Is your doctor retiring?

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

I can’t believe it....after having my neuro leave the profession in November...I got a letter in December saying my internist was retiring at the end of January. Yesterday DH got a letter saying his primary care physician would be retiring January 15. What are the odds? None of these drs are referring us to new drs or have drs moving into their offices.....guess patients are on their own!

patbz · ‎03-10-2010

DH and I have lost about five doctors (various specialities) in last ten years; none of retirement age. As insurance increase, because of increasing hoops through which they must jump, expect this to continue. Fortunately we have been able to replace all with good doctors. One thing that helps, is that we travel from our small town to Phoenix for all of our care.

zanna · ‎06-13-2010

My primary care physician "retired" 3 years ago and my new doctor "retired" last June. Both were excellent doctors and it's a shame they chose to leave medicine behind. One of them told me "medical decisions should not be made by financial people". I think that says it all.

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

I know that some have left because of the ridiculous healthcare industry’s regulations and needless interference..my neuro told me as much. We have a friend who has only practiced surgery for 5 years and is now quitting and is going into research. She still is buried in medical school debt and is a talented surgeon. She said the biggest factor is the hospital raised the price of the operating room ( Ihad no idea it was set up this way) so high she was losing money each time she did surgery. I thought going to younger drs would solve the retirement problem...but no guarantees. Am glad you were able to find new doctors you like. I am sure we will also but it is such a hassle!

Snowpuppy · ‎03-09-2010

My PCP has been easing into retirement the last 2 yrs.

He's been quite vocal about the increasing demands on record keeping and issues with insurance carriers. He quit accepting ins several yrs ago. You pay up front and now wait for reimbursements. Just like he did.

This month he has scaled back to just 5 days per month and will see only a select sub set of patients based solely on their primary health issues. He notified his patients last fall via email who he would still see.

DiAnne · ‎09-22-2010

My primary doctor sold her practice and retired a few years ago and things have not been the same for me since. She did good old fashioned physicals. The primary doctor I have now refers me to a specialist if I have any complaint at all. I know several surgeons that retired early because of the cost of malpractice insurance in this litigious society.

Dawnie · ‎03-09-2010

My internist and gastro guy retired in November. Out of the blue! They both were in the hospital “system.” I hear there was a big sweep within the system. I have called several physicians and was told they are not taking new patients. There is a new physician coming in Mar to replace my internist. So all the geriatric patients must wait?? I’m back to the drawing board on healthgrades to find a compatible physician and then call to see if accepting new patients. What a racket! There are over 570 physicians in the hospital system in my county. I’m also looking for a gastro person.

Daysdee · ‎03-09-2010

I have had about 4 doctors retire in the last 5 or 6 years. Got smart and ask my primary care doctor for recommendations and got wonderful doctors to replace those that retired. Only problem is they aren't on the young side, but I'm not either. Dentist only works two and a half days a week for a few years now, so waiting to hear he is retiring. Been going to him around 40 years and hate to see him leave.

Alison Wonderland · ‎02-05-2018

Mine are not, by my parents have been struggling with this. My parents shared a primary care physician who retired late last year. His patients are being referred to another doctor, but when my parents saw him because my mom was having periods delusion and dementia that came on suddenly, he referred them to a retired neurologist and then was useless when they called him to get a more urgent referral to a new one.

I had to find them someone when I visited for Christmas and she's been dealing with this since October. It's very distressing.

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

Yes, I have had doctors retire and some have just quit, moved and merged with a bigger practice in a different city.

This doctor crisis is not caused by health insurance. It has been caused by new government regulations.

Doctors must now do so much paperwork and documenting that they have little time for patients. They must pay for more office help, so that the one or two doctors in a small town office doesn't exist anymore.

Doctors now belong to a health system with a circle of many doctors. They are all hooked up to the same computer system and billing systems too.

Beginning January 1, 2019, hospitals must list their prices on the computer system and give out this information to all patients who inquire. No more hidden charges.

It's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. I think all of this is in preparation for socialized medicine, one step at a time.