Hi @baa
The fact that your epileptologist proactively communicated with your regular neurologist about the medication change shows how open your epileptologist is to working together with other doctors, even neurologists. This is definitely a positive sign, in my opinion.
My understanding is that an epileptologist is already a neurologist, but with additional specialized training in epilepsy. So, according to my knowledge, when a patient with epilepsy is being treated by an epileptologist, there is no need to see a separate neurologist. HOWEVER, your epileptologist's office might be far away from you (another city) and/or he/she may not be easily accessible for routine needs, asking thus your regular doctor to handle routine prescriptions and lab orders as well as to provide ongoing care to you between specialized visits at Vanderbilt. Would that be your case?
What did your epileptologist at Vanderbilt tell you about this arrangement? Did your epileptologist provide guidance on how he or she prefers to work with your neurologist, or specify which types of decisions he or she wants to handle directly versus what your neurologist can manage?
Chris