Our area had a large medical group that was part of Steward. Steward declared bankruptcy and the mess is still happening. Browne University took over the practice, however, primary care doctors are still leaving and not being replaced fast enough.

My son and Rick both have the same nurse prac. Rick is actually a patient of the doctor but prefers to see the nurse prac. My son might have chosen the nurse prac as his primary and now she is leaving and the doc is not accepting new patients. Two of our friends who both have a history of heart disease are waiting to hear who their new doc might be. Their primary is leaving the area.

I messaged my doc who is affiliated with the local hospital group to ask if she was taking on new patients. She is, so Rick will be going there. He really didn't want to see the doc at the other practice and I'm not comfortable with the way things are at that practice.

Is it difficult finding new primary care in your area? It is here :Yes, it is currently quite difficult to get a new primary care physician (PCP) in Massachusetts
. The state is facing a severe, chronic shortage of primary care providers, making it a challenge for new patients to establish care and leading to, in some cases, months-long waiting lists.

• Long Wait Times: In the Boston area, it can take an average of 40 days for a new appointment, with some waits extending up to 136 days. Some patients report wait times of over a year

 

We are lucky in the Cleveland area to have some large major hospital systems but getting in to see a doctor, even as an existing patient, sometimes takes a little longer than some would like. I have been fortunate that if needed my doctor will get me in pretty quick. When my wife, Patty was sick she got in with the oncoligy department head, which we thought at the time wasn't good but he was available whenever she needed him. Again, we are lucky in our area.

 

It’s extremely bad here, very difficult to find a new Dr. or Dentist. My Dentist has taken on a few partners over the years but they never stay long he said they tend to move away to bigger cities. He hasn’t taken on any new patients in years. We have also had a huge influx of people moving up here so supply can not keep up with demand. Previously if I had a Dr. I wasn’t crazy about I could relatively easily find another one but that is not the case anymore, same situation as the Dentist. Luckily I love my Dentist and his staff I have been going to them for over 20 years, my Dr. not so crazy about. Lot of people here actually travel to Boston for Dr.’s and a lot just go to urgent care.

 

Robb my brother in law in VT finally hung up his drill last year.

I'm becoming less enthusiastic about care options.
My cardiologist for years retired and then passed away.
My awesome sinus guy retired.
My rheumatologist quit and she wasn't that old, early 40's.

And all the docs backfilling aren't there yet.

 

Some many docs are becoming specialists that there is a severe shortage of primary doctors nowj

 

Due to the exploding growth in our beach area and the shortage of primary medical care providers it is difficult to find a provider. We have a NP for medical care and a dentist, eye doc and chiropractor near by. We are very satisfied with all of them.

 

Surprisingly good. Two major healthcare systems in Harrison and Jackson counties: Memorial and Singing River. Both operate full acute care hospitals along with numerous clinics. Hancock county, the smallest of the Gulf Coast counties, is served by Ochsner, out of New Orleans. Both Ochsner and Memorial get pretty good patient reviews. Singing River, not so much.

I like that all my Memorial providers, have access to my complete medical record. Almost every visit to any of my providers include 5-10 minutes wait, at the most. Visits to my primary care provider involve maybe a 5 minute wait at most, followed by a vitals check and a quick medical record review. By then, Dr. Maalouf is waiting for me!

 

I have a wonderful primary doc. She has not taken new patients for years. Not sure how hard it is to find care. My other specialists are long time docs. Except for my dermatologist. Dermatology is the exception. Very difficult to find one.

 

Rick's long term dermatologist just merged with a large group. I think it's a stepping stone to retirement. She sees him every six months. At his last visit the next appointment was supposedly not available for nine months. The receptionist asked if he wanted to see someone else, he told her no. They called him the next day with an appointment within the six month time frame.

The group has two doctors and several nurse pracs and a PA or two. My son got in quickly for an issue, but not with the doctor.

As it happens, I spoke to my son today, and one of the reasons he and likely Rick will need a new primary care is that with the departure of the nurse prac, the doc they had as a primary is only keeping his pulmonary patients.

 

My son got the letter today that advised him he needed to get a new primary care doc. They sent a short list of providers who are accepting patients and they are all affiliated with third primary group in our area. The group has a terrible reputation. As a matter of fact, my son's mother in law goes to one of the doctors there, long story there, but they often are left waiting for hours for their appointments.

I messaged my primary to see if she can take two more into her practice.