PCP Shortage

[nw6675]

Curious - are you having PCP shortages in your area? I am in central VA and have tried to change PCPs for months and nobody has appointments. I just called my DH's PCP to reschedule his Sept appt and they had no appointments for the REST OF THE YEAR!

I asked if it was due to the pandemic and limiting appointments. She said actually so many docs retired during covid that the remaining docs in the entire market are overrun.

Anyone else experiencing this?

 

[Christine]

Doesn't seem so where I am (northern VA); however, some of the more well-rated ones are very difficult to get into anyway.

 

[BrianL]

Whew! For a minute there I though they were running out of PCP the drug - we wouldn't want that!

 

[Smugpugmug]

It was hard to get an appointment with my PCP even before the pandemic and now it's even harder. He only does appointments on specific days of the week so you could potentially wait months to see him. Even getting an appointment with a NP is difficult. I also found it difficult to get an appointment with any well rated gynecologist in my area.

 

[nw6675]

Whew! For a minute there I though they were running out of PCP the drug - we wouldn't want that!

I knew there would be one...why am I not surprised it was you?

 

[Mysterian]

Whew! For a minute there I though they were running out of PCP the drug - we wouldn't want that!

That's what I read! For a moment, I thought Eksmama01 was involved in something sordid. "Oh, you'll have a 'magical day', alright!"

 

[lynxstch]

No shortage of PCP's in our area (Western MD), but there is a shortage on just about every specialty Dr! Across from my PCP's office is a bldg that has/had 4 gastroenterologists. 3 out of the 4 left within the last month!!

 

[nw6675]

That's what I read! For a moment, I thought Eksmama01 was involved in something sordid. "Oh, you'll have a 'magical day', alright!"

Maybe some other sordid things. Just not drugs

 

[Meriweather]

DH got a next day appointment.
Mine took about a week.
My eye doctor is taking 6 weeks because the other doctor in the office retired

 

[kanerf]

The two years of staying home and not seeing a doctor probably has something to do with this. Give it a another year and things will be back closer to normal. That said there is a shortage of medical personnel through-out the country.

 

[barkley]

we had that issue when dh's pcp retired a few years ago (pre-covid). the practice he was with had forewarned us (as did the doctor at every appointment for about 6 months prior) that the retirement was immanent but they assured us they were getting a new provider. nope, never managed to get one. i called round and round to try and get one only to find long wait lists (even longer if you have medicare b/c many practices limit the number of medicare patients they will take). i finally got a sympathetic person on the phone of one practice and when i explained the maintenance meds dh was on and asked what they recommended for med monitoring they conferred with the doctor who graciously agreed to take dh on. thankfully the doctor was willing over time to take me/ds on b/c both our pcp's over time have either retired or left the practices they are with.

i recently read a report that there are projected shortages increasing in the tens of thousands over the next few years.

 

[nw6675]

OP here, I just remembered that my daughter's PCP left the practice a few months ago and there really was not an offer of moving to someone else in the system. Luckily we had already moved her records to a different pediatrician.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I saw the title and thought "well, I don't use Phencyclidine, so that's ok"...

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Yes. I live in a huge metropolitan area with tons of doctors and hospitals. My PCP dropped my insurance last year and suddenly I was getting out-of-network charges. I dealt with it for awhile, but after a frustrating experience with her in November, I decided it was time to get a new PCP.

This past January, I started searching for a new PCP that was in my insurance network. I wanted to see a doctor that my dad and husband had both seen in the past, but she was booked solid until the fall. I was already overdue on my yearly bloodwork and was going to need a medication renewed before then. So I searched for any available PCP in a certain medical group. I came up with one who was taking new patients, so I blindly grabbed an appointment and waited a few months. I just had my first visit with her this week. Thankfully, I really liked her! She was very thorough, listened and responded to all my questions and concerns, discussed and renewed my medication. ordered a bunch of bloodwork and said it was time for my shingles vaccine. I also really liked her medical assistant who checked me in and gave me the shot. I am very relieved to have found her and to know that I am now established with a doctor that i like. However, it was not an easy search and I waited months to get in.

 

[Colleen27]

It has been a mounting issue here for years. Way more doctors retiring than new ones entering practice, particularly as PCPs, OB/GYNs and pediatricians. My kids' pediatrician retired and the practice is now down to just one doctor and three nurse-practitioners; when we started going there, the ratio was just the opposite. And I'm beginning to wonder if my husband will ever find a new PCP he likes. His long-time doctor retired just before the pandemic and he's hated both of the doctors he's seen since then, mostly because he's getting a bit hard of hearing and has a tough time understanding accented speech and both of the other doctors in the practice he'd been going to have fairly thick Indian accents.

 

[kdonnel]

The two years of staying home and not seeing a doctor probably has something to do with this. Give it a another year and things will be back closer to normal. That said there is a shortage of medical personnel through-out the country.

Sounds right.

I just got the email yesterday that DVC thinks they have cleared the Covid backlog and we can now borrow all the points we want.

There are many industries working through their back logs. Some will take longer than others.

 

[yeahdisney]

Yes we have less pcps.

Someone shared with me, they needed an eye appt. and their eye appts take one hour each visit! And no one else was usually in the waiting room. I said - well call for an appt, don’t wait.

If the eye doctor works 8 hours a day. And takes lunch. That’s 7 patients a day they can see if each patient takes an hour. Cause they were a specialist.

Plus maybe an emergency or two and phone calls, paperwork.

So it might take a bit to get in. They were amazed.

 

[barkley]

Yes we have less pcps.

Someone shared with me, they needed an eye appt. and their eye appts take one hour each visit! And no one else was usually in the waiting room. I said - well call for an appt, don’t wait.

If the eye doctor works 8 hours a day. And takes lunch. That’s 7 patients a day they can see if each patient takes an hour. Cause they were a specialist.

Plus maybe an emergency or two and phone calls, paperwork.

So it might take a bit to get in. They were amazed.

we were thrilled when our insurance company expanded to allowing us to use costco's services. so much easier to get an exam appointment, very prompt w/ seeing you at scheduled appointment time, glasses of course are MUCH less expensive. only difference is it's a reimbursed appointment vs. a copay/billed by provider but no biggie.

 

[Southernmiss]

Medical school is a long process.

There are only so many available seats for new med students each year. Many more applicants than available spots.

The Medical schools haven't been able to meet the need of the doctors who left during the pandemic.

Our son is applying now to numerous schools across the country. He applied last year and did not get in.

No guarantee he can get in this cycle and if he does, he won't start school until next fall.

Our older sons know students over 25 years old just getting into medical school this fall and they've been qualified and applying for years.

 

[momz]

I am a provider, I work in urgent care but I moonlight in primary care practices. I'm not sure what is worse, provider shortage, nursing shortage or MA shortage. Everywhere is short, and it will get worse. the Network I work for is 24 million dollars behind goal for the year, so far. This is primarily due to surgical procedures being cancelled or delayed. This is where healthcare makes (or loses) a ton of money. I can tell you that there are surgeries being delayed every week due to supply chain issues. It's horrible for patients and certainly not something any doctors or nurses are happy with either. Administration is putting so much pressure on providers to see more patients, see patients faster, extend hours, come in to work Saturday hours. My contract FTE is 0.6, which averages out to 48 hours per 2 week pay period. I haven't had a paycheck that was less than 80 hours since covid started. I have been reallocated all over the network as well. I seem to be settled at urgent care for now, but that could change at anytime. There have been rumblings of pulling me back to work inpatient if we have another surge that fills the intensive care units.

oh, and it was announced today that the network is going to initiate "virtual nursing". This is a nightmare for bedside nurses. It will serve to allow the administration to increase the nurse/patient ratio, so the bedside nurses will be spread even thinner. It is not good. healthcare is struggling.