We are waiting for the Lake Sumter office to open but we want to make sure that the MD we choose has admitting privileges to Munroe and/or Ocala Regional as they are top rated surgical centers. We've found out that not all MDs have admitting privileges to the aforementioned.

Don't hold your breath. Why would they want privileges at a hospital that is 30+ minutes away? They would potentially have to travel 1+ hours per day just to make rounds on a single patient. Not very cost effective... Besides, if you need surgery, they will refer you to a surgeon. Most of the VHS docs are internists or geriatrics. Don't think that there is a surgeon among them.

Recently joined The Villages Health system; my doctor is in the Pinellas Center. Very positive experience!

Agree overall ... only difference is we see Dr. Betts

My wife and I are looking for a recommended DR in the Pinellas Center who is taking new patients. Any suggestions?

Currently there appears to be only 4 doctors available for new patients at Pinellas; Helene Aisenstat, MD, Robert Aisenstat, MD, Mariel Gonzalez, MD and Tomas Perez, MD. I've heard some good about the Aisenstats, but the other two are fairly new and may be too soon for any recommendations or comments.

Dr. Clifford
 

Any reviews of Dr. Clifford??

Dr Clifford is very good. Both DW and I are patients of his. However, his patient load is full.

How about Dr. Steven Long at Colony? Any reviews or experience with him?

What's the big announcement today?

If you ever post about a problem in the future, how would you feel if someone characterized it as, "too much whining."

I believe the plan is to assign the healthier patients to see a physician's assistant. How PAs would be used in the system was not disclosed and some people are only just learning about it now. The ballyhoo was about getting the best doctors from all over the country. And that's why so many people rushed to join up. If you have multiple serious health issues you will see a doctor, as you should. But if you are relatively healthy, you are not going to see Dr. welby. You are going to see Dr. Welby's assistant.

That, in my opinion, is how they will deal with the "huge overhead". A physician's assistant should be able handle at least a couple thousand patients and will recieve a lot less money than a doctor. And if anyone complains about being in the care of a PA, they will say, "instead of complaining, you should be happy that you don't have any serious health issues."

The state of one's health does not in my experience appear to be a criteria in determining if you see a doctor or you see a PA, at least in most cases.

I've been a patient of the Villages Health Centers since the beginning and I have multi-health issues, and my primary physician is now a center's medical director . If I ask for an appointment with my doctor, I can get an appointment with my doctor. If I ask for an appointment with one of her PA's I can get an appointment with that PA. What I usually do, as well as my wife, is take an appointment with whichever provider had an opening closest to when I want an appointment, and I'm happy with that arrangement.

Overall, I've had more appointments with a PA than with a doctor, but that's because my appointments are based on who is available when I want my appointment and not, with rare exception, which provider they think I should see. I hope this clears some of the misconceptions about patient assignment that may be out there!

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Skyguy79, I'm not saying that the above is going to be a hard-and-fast rule in all cases. No doubt there will be variations of it, depending on the doctor and depending on what patients ask for or demand. But the PAs are there for a reason and I believe it is to take some of the workload off of the doctors. This way they can handle many more patients than what was stated in the beginning. And this is part of the secret of how they will make it work financially.

A lot of people will be shy to ask for or demand a doctor if they think they might not need one. Some may think it looks like a rejection of the PA. And if they do ask for a doctor, they will probably get less time than if they see a PA. So the choice will likely be between getting a more knowledgeable person (a doctor) and getting "the bums rush" or getting more time but with a less knowledgeable person (a PA).

Whenever we have called for an appointment, we've been asked what was wrong. When we clearly needed the experience of an MD, that's what we got. In a couple of cases, the problem was straightforward and after a quick evaluation, the PA-C or ARNP prescribed antibiotics and sent us on our way. On a couple of other occasions, we were offered a choice of an PA-C/ARNP today or the doc in a couple of days.

I've found their PA-Cs and ARNPs to be well trained and knowledgeable. They often deal with a narrower group of illnesses than an MD, but that doesn't make them less capable.

Part of the problem is what I call "The Cabinet Syndrome." If FEMA isn't on scene 20 minutes after a tornado, they should be! If I call for a doctor, he or she should be waiting for me. If I call 911, the police car should be parked down the block waiting for my call. TV has us all believing that everything can be fixed in 60 minutes or less.

If you feel the need for instant care by a doctor, you probably need to invest in a concierge doc (think $20-30K per year per person) or move next to a huge medical center (think Mayo or Johns Hopkins) where there will be an army of residents waiting for you to walk thru the door.

Is the Village Health System perfect. No. But then again, it has been up and running for less than 18 months. On the whole, it's working well. I think it will continue to improve over time.