In the almost 10 years I've lived in Los Angeles, I have been looking for a decent general…read morephysician. I went through a bunch: the woman who gave me a fake cancer scare, the lady who barely looked at me during my checkup, countless others who made me feel like a number or like I was an idiot for being someone who prefers not to take pharmaceuticals if I don't have to.
It was time for my physical again, so I went through the familiar drill: search online to see if there's anyone out there who doesn't seem like they suck, try them out, assume I'll have to do the same drill again next year.
This year, I got lucky.
This year, I found Dr. Elaine Chu.
The first thing that interested me was that she is not only an MD, but also an acupuncturist and practitioner of Eastern medicine. It's not easy to find a competent doctor who practices both in the SGV area. That was exciting. Granted, I am easily excited.
I made my appointment online, which was convenient. About an hour later, I got a confirmation call from Dr. Chu herself-- not her secretary. How often does *that* happen? Not very, sez me! She was extremely nice on the phone, and very patient and informational. Things were looking up and up.
I showed up at her office for my checkup today, paperwork in hand (you can download it off her website). The waiting room was really nice, with a calming fountain, and didn't make me feel like I was going to catch 27 diseases by sitting there. The nice guy at the front desk told me he'd let Dr. Chu know I was there.
I played Scrabble on my phone (the computer I played against is a big cheater) for about 10 minutes. Dr. Chu's previous patient walked out, looking happy. Shortly afterwards, a smiling Dr. Chu came out and apoligized for being late. Considering I was once left waiting for an hour and a half while sitting in the actual doctor's office, dressed in one of those gowny things that are decidedly not flattering and highly ventilated, 10 minutes is noooooot an issue.
She went over my paperwork with me in great detail, asking about anything that came up, and even on some things that didn't, and offering information and suggestions, most of which did not involve pharmaceuticals, for each one. She checked my vitals and organs and looked into every hole I own that can be looked into (seriously, I can't remember the last time I had a checkup where the doctor actually checked my eyes and ears). She answered every question I had very competently and made sure I didn't have any more. She walked me through what bloodwork would be necessary and what would just be an extra cost I might not need. She didn't try to sell me any products or services, and tried to save me money wherever she could.
In all, she spent over an hour with me.
When was the last time ANY doctor did that for me? (Answer: never)
She said she'd call me when my bloodwork and lady tests come back. And I believe her.
I found my new doctor.