Pardon this kind of ignorant question, but I'm due for an annual physical and I just can't get past this.
There are thousands of PCPs accepted by my insurance plan (UHC). I narrowed it down by a particular facility that's close to my new home and it's a Wellstar facility (because my previous provider was under Wellstar so I have Wellstar MyChart and I thought it would be easier to be able to keep that same EHR system). However, under that facility there are 1,300 PCPs. Some of them when I click their profiles have a different facility (sometimes many hours away) listed.
If I just call the facility and ask for the next available appointment for a new patient annual physical, I'm afraid they'll give me a doc who is not covered by my insurance. And I don't feel it's appropriate to tie up the admins' time checking every provider they give me...but maybe that's the only way?
Bottom line: what's the most efficient way to choose a provider? At this point, I don't even care that much about competency or alignment in health values (e.g., I prioritize lifestyle mods and prevention or taking medications whenever possible) since there is no way to tell that info from a profile.
Thanks for any advice.
My insurance plan requires a referral from my primary care doctor to see the dermatologist. My primary care doctor is booked out 6 months. Lol sure. This is wonderful. What's the next step here? Can I just go into a walk in clinic and request a referral?
Honest question. I'm seeking to see an ENT and every single one I've called requires a dr. referral as part of their policy and won't schedule appointments without it. What's the point of the more expensive OAPIN/PPO plan then, why would I not just stay on an HMO? So stupid.