[donfey]

Originally Posted by schwarz

Last time I saw my doctor at United Healthcare of the Villages I was told that I would be seeing his PA for my next six month visit, and perhaps for other future visits. This was disappointing as my understanding when I joined was that I would always see a doctor. I am sure that the PA is nice and communicating with my doctor but she is NOT a doctor.
Has anyone else experienced this yet? I was basically told that since I am healthy, he could spend more time with other less healthy patients.

Our primary care MD at The Villages Health has an EXCELLENT PA assisting him. She is very personable and we feel confident that the care we receive is top notch. Having a competent PA allows both of them to spend more time with patients. We never feel rushed - a definite plus. I wouldn't worry.

[Gunny2403]

I haven’t seen my Dermatologist for 4 years. The PA is awesome and I prefer to see her.

[airstreamingypsy]

My "doctor" is a PA. I don't have a doctor.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Like some who have posted, I have no problem being seen by a P.A. I DO have a problem paying Doctor prices for P.A. service.

That said, I recognize that America has a doctor shortage particularly in non-specialist areas, so I believe that seeing a P.A. instead of a doctor will be more and more frequent.

I had a total hip replacement four months ago. The hospital and the doctors and physical therapists combined billed around $100,000. I have Medicare backed up with Blue Cross. The two combined paid about ten cents on the dollar and didn’t allow most of those charges to be passed on to me. I’ve been personally billed, I think, $233. My surgeon was paid about $2,500, and out of that he has to pay his staff and pay for his office building. The physical therapists got about $35 from insurance for each intensive two hour session and I paid nothing. They could probably make more money giving massages or manicures. I don’t really see how doctors and hospitals stay in business given what they are paid by insurance. I do understand why it’s a nurse who generally takes my blood pressure and goes through my meds and medical history and all, which the doctor then looks at on an iPad. I’m glad that so much of medical history-taking is now done with the aid of computer programs that advise what questions to ask. This lets doctors who ranked low in their graduating class discover problems that used to be noticed only by the best diagnosticians. It lets nurses and PAs do much the same while keeping down health care costs.

[OhioBuckeye]

Just so somebody doesn’t remind me that I live in Texas, I know that & yes it’s the same way here in Texas. I’m on heart medicine & if I didn’t see my Dr. for 6 months they ask me to come in to the office so they can collect money from my Ins. Co. but a lot of the time I see a PA.

[mrlee]

I won't mention who my doctor is. But I was always seeing a PA on my visits.
After a couple of years I asked if the Doctor had retired. I was told no, but if I wanted to see him all I had to do was request to do so. I have had all of my visit scheduled with him with no problem. By the way he is a great doctor and I am glad he shares the results of my testing with me.

[Arlington2]

I see my primary MD once a year and his PA in between at The Villages Health. Since I am in pretty good health it is actually a waste of the MD's time with his visits. My blood test results are available to me before my visit so I have a preview of any potential problems. The PA asks the same questions as the MD. I very much like my MD so an annual social visit is nice, but personally I don't need the hand holding of an MD. I also like the PA's I have seen. They are very competent. If I had medical issues that required semi-annual changes in meds I might have a different view.

[Oldragbagger]

Originally Posted by schwarz

Last time I saw my doctor at United Healthcare of the Villages I was told that I would be seeing his PA for my next six month visit, and perhaps for other future visits. This was disappointing as my understanding when I joined was that I would always see a doctor. I am sure that the PA is nice and communicating with my doctor but she is NOT a doctor.
Has anyone else experienced this yet? I was basically told that since I am healthy, he could spend more time with other less healthy patients.

I just saw the Nurse practitioner at Pinellas this week and she was WONDERFUL. As a matter of fact I commented to the girl at checkout that I wouldn’t mind if she were my primary. They do communicate with the doctors and I am sure would quickly obtain help if you needed something that was beyond their scope.

[Atamasco]

Originally Posted by DAVES

Re: lab results
Your doctor may need to fill out some form. You can set up an account with the lab to see YOUR, test results.
Test results. Stuff like blood tests the report says your count was ....... normal range is ........... If, outside of normal it will clearly show that. Many tests before changing meds etc, they will watch it

I go to Quest for my lab work; they email the same results that they send to my doctor. I just ask them to do it and they do.

[Notsocrates]

Originally Posted by schwarz

Last time I saw my doctor at United Healthcare of the Villages I was told that I would be seeing his PA for my next six month visit, and perhaps for other future visits. This was disappointing as my understanding when I joined was that I would always see a doctor. I am sure that the PA is nice and communicating with my doctor but she is NOT a doctor.
Has anyone else experienced this yet? I was basically told that since I am healthy, he could spend more time with other less healthy patients.

The care you get from a PA should be the same as you would have from an MD. If
the care was inferior you would be justified to complain. PAs are trained in the same
medicine and practice in collaboration with MDs. I have often read that
patients are happier seeing PAs because they don't rush visits and take time to answer questions.

[mkjelenbaas]

Originally Posted by schwarz

Last time I saw my doctor at United Healthcare of the Villages I was told that I would be seeing his PA for my next six month visit, and perhaps for other future visits. This was disappointing as my understanding when I joined was that I would always see a doctor. I am sure that the PA is nice and communicating with my doctor but she is NOT a doctor.
Has anyone else experienced this yet? I was basically told that since I am healthy, he could spend more time with other less healthy patients.

You have a decision to make and I would not rely on input from this type of forum!

[thevillages2013]

Originally Posted by schwarz

Last time I saw my doctor at United Healthcare of the Villages I was told that I would be seeing his PA for my next six month visit, and perhaps for other future visits. This was disappointing as my understanding when I joined was that I would always see a doctor. I am sure that the PA is nice and communicating with my doctor but she is NOT a doctor.
Has anyone else experienced this yet? I was basically told that since I am healthy, he could spend more time with other less healthy patients.

I drink to your health

[thevillages2013]

Originally Posted by mkjelenbaas

You have a decision to make and I would not rely on input from this type of forum!

Easy now. Don’t be so hasty there are a few doctors that are regulars on here. SOME of them actually sound intelligent

[mlmarr]

be happy you're getting treatment .. A PA has plenty of education to handle this position, with all patients being reviews by your PCP

[markusmom]

My son is a doctor. The first two years of medical school is lecture and book work, the next two years are rotations, working with different specialists getting hands on experience participating in surgeries, observing and helping with the diagnosis of an illness or disease, stitching a wound, recognizing symptoms and learning how to treat them. Then on to at least 3 years of specialized training in their field. Someone with a PA degree completes the first two years of medical school, lectures and bookwork. They gain most of their experience while working in the doctor's office. As for "having time" to spend with the patient, that is a characteristic of the person not the degree.