Talk of The Villages Florida - Medical care in the Villages

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- Medical and Health Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/medical-health-discussion-94/)

- - Medical care in the Villages (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/medical-health-discussion-94/medical-care-villages-353248/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by villagetinker (Post 2373481)

Sorry for your recent experiences, I would suggest going to Alliant Dermatology, we have used Dr. Casper for over 10 years and very satisfied with his care. I have had items removed, frozen or otherwise treated and no negative outcomes. They have several offices in TV, I think he is primarily in the office on 466. I was seen on an "emergency" basis at one of the other offices and that was an excellent visit also.

Agree on Alliant!!

There are good doctors here, keep looking.

Keep going to Michigan. Fl healthcare is sketchy at best. University of Florida in Gainesville is a good second choice (and not such a long commute). My husband and I received good care there, but we tried to schedule as much as we could when we'd have our annual visit back to Michigan.

It has taken us a while to find a good PCP as well as good specialists. You have to be picky, willing to change providers if unhappy, & willing to drive a bit if you can't find what you need nearby. We are very happy with our current doctors, but dealing with office staff has often been a miserable experience. No matter how pleasant & well-intentioned the employees seem, an unfortunately large percentage of our referrals for tests or other specialists have been screwed up, requiring hours of our time to resolve & sometimes delaying treatment for weeks or months. Not sure if it is employee turnover/lack of training, or if the system is becoming too complex for them to navigate. Happened with both private insurance & Medicare. Have you snowbirds traveling to other states for care noted the same problems in last few years?

Medical education in our country is vastly degraded(so people don't flunk out) and consequently patient care has suffered not only from lesser quality people becoming physicians but also from government intervention in the medical process.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ofcred (Post 2373480)

Hi Neighbors,
... I'm sure others will say they have had good experiences but I just wanted to vent and perhaps let others know that this is not the norm when having skin exam.

I started getting annual skin cancer screenings about 20 years ago in California, and since have been to at least 5 different dermatologists. In the beginning, the screening consisted of a cursory look at arms, legs and face -- the parts that get most sun exposure. I thought it was odd that I was never asked to remove any clothing (I was wearing shorts and t-shirt), so I checked online what a skin cancer screening SHOULD consist of. I found sites that described what you did with "the every-square-inch inspection with a magnifying glass", but none of the dermatologists I've ever been to have done anything close to that. I've always accepted the cursory look over as the 'norm' and never questioned it further, until now. So what is the 'norm', really -- that which SHOULD be done, or that which IS done?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ofcred (Post 2373480)

Hi Neighbors,
I moved here 2 yrs ago and immediately heard about the medial care. Because of all that I heard I continued to fly back to Michigan for any continuing issues I may have had. This wears thin after awhile and so I found some Dr's here. Some have been good and some just ok.
I felt compelled to write this because of a recent incident I had with Premier Medical associates in Lady Lake . I decided to try a dermotologist for my annual skin exam.
Now let me preface this with a little back ground of my experience from my MI exam. I had to lay on a table. The PA used a hand held magnifying glass and went over every inch of my body. Anything she questioned she had a larger magnifying glass with a light and went over it again. If it was covered with skin it got checked, every crack and crevice ie: between my toes, fingers the bottom of my feet.
This exam started with the questions of why I was there. I explanined that I have had breast cancer in the past and that my mom and aunt had skin cancer. I'm also very fair and covered in freckles.
I was never asked to remove any under garments. The PA had me stand next to the wall. I would be generous if I said this exam took 5 minutes.
My gown opened in the back. The PA did a quick scan of my back by eyeball, quickly felt up and down my arms. She never looked at my chest, upper thighs, my feet or hands/fingers. I told her I had eczema in my ears which she never looked at. She did a quick scan of one side of my head and said I had psoriasis. That was the extent of the exam.
I was dumbfounded that being in a state known for its abundance of sunshine (which I'm sure has a large amount of skin cancer) could be so cavalier about something that could be so deadly.
I'm sure others will say they have had good experiences but I just wanted to vent and perhaps let others know that this is not the norm when having skin exam.

I practiced medicine for >40 years.
After an initial visit to Premier, I decided never to return.
And would advise everyone to go elsewhere.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ofcred (Post 2373480)

Back in Texas, my annual physical with my primary doctor INCLUDED a skin cancer scan, as well as prostate exam, and a stress-test every five years. Here, they send you to a specialist for everything -- and then barely test anything. The way they do it here, it would save everybody a lot of time and money if we just dropped into Quest once a year for a blood draw and scheduled our own specialists. My last "stress test" was nothing more than an ultrasound -- and cost my insurance twice what it used to cost for an EKG while walking on a treadmill in my GP's office. What a racket!

The worst is talking to some stupid TV in the waiting room (while a handful of drones with nothing else to do look on), every time you check-in to see some glorified nurse instead of your doctor -- who's always "out of the office" for your appointment that took you month to schedule.

No... the worst was the 45min ambulance ride to HCA Ocala for my wife's stroke last Spring, where they waited for me to arrive and badger my way past the emergency room drone, in order to ask me if I thought they should give her a clot buster. It's a wonder she survived relatively unharmed. That pack of fools certainly had nothing to do with it, and to this day, they've never explained what caused it.

I've seen the English "National Health" system up close a personal, and Florida's is not much better. At least in London, we were eventually able to transfer my employee to a real hospital before the NHS hospital managed to kill her. What's the closet real hospital to The Villages? Mayo in Jacksonville?

Same, but I had a different Doctor referred to Dr. Poch from Dr. Guru at Roswell cancer hospital in Buffalo NY. with bladder tumors (Cancer) which was removed. Then like you had 3-month scope nothing, then 9-month checkup scope showed more tumors grew back. two weeks later yesterday I had surgery. Dr. Poch at Moffit in Tampa removed 10 tumors, so I'm home the same day. I wish you well and no more occurrences, get checked at least every 3 months. Good luck

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bkosloski (Post 2373625)

If you don’t mind sharing, who is your family doctor?

Dr Ana Karovska vuchidolov

Quote:

Originally Posted by villagetinker (Post 2373481)

Hi Villagetinker, thanks for the info. I know they're not all bad, it's just finding which ones are good

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrLonzo (Post 2373825)

Hi, I've spoken to several people who have indicated there skin checks consisted of the extensive checks that I described. I spoke to one person who goes to a Dr in Ocala who also does the extensive check. A couple of people who responded included the names of the places they have gone that sounds like they do the more intense check

We see Dr Ramirez at Advanced Dermatology. Yearly we remove all clothing put on a gown and he does a 100% inspection of our skin.

Would settle for nothing less.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ofcred (Post 2373480)

I have used Dr. Casper for 14 years for annual dermatology appointments. Full hands on with the magnifying glasses etc. I use SIMED in Lady Lake for primary care.

A friend of mine, up in Maryland, has been my Dermatologist for years.

He does a comprehensive skin check every time I go in and has found 2 (low grade) melanomas and several pre-cancerous lesions.

Several years ago, they joined a large group (Advanced Dermatology) with offices in FL (he works part time in MD and part time in Naples...

They have 3-4 offices in and around The Villages.

When I told him about our home in TV, he said not to worry, they have very competent Drs there and he was confident that they would take good care of me...

Advanced Dermatology | Healthy & Attractive Skin