What Happened to Medicine?

I am so sorry to hear how the health system is failing you. You should not have had to wait 3 years for a hepatology appointment. I can only imagine how you feel. It sounds like you manage and cope in a very healthy ways. I was inspired. Baking bread for a neighbor or even a few muffins is something I could do.
I am not sure how large your community is...but if you are in a larger metropolitan area, there are many options. Messages via MyChart should be more streamlined for your providers and not be ignored. I would love to talk if you have need support. I am in a similar situation with my health and ongoing appointments with multiple specialists. I will be 54 in April. Before my diagnosis, I was so busy with my career, colleagues, clients...it is very difficult now and lonely. I have been struggling with that. I think we should look at your options for a new PCP.

@frances007, I certainly can relate. The practice of medicine no longer is science and art, it's business and when the bottom line and getting insurance dollars become a priority, good medical education and appropriate medical care are among the casualties -as well as people's lives. Instead of looking at and listening to patients and providing appropriate treatment too many medical professionals have square eyeballs from watching their mini computer screens. It makes no sense to rely on systems which often crash but in general today's medical practice makes no sense either!

@kamama94 , you are correct, we as patients are our strongest advocates in our health journey. I recently heard a story from another patient who keeps a journal when she goes to each appointment so that she can have all of her information in one place when she goes to see separate doctors. This helps with all of the messaging in MyChart to have it all in one book vs. where did I send this and to whom and what date, etc.. Sigh. And I cannot imagine the folks who are not capable...dementia, alzeheimer's, no support systems, etc...
I am appalled that @frances007 has had to wait 3 years to see a hepatologist. I realize there is a shortage of them but generally, should be treated by a gastroenterologist in the interim, not a PCP who wants to transfer her care. This makes me very sad.

There is hope on the horizon... @kamama94 and @sandif are correct, we patients need to be our own advocate on this health journey.

The Patient Revolution: https://patientrevolution.org/read

@frances007 Sorry for all your struggles. It can be frustrating, especially when reaching out and getting no response. I prefer to use MyChart to communicate with my teams, and one has certainly been dropping the ball. When I don't get a response within 24 hours, I send another message and that usually does the trick.

As far as your PCP asking you if you want a different doctor, kindly say "yes, please" and move on. It's hard to find a doctor who checks all the boxes, (kind, concerned, knowledgeable, progressive), but keep searching.

Also, it's okay to take a moment to have a pity party/grieve. Just make sure you have someone close to pull you up out of it if you're concerned you won't be able to do it on your own.

This Connect blog has been very helpful for me, and I've only been on it a couple of weeks.

Hugs to you, and keep plowing forward!

I agree with you completely. I would add that if the My Chart email isn’t responded to, pick up the phone, and I realize how many options you may have before getting a person. Most larger offices have admins who filter and route all the incoming emails for the doctors; I had one awful office just unreliable with My Chart, especially when healthcare, even office workers, had staffing shortages. I felt bad leaving one doctor because “he” lost records and would reorder tests I’d already had, and I’d wasted much needed office visit time helping him remember me and finding my records; I lost 6 months of treatment time because his office staff supposedly didn’t follow up on getting referrals and the right labs ordered etc. One other doctor outright told me to CALL the office for anything I might need, as they rarely used the system. Others told me the best way to reach them IS through the system. I think the systems are being required now, but I know from experience how difficult it is to keep up with all of the computer and software changes over the years. If you think the system isn’t working / I’d call. On my My Chart, I see records of phone calls they make or receive, so I know they’ve been acknowledged.

Sounds like you've have some bad experiences... I'm a firm believer in self-advocation because nobody's going to care about me more than ME!

And WE have more time and focus on ME (as well as being the major stockholder) to do that vs them, so I look at it as doing a huge favor for the whole team for staying on top and being prepared with our questions and thoughts when we get our rushed time with them.

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I would drop that PCP in a heartbeat. I had to change PCPs twice over several years because of a series of problems with each. Now I have a PCP that I have really loved. Except... just this past week I asked for a copy of my visit notes, which I'd not done so far with her, and found that she had 3 very serious diagnoses listed that I absolutely do not have. I scheduled a telehealth appointment with her this Tuesday to find out why she did this, and to have them removed. If I'm not satisfied, well, I already researched and found another PCP to switch to.

We are consumers. We pay for all medical services, whether it's through cash, credit card, insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. We should never accept, or even beg and plead for, less than adequate medical care. Just file a grievance against the doctor with your insurance company and/or state medical board, and move on. And we can support each other in doing so on this forum and others like it.

@johnbishop, I wish I could believe there is hope but the cynic in me knows we live in a dystopic world where the individual (singly or in groups) counts for little or nothing. I am a retired nurse, 77 years old, and I've personally seen so-called medical care go down the toilet. I am convinced that our voices crying in the wilderness will remain in the wilderness until and unless we get rid of some of the electronic bells and whistles, start actually treating patients instead of adhering to the bottom line and quit medical-fanny-covering to prevent lawsuits and return to the Hippocratic oath (not the hypocritical one.) Sorry for my twisted pun.