Ugh - switching Dr.'s...help. Long.

letitbe3

Looking for some input on this please! I'm moving the middle of September, and thus switching dr.s. I spent my entire lunch break today on the phone with one place (first one I've called so far) and ended up quite frustrated and discouraged. The girl I spoke to (front desk) answered some general questions I had (repeating some of them, why I don't know - she sounded nervous. Maybe she was. Anyway..) and when I told her my plan, she said I would have to wait, come to the office with my records, and then a MW would review them, and call me if I was "accepted". WTF? When I told her I was uncomfortable making a move w/o being set up with a new physician, she replied with "well, that is just our policy." I assured her I could fax them over sooner, so they would have time to do that and get me set up with an appointment, to which she told me, it wouldn't matter, we'd still have to see the most current records. (Yeah, duh - I"ll bring those ones when I move). I asked if a MW or nurse could call me back to answer some of the questions in more depth, she said, well, I can take your info but can't guarantee it. I'm sorry, maybe you heard me wrong. What I'm telling you is that I'm pregnant, and I would like my insurance company to give your office money.

Ok, rant aside, this place (part of North County Health in San Diego/residing areas) seemed to get pretty good reviwes from what I read, so this seems surprising to me. She then said, if I was accepted, my first appointment would be with a coordinator (go over history, etc. I've already done), then they would schedule me w/ a MW as a new patient intake. I get that, but at the time of my move, I'll be due for another appointment, and don't want to waste another month waiting to see someone. Does this seem like standard procedure when switching doctors? I've seen new doctors many times (gen. practice, not OB) and never had to jump through so many hoops to be seen. And my plan is a blue cross PPO, so it's not like I need referrals like I would with an HMO. With my current office, I called, told them I was pregnant, and saw a dr. to do a dating u/s that same week. Am I just being hormonal or overly nit-picky? Any and all advice, suggestions or flames welcome! TIA!

LaurelBee

She was probably nervous bc she was not trained to handle new patient questions. I would call back another time to speak with someone else. If she's the only one, ask to speak with her boss. Not sure who that would be, but hopefully that person can be more helpful! GL, finding a new care provider is like finding a good job.

SanDimasMama

If you have a PPO, can't. You just drive over there and complete these appointments? Or do you need to switch groups?

If you need to switch groups/primary docs, I would wait until a few weeks before your move would give your HR department your new address and ask for your benefits to be moved over. If you don't have your new address get a mailbox, and explain you'll be "moving for a while" so this is your address. The change of address will trigger open enrollment so you can move to the new practice. I moved from OC to LA county and had my docs in LA county for the first 10 weeks of my pregnancy--DH wasn't there for my early ultrasounds but moving is tough and the earlier you establish yourself with an OB the better, in an emergency I would be covered in OC.

The new OB practice wants to make sure you have received all of the proper prenatal care because if you have not, you are a liability and they truly don't want your money. They also have to do their own medical history, again for liability reasons. I think if you call around most practices will say the same. 

letitbe3

SanDimasMama:

If you have a PPO, can't. You just drive over there and complete these appointments? Or do you need to switch groups?

If you need to switch groups/primary docs, I would wait until a few weeks before your move would give your HR department your new address and ask for your benefits to be moved over. If you don't have your new address get a mailbox, and explain you'll be "moving for a while" so this is your address. The change of address will trigger open enrollment so you can move to the new practice. I moved from OC to LA county and had my docs in LA county for the first 10 weeks of my pregnancy--DH wasn't there for my early ultrasounds but moving is tough and the earlier you establish yourself with an OB the better, in an emergency I would be covered in OC.

The new OB practice wants to make sure you have received all of the proper prenatal care because if you have not, you are a liability and they truly don't want your money. They also have to do their own medical history, again for liability reasons. I think if you call around most practices will say the same. 

I'm moving from Sacramento to San Diego (well, Oceanside) so it's a 8+ hour drive, or a plane ticket...

nycitygirl1

This does sound really annoying - sorry! I think OB practices tend to be pretty awful customer-service wise across the board for some reason. Maybe it's because they have so many patients?

At any rate, I would go with the place that has the highest ratings in terms of doctors/midwives - so if this is the "best" then I'd probably just suck it up even though the front office staff stinks. It sounds like this is just their policy and won't make any exceptions.

Is there any way you can see your current doctor right before you move so that you get that last appointment in on time?