Opuscula Roadblocks To the market For new PCP

I AM LOOKING FOR A NEW PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN (PCP).

I need a PCP who can, and will, refer to to a specific specialist, one with whom I have experience.

I thought my current PCP could make the referral but he can’t/won’t.

It’s all about “capitation.”

I thought I asked and was told that “Yes, we refer to the specialist you want.”

It is a he said/she said situation and I’ll assume the blame for the situation. I didn’t ask the question in writing and I didn’t insist on a written response. I should know better.

The problem is “capitation.” No, not DEcapitation, although sometimes I think it should be. Capitation is when a doctor agrees to refer to only a limited number of specialists on an insurer’s Providers’ List. My carrier has hundreds of local doctors in all fields, but the PCP I selected can refer to tens — not hundreds — of doctors on the carrier’s Providers’ List. Capitation is the “norm” for most (all?) Medicare Advantage plans in my area. It's all about money.

To prevent a recurrence of the miscommunication, I put together a short note in memo form.

TO: Referral Manager or Office Manager From was my name and email. Does your practice refer to Doctor A? Yes [ ] No [ ] Does your practice refer to Doctor B? Yes [ ] No [ ] If your practice refers to Dr. A or Drs. A AND B
please contact me via email (and I gave my email for the second time).

I’ve been a paid writer — reporter, PR flack, and both commercial and mil-spec technical writer — for more than 50 years (my first reporting job was in 1967; you do the math).

 

Memo given to PCPs

 

I dropped off my memo at two potential PCP’s offices.

In both case, the person receiving the memo’s response was “What’ this?” (Apparently no one at either practice can comprehend simple English; days later and I still have no response.)

My reaction, which I barely kept to myself, was Read the text, dummy!

I don’t know how to make the request simpler.

I used simple words — English was long ago supplanted by Spanish as the primary language in my area, but neither Spanish nor Creole — which rapidly is gaining on Spanish — are my languages.

 

Dumb and Dumber

I walked into yet another office and announced I was looking for a new PCP.

"Are you a patient of ours?"

If I was a patient of this PCP, WHY would I be standing at the counter telling the clerk I was looking for a new PCP? Logically — logic: an unknown concept to these objectionable people — I would be contracting other PCPs, not one with whom I was unhappy.

Is "dumb" contagious? It seems epidemic among medical office clerks.

I DID encounter an intelligent woman at one PCP’s office who received the memo as an email. Sans additional explanation from the memo’s originator, yours truly, she understood the question and responded appropriately. Although her practice can only refer me to one of the two specialists I named — the more critical of the two — I probably will sign up with her office.

Now, if we could just DO something, ANYTHING about the way people drive here — fellow next to me made a left turn from the right-turn lane, right in front of my fliver. Caught it on camera.

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