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My primary care provider, who was also an HIV specialist, is unfortunately unable to provide care for me because she moved to a different job. The clinic I am going to is giving me some different options for care
- I can have a Nurse Practitioner or Physician's Assistant as my primary care provider who are experienced in treating HIV
-I can have an Infectious Disease Doctor who treats HIV, but would only provide HIV related care and would not be my primary care provider and I would also get a… read more
@A myHIVteam Member
I currently have an HIV specialist I see once a year and a primary care physician I visit only when necessary. It’s been hard to find an all-purpose doctor who can cover both areas. I also have a cardiologist since my heart procedure last December, and a nephrologist who’s been managing my care since I lost a kidney in 2010 due to the effects of HIV medications I’d been taking for 15 years before that. Good luck, especially with this administration and its effects on our healthcare. I have Medicare Part A only since I still work and get BCBS from my employer.
If those are your options try and obtain a PCP and Infectious disease doctor in the same hospital and or network so they can communicate.
I see my friend Brooke already posted above but I was going to suggest you do a search of reviews on the Doctors/Providers suggested to you. Personally, I am biased to NP's and also biased to having all services under one umbrella (if possibly) bc often less confusion & problems with things not being communicated between multiple doctors/providers (which is often a problem). There are a few websites which let you evaluate doctor's/providers as if like people do for restaurants and stores on Yelp! I would suggest you start there 1st (like Brooke posted Health Grades above) - there are also some other websites such as ZocDocs, Doximity, Vitals, and RateMDs, Lastly, look there is a higher standard for hospitals which include Press-Ganey scores. Ultimately, the choice is yours but if you were happy with your care (Primary & ID) under one provider/clinic - Why change? If not broken, don't fix it. Same clinic, same pharmacy (possibly) - same system and they have a history for you over some yrs. If you go to a new doctor/provider they kinda gotta start all over again and do an exam/assessment and history all over again - which was already done and in the system at the clinic you were already going to. Lastly, one issue you may want to check - does the new doctor/provider accept your insurance? Bc if not, you could be in for a world of trouble - unexpectant large bills. So, find that out as well - do they accept your insurance & are they covered. Hope this helps
That's how I feel. I only need to see my ID/PCP twice a year. I live in a small rural county so there is not much choice.
https://www.healthgrades.com/
You can search providers on this site and read their reviews from patients to help narrow down your choice.
When I was initially diagnosed they had me go to an ID Dr, but once I realized all they do is talk about blood labs.. I'm not sure what the point of having two Drs is. Currently I have a GP who does my everything but OBG & Cardiology, she works in the same ID clinic as the Dr.'s. I hate taking time off work to go to the Dr so the least amount of apts I can go to is the best for me.
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