Hi @baa
The concerns you have shared are very pertinent; you're absolutely not being paranoid!
I imagined that Vanderbilt might be quite a distance from you! That definitely explains why having both doctors makes so much sense.
If I were in your shoes, I'd have a friendly chat with both doctors to get everything clear. I'm assuming your local neurologist already knows you're also seeing the epileptologist at Vanderbilt, right?
I believe that when we're upfront with our doctors and everyone knows their role, things tend to go much more smoothly. It really helps avoid any confusion down the road.
Maybe you could send a quick message to your epileptologist at Vanderbilt first? You could ask something like: "Could you help me understand how you and my local neurologist prefer to coordinate my care? I want to make sure I'm contacting the right doctor for my different needs." Once you get your epileptologist's response, you could then have a similar conversation with your local neurologist to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Do you think this approach would work? Keep in mind that I live outside the US, so things might work slightly differently in my country.
I'm sure you're not the only one being cared for by both an epileptologist outside your city and a local neurologist. Perhaps others here in our group can share their experiences on how they've coordinated their care between an epileptologist at a specialized clinic and their local doctor?
Chris