Anyone else finding it extremely difficult to get a primary care physician appointment?

Submitted by No-Ganache7168 t3_zt1nt0 in vermont

My family uses a local community health center, one of two primary care offices in our county. We are extremely healthy and usually only need to go there once a year for our annual exams and well-child checkups. The last time I needed a sick visit was in 2021 when I had a bad reaction to my second Covid vaccine.

Anyway, my 10-year-old has been feeling awful since Sunday. I called the office when it opened on Monday and was on hold for 20 minutes only to be told that the earliest appointment was Tuesday and that I should just give her lots of fluid and rest. They suggested that I call back Tuesday if I still wanted to bring her in. On Tuesday she was still fatigued with a sore throat and fever so I called back. After 20 minutes on hold, I was asked to leave a message and the automated answering service hung up on me. The nurse didn't call back until after the office had closed for the day. I ended up getting an appointment for Wednesday. Turns out she has the flu so there's nothing they could have done for her if she had gone earlier, but it was frustrating to spend so much time getting an appointment.

Is this typical? I have to wait at least four months to get in for my annual checkup, but that's not an issue for me as I know that physicians only have a certain amount of time allotted for these. I'm just curious as to what other Vermonters are experiencing this winter.

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TillPsychological351 t1_j1bo25u wrote

I'm a primary care physician, and I can tell you that most of my acute, same day appointments are usually booked by 8:30 in the morning. We seem to be over the minor COVID surge we had in the fall, but we're now seeing a huge wave of flu. And there's also a shortage of tamiflu, so I really can't even do much at this point other than recommend medications for symptomatic relief. I know there's also a lot of RSV going around too, but I don't see kids in my office.

We're not short of flu vaccines, and the vaccine so far appears to be pretry well matched to the predominant strain this year. Take that as a PSA to get a flu vaccine.

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No-Ganache7168 OP t1_j1dcbpm wrote

Good point. I made sure she got the latest Covid booster but forgot about the flu shot.

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Russian_Rocket23 t1_j1bkbjf wrote

I usually have my annual physical during the first week of December. I reached out for a prescription of one of my normal meds in August and they said they would send it to my pharmacy, but I needed to schedule a physical as well. The earliest was the 1st week of March. My aunt is an optician and new patients at her place are looking at 12-15 months.

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No-Ganache7168 OP t1_j1busep wrote

Same near us. I received an email saying it was time to check my contact prescription. I called and they booked it for November 2023

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Mysterious-Try-4723 t1_j1fiq3i wrote

In a pinch 1-800-contacts is a good service. If you think your prescription is changing or you are concerned about eye health they can't really help, but if you just need new contacts they are good.

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thisoneisnotasbad t1_j1cvyiw wrote

I’ve experienced similar things. Called, left a message, no call back, called again, get an appt like a week later.

I have accepted the fact that UVVMC is far reaching and since they take my insurance I usually go to express care. Not the ER, the walk-in one. The wait is usually 30 to 60 minutes and the care is the same. Maybe less personal but I don’t really care. When something is wrong I just want treatment, I don’t need to be asked about the kids or job.

Also, thank you for having the one post on the front page that is not a picture of a dog.

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TillPsychological351 t1_j1czmjb wrote

Allow me a brief rant... as a physician, I hate those irrelevant questionaires too. If they were 't mandated, I would do away with about 75% of the questions. I completely against this move in medicine to turn doctors into social workers. I have all the respect in the world for social workers, but I am not trained to do their work. I am trained in medicine. There are other professions that can help people in need connect them to resources, but nobody else can treat that person's diabetes, pneumonia, hypertension, etc. That's my job and that's what I studied and trained for over a decade to do.

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No-Ganache7168 OP t1_j1dc6yz wrote

I have to fill one out every year in the waiting room and I imagine it’s quicker for her to glance over it before my appointment than to ask me two pages worth of questions. If there’s something I want to discuss I just circle it.

I like my pcp bc she does a Pap smear and orders all of the medications and screening tests I’ll need until my next annual visit. It saves me time and money.

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_j1b7kmy wrote

The whole world is dealing with covid/flu/RSV combo and so medical staff are struggling, no?

A good fitting N95 helps.

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LenVT t1_j1bwbwi wrote

I went through the same thing you did and even waited on hold for 1/2 hour to talk to a human being. And when my turn came I was automatically switched to the general voice mailbox. My call was returned TWO DAYS later. Of course by that time I had already been to the ER at a nearby hospital. My PCP or the nurse or anybody at the health center cannot be reached directly by phone and there’s no guarantee a voice message will be returned in a timely manner. It’s exasperating. And I blame it on the health center administration.

So others can talk about the flu and Covid and RSV and pity the poor health center folks but they only seem to be good for a 15 minute yearly checkup.

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Kimberly802 t1_j1bx3df wrote

In a word, YES. I, too, am otherwise healthy. But I was on a wait list for 11 months to even GET a PCP [as a new patient] in my town.

I signed up for telemedicine through my insurance provider in the mean time and I haven't used it but a coworker has and it's pretty great. Not the same as seeing a provider in person but it does give some peace of mind.

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Most_Expert_8080 t1_j1dh63o wrote

Yeah you have to go out of state. NH is a medical paradise compared to here.

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boat_dreamer t1_j1cyhuc wrote

Took my husband a year. I'm still on the wait-list and I have to re-add my name after the first of the year...again.

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NJRMayo t1_j1eeryo wrote

I had to get a new PCP so I called and made an appointment back in early September. My appointment is for May 1st.

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Necessary_Cat_4801 t1_j1kqv49 wrote

This is the new Vermont. Try hiring. It's terrible. I can't imagine what all this is going to look like in 10 years. Sort of predictable. If we're going to be the WFH/ trustafarian capital of New England, this is sort of inevitable.

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[deleted] t1_j1bwh03 wrote

[deleted]

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throwaway-fartz t1_j1cncqz wrote

Redditors like to talk a big game so I was concerned about this as well when we moved from Colorado.

Since being here, I realize that it's a lot harder to be mean in person. People mind their own business and keep to themselves for the most part. However, they've all been kind once I initiated a conversation. I'm really glad I didn't let salty redditors deter us from relocating to VT.

With that, I understand where they're coming from. When you grew up in the same house that's been in the family for generations and your livelihood is impacted, it'll keep you up at night. The taxes are outrageous and if you can afford it, count your blessings or whatever that saying implies.

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TillPsychological351 t1_j1d03zn wrote

This gets to probably the biggest reason why we have such a hard time recruiting skilled health care workers to the state. The stock of decent housing to attract professionals just isn't here. Much of it was picked up by telecommuters during the pandemic. So now, you're left with either something unaffordable, or a very cheap house that needs tons of renovations. There's not a whole lot in between.

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5teerPike t1_j1cijlb wrote

Those are Americans moving within America between American states. Don't let it get you down that some people here don't get it.

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EpictetussutetcipE t1_j1dhjjc wrote

Downvoted by fools who think they own their state; I find it comical it only happens on Reddit. I also moved from Colorado. People are definitely curious as to why you moved - but no one has been rude to us directly.

In general, I think the animosity is fairly contained to redditors who are frustrated with cost if living as if it's not a national issue. This is a huge problem, it's part of why I left Colorado- but they're so stuck thinking only of Vermont they don't see or chose not to care that this is a bigger issue, then get mad at people who have some equity to move here as if it's not our right as American citizens with free liberty between states residency.

I also posted something and got the same animosity, but I don't suffer fools... so it had no bearing on my decision.

People are and should be upset that unfettered capitalism is destroying our ability to live simple lives... however they should not be taking it out on fellow citizens suffering from the same but only slightly better off.

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