocket.
Post by mrsjuleshs on Feb 12, 2020 15:53:14 GMT -5
i technically have a PCP but I haven't been to him in years. It's nearly impossible to get in for a same day or next day. I end up at a minute clinic by my house and always get in same day and usually not too long a wait.
Post by sunshine608 on Feb 13, 2020 9:49:18 GMT -5
For myself, I go to Urgent Care because its cheaper in the long run. I will just pay the $35 copay. If I go to the doc, I'll pay the co-pay plus I'll get a bill later in the mail which could be anywhere from $20- $100+. At this point, I have a better relationship with the UC doc than my own PCP.
PCP - I never go to urgent care UNLESS it is actually urgent and my PCP is closed. I have probably been to UC once in over 20 years. Much cheaper to go to my PCP and they always get me in same day. They even have Saturday morning walk in hours.
My PCP works at an urgent care so I go to both? I like that it’s easy to get a same day appointment and I only have to pay my pcp co-pay instead of the more expensive urgent care co-pay.