Rully.

My Father taught each of us - "Remember...Doctors only practice medicine. So be careful who you let practice on you and be wary of what they intend to practice!"

Am also a child of the 60s. Married into a large enough family of Italian heritage who always [before seeking medical care for anything but the obvious] sought out the old, proven tonic or treatment that had been handed down for generations.

I am comfortable challenging them, although I never once questioned our two pivotal doctors in Ohio which we consulted for twenty years.

We saw a PCP here for a little over a year and he ordered a sonogram on my leg to be performed in his office and I had no symptoms, no pain. This was after having a test with electrodes performed by his office staff. I questioned the reason for it and the answer was the doctor wanted it done. They called twice to have me come in and I said no. We moved from him last year to a new PCP, and I like him well enough but he ordered a cardiac sonogram and wanted it performed in his office and I said I preferred to have it performed by Lake Imaging. And I did have it performed by Lake Imaging and the sonogram tech who had done them for over twenty years assured me almost immediately that my heart was fine. AND I am a little not sure if it was necessary.

I don't like being skeptical about a physicians opinion. I am not used to it. I felt my trust in both of my doctors in Cincinnati was warranted. They trained at a respected place and were used by many very savvy people. And their hospital associations were stellar.

Gracie - thank you for you honest answer, especially the part how you are skeptical of questioning, but still will do it. And I only singled you out because from what I have picked up from your posts and how you grew up I expected authority wasn't to be challenged. Again, thanks.

It's a really tough decision, as we age, about whether or not we should buy in to all the tests they suggest. Our physician wanted me to have the same sonogram on my leg as Gracie's. He said it was tight and shiny and my feet were cold (they weren't and aren't), and they could do a stent in my leg if the sonogram showed lack of circulation. I said no.

But then we went on a long plane trip, and my feet were swollen for a month afterword. First time ever, and we fly a lot, and I do all the on board exercises they advise you to do to keep up circulation.

So I went back to the doc. Now they will take bp in the leg and see what it says. I'm okay with that.

So who knows? We don't think our doctor over prescribes tests. But we're vigilant about watching for that. He does want an appointment every three months, but I have read that this is better than an annual physical because you are constantly monitored. So I'm okay with that too.

Patients listen to and trust not only the doctor, but the federal agency that pays him for what he orders, too.

The agency (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - CMS) knows how much they are paying all doctors and these charlatans who suck money that could be used to help more patients. CMS knew how much this creep has been milking out of Medicare, but he has connections.

"April 9 (Bloomberg) -- A doctor who treats a degenerative eye disease in seniors was paid $21 million by Medicare in 2012, twice the amount received by the next ophthalmologist on a list of 880,000 medical providers released by the government.

The data on the payments was given to the public for the first time today by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The list, a detailed account of how $77 billion in federal health-care funds were spent in 2012, showed a wide range in which some top earners were paid as much as 100 times the average for their respective fields….."

Top Medicare Doctor Paid $21 Million in 2012, Data Show - Bloomberg Business

People hate insurance companies for denying payment for claims or reducing claims, but the above is why they do it!

In your link it says that doctors at The Villages Health Clinics will be paid generous salaries so they won't have to rush. They can spend as much time as they need to help a patient. Where does the money come from to pay generous salaries? (And I believe at the time it was written, no one knew that there would be extensive use of Physician's Assistants.)

Also, no one knew that the clinics would end up serving mostly HMO patients. How does that figure into the equation? Are doctors getting generous salaries from an unknown source or are they getting money from Medicare and the HMO?

Anyway, If Medicare pays less and less for doctor-visits and procedures, and the HMO is not known to be generous with their payments, where are the generous salaries coming from?

I don't think you should suggest that The Villages Clinics have the solution to Florida's healthcare problems because the clinics represent an on-going experiment. The verdict isn't in yet.

If you question what the doctor orders, he/she will take it that you are questioning their competence. They don't like it and they will give you a quick/abrupt answer, at which time they will get up and walk to the exit. If you don't understand and you persist in questioning them, they will think of you as a trouble-maker. Many don't have time for questions and you would have to wrestle them to the ground as they run for the exit. When they start walking toward the door, that means the visit is over, period!!!

The only time it's different from what I described is when they have lots of time because they don't have enough patients. But in that case, I still don't think they welcome a lot of questions because it suggests you doubt their competence.

Prove it!

I don't know where you're getting this. I've never had a doctor like this. More blanket statements with no facts to back them up.

How in the world would you know that "the only time it's different... is when they have lots of time," yadda yadda. There is not one iota of fact behind any of these statements.

The whole post is over the top inflammatory.

I've never had a doctor who didn't like us asking questions, either. To the contrary, they like it because an informed and educated patient is more likely to do what they're supposed to do in the course of treatment or wellness maintenance.

But then, we've never told a doctor that all of his education/training in modern medicine is bunk and that veganism is the answer to all medical problems and is the fountain of youth, either. Not the way to have a productive conversation.

At this stage of my life, I DO NOT have to question my doctors. I know what I have and I know what tests must be done periodically. All this knowledge came from questioning my doctors and having them tell me. Of course I have checked many reliable medical websites for confirmation. If you don't trust your doctors, you have a choice, find another.

And went on and on and on and on and on.

Two ears and one mouth. Very old sage advice.

Without mentioning names, I actually did have a doctor here say to me: Are you going to listen to me or are you going to ask questions.