Monday, May 14, 2007

NPs in the Wind.....6/4


What is it about West Paris RHC? First Jane T. is gone, now Brandi Chadwick has given notice. Is it anticipating the arrival of Dux?

If she doesn't vanish, she'll be pulling her patients with her, at least the insured ones! Gee, maybe Jane would come back....nahhh....


Rumors are flying about other NPs making moves as well. Will mid-levels start to outnumber the physicians? Stay tuned, it could get rough!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nurse practitioners were originally created to
extend the physicians ability to see patients.What has happened in Paris is that they have become unsupervised private practitioners that are sucking the life blood out of the physicians who do all the night and weekend work.It is no coincidence that no new primary care MDs have come here in many years(Trammel took Walkers practice)there are by my count 16 non MD practitioners in Lamar co;What willhappen when the older primary care MDs retire?Talk to Dr Kingsley about how difficult it has been for him to build a GYN practice ;Talk to Dr Myers about why he retired.in each case it is because Nurses are skimming the well women cream off the top , while the MDs are seeing their patients "after hours"and in the ER.Its like you invite someone over to help in your field and all they do is pick up your check when the crop is sold.If Paris wants to settle for nurses to care for them then dont expect much when you go to the hospital, because someday soon all you willsee is hospitalists who will not know you or your family let alone be available for all the free work the old primary physician did like fills out insurance forms,off work letters,referals to other physicians,listened to your family problems,and been more than a "PROVIDER" for you and your children;nurses will never do what a physician can do; and anyone with any sense should know that 8 years post college counts for more than the training these other Providers bring to the table.
By continuing to see these nurses you are hastening the day that paris will look like MtPleasant;try and find an MD there!






IDR

Anonymous said...

Of course, you're right eye-doctor. I should go right back and see the doctor that I saw for years---not! The last time I saw him, I waited two hours in the waiting room, and an hour in the exam room for him to dash in for five minutes.

I had taken off work at the hospital to go---and was treated as a slacker when I got back.

The first time I saw my NP, she spent 45 minutes with me! She listened, scheduled a referral to a specialist, and a follow-up the next week. I waited in the waiting room for 5 minutes after I got there. I had two hours scheduled off that I didn't need to take!

I asked the specialist and his staff how they felt she was, and they were complemenatary. His nurse had seen her as well.

I've been totally satisfied with the treatment I've received--and I've even met her on the weekend at her office for my daughter. So much for "after hours" calls.

When I was seeing my doctor, and in the hospital, I saw two other doctors who were on weekend call for him. Afterwards, he totally changed the follow-up care that the other had recommended.

Sorry, but I'm perfectly happy where I am.

Anonymous said...

I would imagine that the nurses had less of an effect than the jump in malpractice and associated liabilities on Myers, and Kingsley had access to a phone book before moving here.

Look at what's happened with surgeons--with less people wanting to go to this hospital, and the number of surgeons in Paris, the market is somewhat saturated. Campbell found a partial solution: privleges in Clarksville.

Anonymous said...

Hey IDR 8:32...sounds as though you have one of those practices that I stopped taking my family to a long time ago!

You know, the one where the Dr. doesn't remember your name, even after you and your family have been going there for years.

The one where you sit for hours in the waiting room, and then have to call his office after 2 weeks (or more) to get your lab/x-ray results because (by gosh!) he hadn't bothered to read the reports.

Also the fact that you go through all that crap, and when you've finally gotten into an exam room, the Dr. only spends 3 minutes on the exam...!

Wake up bozo...of course people are going to NP's in droves, these "Nurses" are practicing like the old time family doctors did, they spend time and effort getting to know the patients and their families, and practice excellent continuation of care.

Anonymous said...

I've had both good and bad experiences with both docs and NPs. I think it doesn't matter which you see. If ya find a good one, doc or nurseP, stick with them!!

Anonymous said...

Someone pass IDR a box of kleenex. Nurse Practitioners provide a vital service to the populations they serve. Doctors liked they high life they lived up in the 80's and 90's before the big crackdown and budget crunching that occured with Medicaide, and Medicare. Nurse Practitioners can manage diseases, and routine yearly check ups just as effectively and do it for less money.

Nurse Practitioners also tend to spend more time on their history and physical assessments. They spend on average twice as much time with their patients as an MD does.

So what's your problem IDR? You unable to afford a new Benz, BMW, or Porsche? If the doctors of this area are so concerned why not step up their customer service skills, shorten their office wait times, while increasing the time spent with patients, and lowering costs to become more competitive? Oh that would be less trouble than bad mouthing good health care providers and fighting NP's in their quest to expand their scopes of practice, every few years.

Signed,

Future Nurse Practitioner

Anonymous said...

It was no surprise that my comment about nurse practitioners elicited such a vehement response;the fact remains ,when you are really sick you dont see a nurse .Your gripes about waiting etc. may or may not be accurate; but generally when you are delayed ,its because the MD is seeing someone in the ER or performing a difficult surgery that "just takes time ,to do right"
The nurse that you see has no such other duties and can be much more available since they dont have hospital responsibilities.(The very hospital responsibilities that you expect when you or yours are REALLY SICK or in distress.)
You cant have it both ways; the number of nurse practitioners is the problem; if there are not enough well patient visits to support a physician , he cannot make it here. I assure you in paris most MDs dont drive Mercedes Benzes ,they are trying to decide whether to retire or move to the metroplex where the reimbursements are much better.
Save your soft soap for your bath tub!

Annonyomus said...

I have only one problem with NP's. There are too many that have offices with no Dr. in house. When Dr. Walker passed away, I chose the Dr. that i see, because he and his NP are in the same office. She is very competent, kind and caring. I trust both of them with my life, but I pray every time I get sick that I don't have to go to the hospital here. I recently had to be hopitilized to have 12 teeth removed. Where did I go? Tyler! That's pretty sad from a retired Rn, who used to work at PRMC. Think about it.

Anonymous said...

Heard that Brandi decided to stay--apparently the hospital and she 'came to an understanding.'

'Assurances' were made about the continuation of the RHC program.

Which would you take: their 'assurances' or a handful of spit? Either one makes you feel slimey!

Anonymous said...

12:04,

If you're looking for sympathy after that post, you'll find it in the dictionary, between two words decorum will not allow me to say here.

BTW, real men don't use soft soap in a bathtub- it's called bar soap, Bubba.

SOunds like the NPs and the physicians better lay down their arms and do some serious talking about the future of medicine in Paris- having an online p*ssing contest serves nothing except to make the midget who runs E$$ent laugh at you.

Anonymous said...

I have experienced a problem with both local M.D.'s and NP's. I worked for one of the RHC NPs. I wouldn't let her treat my dog. She lied to so many patients all in the name of keeping the doors open for the hospital. It was truly pathetic, immoral, and a disgrace. I also feel that their rates should not be as high as a M.D. since they have not had the same training. That being said, the last time I got sick and needed to see the Immunologist that I had been a patient of for 10 years, I was told I could get an appointment in 3 weeks! I expressed that that was too long to get in and they informed me that I would just have to go to the emergency room. Excuse me but I do not have Medicaid to cover an expensive ER visit, and I still say that ER is for TRUE EMERGENCIES! I don't like to go to Minor Emergency either because you still usually see a PA or NP, unless you can catch Dr. Agnes. Then you get genuine care and excellent quality medical treatment. The whole medical society in Paris needs a true overhaul. You go to one MD for treatment and two weeks later get bills from people you never saw who supposedly read your test results. Why can't the MD I saw do it all? I thought that was part of the hefty office visit fee that I pay before I leave.

Anonymous said...

The future loks bright for NPs in town; word has it that two more are leaving supervised practices and hiring Joe Xavier to be their ghost supervisor.Perhaps a word of warning is in order; the Texas Board of Medicine(ne the Texas Board of Medical Examiners)is considering an audit of all M.D.s in Paris who supervise NPs to see if they are reviewing 1/out of 10 patient charts;in addition, they are concerned that the M.D. supervisor has " ready acess to provide hospital care for all patients in that practice".It may be a very sad day when the truth comes out that the supervising MD dosnt supervise (in fact ), or even have hospital privilidges at all ; or is in a speciality that dosnt provide care for a medical or surgical emergency.The Board has recently been fineing $500to $1K for not providing records in 10 working days; I wonder what this chirade will cost?

Anonymous said...

the NP i took my daughter to recently ( and was very pleased with) is one of the two moving with dr. xavier ( whom i also really like) according to their recent ad in the paris snooze. am i correct reading between the lines ( though seems fairly obvious, or not?) that she and her fellow NP as well as dr xavier are in violation of certain rules and regulations as mentioned in the comment addressing their situation, and are they likely to be fined? ant other potential problems? will i be looking for someone else to see soon? arghhh all the questions, chaos, confusion, etc....thanks essent

Anonymous said...

Hey 6:28 (Who said they worked for one of the RH NP's) what could the NP have possibly lied about that would be important enough to "keep the hospital in business"?

If what she said was untrue, it was probably an unintentional lie due to repeating she was assured was the truth by E$$ent.

Considering that "you used to work" for this NP, it sure comes off as sour grapes...maybe instead of vague allegations, lets hear some details?