I moved to Brattleboro in 2010 am am required by my health insurance to have a PCP (primary care physician). The first physician I found to be my PCP retired. The second just told me she is closing her practice. So for the 3rd time in 4 years I am looking for a PCP.
I have a challenging health condition that cannot go untreated. I am looking for suggestions for an MD or NP. I prefer a woman, and I will not go to Brattleboro Primary Care. Any ideas?
similar scenario
I have experienced a similar pattern over the past few years, myself, and I know others have as well. I’m sad to hear another doctor is closing a practice. My belief is it has a lot to do with the “reform” going on. I truly am glad there are folks who want to improve access to health care. I am concerned that they are not really listening to what patients want and need, though, and really, what they are focusing on is cutting costs regardless of whether it improves care, then inventing rationales. In the meantime, providers are not able to practice in a manner they consider true care and are bureaucratized to death. The hospital buying out so many practices has a place in all this, too.
Your immediate problem is not one for which I have much of a good answer. My new doctor is probably going to be okay, but she had to go out on leave a few months after starting, and I hope she will be back as planned. I’m sure she is facing the same stresses in her managed practice, though, as everyone else.
I would dearly love to talk with any doctor, totally confidentially, off the record, to find out what their true thoughts and feelings are about the realities of health care these days and then try to formulate some action to help bring about truly patient — and provider — centered change that focuses on quality and access. Currently the “solutions” are providing neither. Any providers who want to contact me, please message me, and I will give you a confidential phone number to call. I will consider all calls extremely confidential (that is, the old meaning — between you and me, and no one else unless you give me written permission). If I get a lot of similar comments, I may generalize a finding, but only after I have gotten a substantial number (at least 10). If you are retired, please, especially, consider helping to articulate the realities. Too much is happening too fast without input from the “real” stakeholders — every day people and front line providers.
Good luck
I gave up the hunt after 2 years. It’s been a parade of people I won’t go to (like BPC) or people who won’t take new patients and/or Medicare.
After a very unfortunate and
After a very unfortunate and frustrating situation with a new primary care doctor at BMH- who not only misdiagnosed a life threatening illness but prescribed medications that I never should have been taking due to that illness- I went to Cheshire Medical/Dartmouth Hitchcock in Keene and got a new primary care doctor. I now receive all my medical care there with the exception of orthopedic surgery and physical therapy which I get from the very excellent practitioners in those particular departments at BMH.
It’s often a pain to have to go to Keene but across the board, the care I have received there (and I have multiple, serious diseases and medical issues) has been exemplary, compassionate and accurate.
I'm considering the same
Glad to hear this. I’ve been thinking of trying the same thing. Wouldn’t it be great if some enterprising practitioners opened a practice in the old Walmart plaza? That would make Vermont and BMH take note! We wouldn’t have to travel any farther, but we would be under a different set of operating conditions. Probably take VT at least a couple of years to change the rules before they outlawed out of state care. Not that I’m cynical or anything.
With the exception of lab
With the exception of lab work, for the past few years my medical care is handled either at Cheshire Medical or Bay State (Greenfield/Springfield).
BMH still has to learn that bigger buildings don’t necesarrily lead to better care or happier/healthier patients. Just look to Grace Cottage – tough to beat it!
NP
I’ve had good experiences with NPs @ Biologic Health Care. Pros:
+Receptive to my health concerns
+Proactive with their care
+Friendly.
+Male and female NP on staff
+Seem to accept most health insurance
Cons:
-No free parking
-Currently don’t have the prescription endorsement on their license. I know they’re working on getting that, but not sure when that will happen. You can still get antibiotics and such, but would need another doctor for anything that’s schedule II, III, or IV.
The practitioners are great
The practitioners are great there but, unfortunately not really appropriate for anyone with a serious or debilitating illness that needs specialized care.
Specialist for specialized care
For specialized care, wouldn’t it be possible to see a specialist? A PCP can help with referrals so insurance will cover it. If you need chronic pain management these days, many general practitioners will refer you to a pain management clinic, even if they have full prescribing privileges. They just don’t want to jeopardize their license.
If they aren't affiliated
If they aren’t affiliated with a hospital I’m not sure they would be able to give referrals to specialist affiliated with a particular facility. My primary care physician at Cheshire Medical can authorize medical tests and prescribe medications; order labs and tests if needed. I have 2 specialized doctors there for individual illnesses but also see my PCP for non specialized care. Because everyone is in the same system it’s much easier to get coordinated care; the individual doctors are in touch with each other and all my various medical needs/issues are coordinated. If you are someone who just has “regular” medical issues a single PCP is probably fine.
Regardless of your health concerns it’s more and more difficult to find good doctors who are accepting new patients or Medicare.
Biologic is great if 15
Biologic is great if 15 minute appointments work for you.
Like a Mill
Wouldn’t expect a naturopathic clinic to be like a mill, would you?
Grace Cottage is accepting new patients
Grace Cottage Family Health is accepting new patients. Dr. Ewa Arnold’s practice focuses on family practice and women’s health. Dr. Arnold is currently on maternity leave, but returns to the office in early May. Physician Assistant Natalie Harding is also accepting new patients. Just call 365-4331 to schedule an appointment. Grace Cottage Hospital is only 20 minutes from Brattleboro in Townshend, VT. We have an on-site laboratory and a retail pharmacy right across the street. Please check out our website for more info: http://gracecottage.org/
I have really liked everyone
I have really liked everyone at Brattleboro Internal Medicine.
Brattleboro Internal Medicine
My primary care physician at Brattleboro Internal Medicine recently retired, leaving only one physician on the staff along with several PA’s. Several retired physicians are listed on the staff, but they have few, if any patients. I had to elect a PA to keep my medications renewed, but I am actively looking for a new primary care physician also.
Cheshire Medical/ Dartmouth
Cheshire Medical/ Dartmouth Hitchcock primary care/family medicine teams are accepting new patients. I have had excellent care from all or the doctors I have seen there as well as wonderful PAs and nursing staff. 25 minutes from my house on Oak St to the hospital in Keene – even with traffic. Worth the travel.
We deserve better than BMH and BPC for what it's worth..
Like Kalden, I am very lucky to have a PCP at Cheshire Medical but last December when I tried finding a new PCP for my husband, who has a variety of chronic conditions, I was told that because of the mandated insurance coverage, a larger than normal number of people were also needing to find a PCP and they quickly became overwhelmed with new patients. Because of that, they will no longer accept people from out of state. They did agree to assign my husband to my PCP but only because they have a policy that allows a spouse admission. This was great news for my husband as now all of his care givers are under one roof, including the many specialists, and the direct link they have with Dartmouth is a true life saver.
Brattleboro Primary Care has been fraught with problems for what seems a very long time. They nearly killed my husband with their unique combination of neglect and recklessness, and when I went to pick up his medical records for the transfer to Keene (which I did as all too often requested sharing that had been essential to his well-being would be overlooked) I received, and still have, an entire medical record of another individual. I never even noticed until I read some of the pages and saw therapy notes concerning suicide among other things. I don’t know whether I should try to locate this person or not.. I’m sure s/he’d find it an embarassment to say the least; yet somehow I feel they need to be held accountable.
I would hope that one of the walk-in centers would agree to “fill-in” as a PCP until a more permanent solution is found, given medication needs by Fisherman. I’m somewhat certain that one can change a PCP under an insurance plan at any time. Otherwise, perhaps flooding the so named “emergency room” at BMH with requests for refills would work. I know they love treating just about anything in those rooms because they are paid handsomely for any patient who asks, whether an emergency or not. I wish they’d invest that glut of income into building up a better network of providers for those of us who are left in limbo (some for years) in trying to find a good PCP in this town, although I wouldn’t now trade my connection to Cheshire Medical Center for anything else, ever. They know what they’re doing and how to do it and the instantaneous records sharing with Dartmouth means that my husbands heart surgeon won’t be reading notes about suicide attempts and problems with alcohol that belong to someone else.
I would hope that you would,
I would hope that you would, indeed, contact the person whose medical records you currently have. That is a huge and disturbing violation of the hospital’s privacy and ethics policies. They should know that their records are apparently available to whomever asks. I would hope they would demand some answers as to how that happened. As I said before I have had a number of distressing situations occur in various departments at BMH including having a nurse who was about to start an IV infusion of chemo drugs ask me if I knew what my pre infusion medication was. Not something you want to hear when you’re having toxic drugs injected into your body.
I do have to say that Dr. McClarney in orthopedics and the entire physical therapy team are excellent and I would go to them again in a heartbeat. But, it is unfortunate that so much of their care seems to be sub standard and sometimes actually life endangering. It would have been great to have some of that money they spent on the hospital “enlargement” being spent on attracting more competent physicians. Luckily, Keene is just a short ride.
I feel incredibly grateful to have the compassionate and patient focused team of doctors and nurses that I have access to at Chesire.
P.A.'s
The PAs at the three medical offices listed below really are exceptional. All are good as M.D.s anywhere. All the PAs work well and closely with specialists MDs.
Enjoyable, friendly and accommodating office staff as well.
Putney Family Healthcare – BMH Physician Group (802) 387-5581
Brattleboro Internal Medicine – BMH Physician Group (802) 251-8787
Grace Cottage Hospital – Townshend, VT (802) 365-7357
PAs are great but if you're
PAs are great but if you’re dealing with numerous serious medical issues there are many things that they are not able to do – they can’t prescribe certain medications; they can’t give certain injectable medications, etc.
I work closely with the PAs affiliated with all of my doctors but I only see them when my appointment is for problems in between my visits with my doctors. But, I agree that good PAs are vital to a good relationship with any medical facility. It’s helpful, though if the on staff physicians are as skilled.