All you need to do is follow the timeline to learn about this practice, which went from good, though too busy, to mediocre, to a money grab of the wealthy along Central Park West that disenfranchised probably hundreds of not-as-wealthy patients.
Much of what others describe was my experience, too -- rushed visits, not enough detail, quick referrals to other doctors instead of discussing the issues, a lot of friendly chit-chat. But my first real clue that perhaps a change might be in order didn't arrive until Kadet, pitching his concierge service, complained to me that Obamacare was killing him and he wasn't making enough money -- as if I cared to hear that from a guy who's probably making at least five times as much as I do, if not much more than that, and who also should have known me well enough after many years of conversation that I likely was an Obamacare supporter, and also that I cared more about my physical health than his financial health. Never mind that I was paying him out of my pocket for years after my insurance changed to the very common BCBS and he wouldn't take it.
So he went to become Physician For The Rich, it's now a near-empty office, and if you come in eye contact with the doctor, he nods at you, seemingly half-apologetic and half-embarrassed because he knows that you know he dropped you like a hot potato, no longer worthy of his services, with a staff member (Stephen) who is more than willing to turn a discussion into an argument and will hang up on you. The best thing that happened then, after 15 years, was when Kadet relayed to me via Stephen that I "should look for a new physician."
It's quite enlightening when you realize that the doctor you've trusted to care about you actually doesn't care about you at all, only about how much money he's making, and you recall the time many years earlier, sitting across his desk in his office, when he said, "Patients come and go. I don't worry about that." So I took him up on his suggestion, and when I called to cancel my last appointment, the receptionist said, "Thanks for calling," and hung up on me, the second one to do that in a matter of days, obviously unsurprised and perhaps relieved to be done with another one of us commoners.
I've received more care and attention to detail and learned more about my health in the past three months with a new doctor than I did in the previous 10 years. Little did I know what I was missing. I hope that those who ponied up the big bucks fare better. read more