Changing doctors

[sam_gordon]

My PCP is actually a nurse practitioner. I used one provider for about 7-10 years before she retired and now have a new one in the same practice. I don't have a problem with the treatment I get, and I have to say they've been very receptive when I need to get something checked out, they can usually work me in within a couple of hours if not sooner. The facility is less than 10 minutes from my house, and is the closest.

BUT, they don't have any kind of online records. I can't go back and look at visits, notes, lab reports, payments, etc. They had it for a year or two, but then stopped it (not sure why). I've asked about and I'm told "we're working on it" but no information on when it will come back.

The specialists I go to are all part of a group and all the information is available on one web site for me. When I had a health emergency a year ago in another state, that hospital could see all of my information.

So, I've been considering looking for a new PCP. But the hassle of changing, plus knowing it will be a further trip, plus not knowing how difficult it would be to get in if there is an issue has me hesitant.

Anyway, thoughts? Would you change JUST because of the lack of online records?

 

[EACarlson]

My PCP is actually a nurse practitioner. I used one provider for about 7-10 years before she retired and now have a new one in the same practice. I don't have a problem with the treatment I get, and I have to say they've been very receptive when I need to get something checked out, they can usually work me in within a couple of hours if not sooner. The facility is less than 10 minutes from my house, and is the closest.

BUT, they don't have any kind of online records. I can't go back and look at visits, notes, lab reports, payments, etc. They had it for a year or two, but then stopped it (not sure why). I've asked about and I'm told "we're working on it" but no information on when it will come back.

The specialists I go to are all part of a group and all the information is available on one web site for me. When I had a health emergency a year ago in another state, that hospital could see all of my information.

So, I've been considering looking for a new PCP. But the hassle of changing, plus knowing it will be a further trip, plus not knowing how difficult it would be to get in if there is an issue has me hesitant.

Anyway, thoughts? Would you change JUST because of the lack of online records?

They are required by law to have electronic health records and you have a right to access those records at any time. If you really like your PCP, I would demand a complete copy of your file and do so again after every visit. Most health care providers use EPIC as their electronic health record, any data that is input in an EPIC system is immediately available to anyone else that has EPIC. It was quite a shock when my PCP changed systems and asked me about a doctor I hadn't seen in 25 years.

 

[TippyThomas]

My PCP is actually a nurse practitioner. I used one provider for about 7-10 years before she retired and now have a new one in the same practice. I don't have a problem with the treatment I get, and I have to say they've been very receptive when I need to get something checked out, they can usually work me in within a couple of hours if not sooner. The facility is less than 10 minutes from my house, and is the closest.

BUT, they don't have any kind of online records. I can't go back and look at visits, notes, lab reports, payments, etc. They had it for a year or two, but then stopped it (not sure why). I've asked about and I'm told "we're working on it" but no information on when it will come back.

The specialists I go to are all part of a group and all the information is available on one web site for me. When I had a health emergency a year ago in another state, that hospital could see all of my information.

So, I've been considering looking for a new PCP. But the hassle of changing, plus knowing it will be a further trip, plus not knowing how difficult it would be to get in if there is an issue has me hesitant.

Anyway, thoughts? Would you change JUST because of the lack of online records?

It was a huge pain to do it but I changed doctors for much less than that. The biggest issue I had was finding doctors that were accepting new patients so be sure to look into that before you make a move.

 

[sam_gordon]

They are required by law to have electronic health records and you have a right to access those records at any time. If you really like your PCP, I would demand a complete copy of your file and do so again after every visit. Most health care providers use EPIC as their electronic health record, any data that is input in an EPIC system is immediately available to anyone else that has EPIC. It was quite a shock when my PCP changed systems and asked me about a doctor I hadn't seen in 25 years.

What's the reason for demanding a complete copy of the file? To annoy them? It's not that I need the file, I'd just like to be able to go back and look when I'm curious about something.

 

[EACarlson]

What's the reason for demanding a complete copy of the file? To annoy them? It's not that I need the file, I'd just like to be able to go back and look when I'm curious about something.

Then you have the information if you want to go and look at something. If you decide you want an answer on something on a friday night, you have all the data and can go through it at your leisure, if you don't have a copy, you have to wait until Monday, then however long before they get you the answer. And yes, if they have to provide complete copies, maybe they'll fix their system, which they should have done long ago.
Another option would be to have one of the specialists request the file and have the data uploaded into EPIC. I have to have that done with my employer based clinic that does my labwork.

 

[Christine]

My PCP doesn't have a patient portal/patient access either. Part of the reason is that he and his partner have not yet been taken over by an equity firm or massive hospital.

By law, the physician's office is required to keep electronic records versus the old paper files, but I don't think they are required to give instant patient access.

Like you, sometimes it annoys me if I want to check something, but I actually don't go there often enough so it hasn't been an issue. I do go to mostly specialists and they are mostly online. I find each office has varying degrees of what is offered on the patient portal. Those doctors that fall under the major hospital system have notes, results, impressions, I mean everything. While others just have an entry that you were there on a particular day with a certain doctor.

If I liked my doctor well enough, I'm not sure it would drive me to change, but I might if I didn't overly care for them either way.

 

[mjkacmom]

Hmm, I recently asked my vet for some records (our dog is almost 14 and has a big cancerous tumor in her spine, just in case I had to bring her to the emergency vet so they could see her biopsy results/scans), they emailed me her entire file, 80 pages, in a day. However, my doctor’s office does not do same day appointments and will suggest urgent care, so you might want to ask around.