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I saw a commercial on TV last weekend that really caught my interest. I think it was for an insurance company and the thing that I latched onto was he contention that Americans lived, on average, in 11 places in their lifetimes. That sounded like an unreasonably large number, doesn’t it? Then I started counting, the apartment in Bayonne, N.J., where my parents lived for a few months after I was born, then the house in Bayonne I grew up in, college dorm room, two apartments in college, one apartment as newlyweds, starter house in Baltimore where Kate was born, bigger house in Baltimore when I finished residency and fellowship and got a real job, two homes in New Jersey and now first NEPA home 18 years ago and finally our wonderful current place. An even dozen, for those who aren’t counting.
So maybe the commercial was right. Go ahead, I’ll wait, as you count your own.
One of the characteristics of living in most of the “longer term” non-dorm, non-time-limited places (like college apartments), especially those you own, is the collection of a supporting cast you develop. You know, a plumber, an electrician, heating and AC people, probably a general contractor, painter and as life gets busier and time gets more precious, maybe a yard guy, a cleaning crew and depending on your skills, perhaps a handyman.
Each new area also results in a search for your grocery store, gas station, garage or car dealer, church, dry cleaner, post office and so many other connections to the community; not to mention schools — often the number one reason people choose a location for home.
But close to the top of anyone’s “I got a guy” list has to be medical care.
Hospital, urgent care center, 24-hour pharmacy, dental care — all key, but most critically, who’s going to be your and your kids’ portal into the local medical community?
Who’s your primary care provider? That’s the term used most today but you may be more familiar with others like family doctor, internist, pediatrician, OB/GYN and in some areas nurse practitioner or other advanced practice nurse.
What characterizes these people is that they are prepared and competent to care for most day to day medical needs and have the knowledge about when, to whom and how to refer you when circumstances require advanced care that’s out of their wheelhouse. Yet they’ll remain involved to coordinate and interpret the specialists’ advice and care.
Now that’s a big job. Giving you a flu shot, or doing your kids’ camp physical, caring for an earache, dealing with a bad case of athlete’s foot — all of these are important in their way, but keeping you healthy with preventative care, screening for diseases based on your age and family history, managing chronic illnesses and being sensitive to subtle changes in you that could be early signals of trouble … there’s the magic. That’s why a great primary care person is a treasure.
Remember another important characteristic of a primary care partner is the depth of their bench (can you tell I’m writing this during the NFL playoffs on Sunday?)
There’s near 100 percent certainty that the next time you’re desperate to reach your primary care person, she’ll be out of town or he’ll be having his own colonoscopy. It’s key to ask then, as you choose your team, who’s covering for them when they’re not on call and does that person have access to your records? Twenty-four, seven? Electronically?
That’s one of the important advantages to a group practice especially one that’s part of an integrated system of doctors, advanced practitioners, specialists and even hospitals tied together by a system of accessible electronic records.
By being part of a whole, connected team your primary care person can probably easily access and stay in the loop about you with a variety of specialists all under the same team flag, with all reports, images, lab results and findings available through the shared computer system. Much better than depending on you or the mail carriers to ferry hard copies from doctor to doctor to hospital.
When looking for a primary medical provider, ask family, coworkers and friends for recommendations, interview a few options and consider an integrated team, it may be harder than trying out a few dry cleaners, but it’s worth it, especially the next time you need a great coordinator of your care.
By the way, we use Master Garment Cleaners; ask for Ned.
