Switching from a Pediatrician to a Family Dr?

[ttfn3]

For all the parents that have made the "switch" from a pediatrician to a adult/family doctor for their children - what age did you make the switch?

I've become frustrated with my son's pediatricians office. They have been swamped since late this summer, and it's been very difficult to communicate with the office - plus the waits to see a doctor or nurse are extremely long. I'm really thinking of making the switch - he's now 13 years old.

I guess I'm looking for some reassurance. For those that have made the switch, have you been happy?

Thanks for your insight!

 

[clarabelle]

I am biased -I am married to a Family Doctor and my kids have always seen family doctors.
If he is healthy -I say go for it. (especially if you have a FP you like already) If he has a complicated medical history I would stick with a ped.

 

[mrsv98]

We have always had a family doc and I really like it. He sees all of us and I think it gives him a good overall picture of DD and her health history. Now, she is not a special needs kid, no particular health issues so that may make a difference. I do like the fact that she can continue to see him as long as she likes and doesn't have to change when she turns 18.

If you can find a good Family Doc you like, go for it!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I switched my oldest dd when she was almost 18 along with my 13yodd. (we moved and had to find new docs)

However it just did not work out with the 13yo and I found her a ped.

The key is finding a good doctor no matter what title they are under. Most of the good docs here are not accepting new patients and that is why I switched.

The 18yodd's doc is more of a "send her to the specialist" which is fine for her. Plus she is in college and goes to the student health center there.

My girls had medical issues so that is why we hung onto our peds. Oldest dd has a repaired heart defect and youngest was on growth hormone for 5yrs.

 

[RitaE]

I switched both of my older kids once they got to around 13/14 years old.

My oldest son asked if he could switch to a male Doctor after a yearly exam. I wanted him to be comfortable, so that is why I switched him. With the 2nd I figured Jr. High was a pretty good cut-off point to make that transition, so I switched him too.

 

[RUDisney]

My dr won't accept patients until they are 18. I love her as a dr, she is very thorough and not afraid to make referrals if something is beyond her. My last dr didn't share that quality.

So, because my kids see their ped so infrequently, we'll continue to use him until they are 18 and can switch to my dr.

 

[hoosll]

I switched from a pediatrician to GP when my daughter was 2 years old and had been treated with antibiotics for 18 months for ear infections. She was not talking and the pediatrician refused to send us to an ear, nose and throat specialist.

The GP immediately sent us to ENT who put tubes in her ears, she had hearing damage which contributed to her speech problems and later to learning disabilities.

Three years later, a speech therapy evaluation sent us back to a cranial specialist who found she had a birth defect of the palate that had probably started all of her problems.

I'm the daughter of a doctor and had a hard time questioning my pediatrician and being forceful when I felt I felt I needed a specialist. With health insurance the way it is, you are dependent on getting a referral many times ...

With my second child, I went directly to the GP, he never saw a pediatrician. I felt that the pediatrician tended to lump kids and illnesses together, your child was the 5th ear infection of the day, blah, blah blah. With the GP seeing so many different conditions and ages from 0-100, he took the time to problem solve all the symptoms. For my son, he followed the symptoms and diagnosed a duodenal ulcer at age 2 - the youngest ever seen at the UVa hospital at that time ...

Bottom line: Find the doctor who sees your child as an individual and will listen to you the parent, not brush off your concerns ... maybe that's your pediatrician or some other doctor! It was hard for me to learn that doctors are not perfect, but I could find one who I had confidence in.

 

[SeaSpray]

My DSs have had the same pediatrician since we moved to MA 12 1/2 years ago, however just this summer DS18 decided that he wanted to make the switch to the same doctor that DH and I see. (When they each turned 18 I let them know that they could now switch to a different doctor). DS21 is choosing to stay with his current doctor (the pediatrician) until... I think it's age 23 or 24... whatever the age is that pediatricians no longer see their patients. Both of these doctors are great, and we've never had problems making appointments whether for sick visits or yearly physicals.

I think that our doctor only accepts patients 18 and older. But if your doctor accepts patients under 18, then I'd say that now might be a good time to make the switch.

P.S. Have you asked your DS how he feels about it?

 

[jen0610]

We switched over when DS was 8 and DD was 5 1/2. The dr we liked was no longer with the peds office and didn't like any of the other dr's. I called the family dr DH and I went to and all the ped office had to do was send over the kids files and they were set up as his paitents.

 

[DawnCt1]

We switched from the practice when they went off to college however, prior to that, our peds had retired.

 

[minniebeth]

My DS14 really wants to switch from our pediatrician to our family dr. who is wonderful. The only reason we have NOT done it is that we still want the ability to treat him at our Children's Hospital which is awesome and that our regular family dr. does not have a relationship with Chilren's. Of course, if there were a major problem, he could be treated there, just makes it more difficult. Also, our pediatrician's office offers all the flu vaccine clinics, sports physical clinics, etc. that our family physician does not. It kind of stinks, they are in that in between stage but not fully accomodated with either option. Also, it is much easier to get a "sick" appointment with our pediatrician than it is with our family dr. office.
I would say that if it works for your family, this is a good time to switch like others have said. Just do your research as to what services are and are not available to you with each practice.

 

[Disnydad]

Son was 17, daughter was 16 at the switch.

 

[TaraPA]

One son was seen by a family doc from birth, the other switched from a ped to a family doc at age 3. Whatever feels comfortable & right for you & your kids is the answer to your question. I love that our whole family is seen by the same practice, and they're only 2 miles from our house, that was a great benefit for me. The closest ped office is about 15 miles away & I liked the closeness of the family practice. Unless your child has a significant medical history or ongoing issue that your ped is treating specifically, I would say try the family doc! You can always switch back to the ped if you feel it isn't working out.

 

[Namsupak]

I think it boils down to where you feel comfortable. We take our child to a pediatrician. I am a physician as well but I felt that our child would be in better hands with a peditrician. Sure I could treat common problems and give my own shots at home but since I am not a pediatrcian I am not up to date on the new stuff for kids. So we chose a pediatrician I had known when I was training. If you have a family doctor you are comfortable with already then I would say go to them, some family practitioners do not have many young patients though so that is the only thing I would ask your family doctor. I have seen many families make the switch in both directions and the most successful people are those that had some sort of comfort level with the physician. It really is a relationship so if you don't feel good about your doctor or your child's doctor then switch.

 

[AshleyW]

My pediatrician is willing to see patients through college. I loved my pediatrician, so I stuck with him til last year - I was 21. I'm still in college, but decided to switch because it was getting really awkward when I'd see kids I went to high school with in the waiting room ... and they had their babies with them.

 

[JessicaR]

I asked my son that question recently and he didn't want to switch yet. He is 16. I was happy actually because he has asthma and allergies. I will be very sad when its time to leave that practice.

Did you ask your son? If you are happy where you are he would likely be happy too. Dealing with frustrations is never fun.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

My kids have always gone to a GP. We have never had a pediatrician. They have had a specialist for all of their surgery.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My daughters always have gone to a family doctor b/c my DH's former employee medical center accepted infants. With his new employer they switched to another family doctor on our plan.

My son began with a family doctor (whom I adored), but with the job change he had to switch to a pediatrician at 4 months of age. And it sucked b/c I had VERY little choice b/c most pedi's wont' take infants that old.

He is still with the pediatrician and I can't wait until he can switch to our family doc. She's very nice and very knowledgable, but I do not like treating childhood like a clinical disease. She's very thorough--but we were on a slow vaccine schedule and she made me catch my son up--which I did not care for.


With our family doctors--they NEVER hesitated to refer to specialists as needed. They didn't discourage extended breast feeding. It is just so very different.

We've been very happy. Around here, the age varies at when Family docs will accept children. The ages vary from 4-6 yrs of age.

 

[clarabelle]

Many here see infants and up

 

[RUDisney]

My daughters always have gone to a family doctor b/c my DH's former employee medical center accepted infants. With his new employer they switched to another family doctor on our plan.

My son began with a family doctor (whom I adored), but with the job change he had to switch to a pediatrician at 4 months of age. And it sucked b/c I had VERY little choice b/c most pedi's wont' take infants that old.

He is still with the pediatrician and I can't wait until he can switch to our family doc. She's very nice and very knowledgable, but I do not like treating childhood like a clinical disease. She's very thorough--but we were on a slow vaccine schedule and she made me catch my son up--which I did not care for.


With our family doctors--they NEVER hesitated to refer to specialists as needed. They didn't discourage extended breast feeding. It is just so very different.

We've been very happy. Around here, the age varies at when Family docs will accept children. The ages vary from 4-6 yrs of age.

Don't you just love that? When we adopted our kids, we had a hard time finding a pediatrician for them even when we called a dr who was adopting from the same place at the same time. It took me asking the receptionist how she would recommend us finding a ped if they just accept infants. We didn't know our kids until they were 5 and 6.

That changed everything. Suddenly, he'd accept us as patients.

Since then, we've become friends with him and he and his DS and my DH and DS golf together a few times each summer.

What happens, though, when you find a real crackpot for a ped? You have no option but to find a GP to take them? I agree with the PP who said that ped's stay current on childhood issues unlike a GP. My Mom wound up switching my Dsis when she was several months old to a GP because she had no options other than to remain with the lousy ped whom she selected from the BC/BS book. How can you really know that you'll be happy with a ped when you don't know anything about them going into the relationship?

Sorry for going OT, OP. I'm off my soapbox now.