Quote:
Originally Posted by JBarracks
My wife and I signed up with Dr. Hawley at Colony care in late June (we just moved to the Villages). We had an appointment with Dr. Hawley for Oct 22. I thought this was rather odd to wait 3 months to see a Dr. for the first time. However, we stayed with the appointment because we could drive our golf cart to the Dr's office.
Today, we get a call that Dr. Hawley is unavailable on Oct 22, and the next available appointment is 8 Dec. Is this normal for TV care? And, is there a primary Dr. somewhere else in TV or the local area that one can get an appointment within 30 days?
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Getting an appointment with a primary care dr. as a new patient is getting tougher all over the country, due to the existing and growing shortage of primary care doctors. (This article explains a lot of it:
The health reform law’s biggest threat: 30,000 too few doctors - The Washington Post )
If I were you, I'd stick to the plan to see a dr. at Colony (maybe another one has openings sooner). Everyone I know is happy overall with their doctors and care there. It is a
feat to attract and hire the number of drs. they are getting, and
the salary subsidies they are getting to pay them well and still have time for each patient cannot be done by many practices (if any)....medicare and insurance reimbursement is low and shrinking compared to costs of practice.