Is There A Doctor In The…Neighborhood?

I have to find a new GP…and I really don't want to wade into that swamp.

My doctor for the last twenty years has "retired"--I put it in quotes because he has stepped out of the practice and has opened a boutique concierge-care service for those (not me) with plenty of disposable income.  I loved seeing him: once, when I began having trouble with my knee, I led with the classic, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." "Well, don't do that," he knew to reply. I also enjoyed having a doctor whose body-mass index was roughly mine, as it tended to cut down on the "you really need to lose weight" commentary.

His former practice remains, and in fact for a couple of things here and there I've been in to see the nurse practitioners.  But I need a new doctor, and I don't really have an attachment to anyone else at that old practice--which has become more difficult to drive to since we moved here in 2004.  It's gotten really old to have to drive at least half an hour to see the practice--and that's non-rush-hour traffic.  Surely there has to be someone much closer by who can be what I need.

I've begun the process, as it seems one does these days, by searching online and through my insurance provider, to see who in the area out here by the house actually takes my insurance.  I then began checking other websites: healthgrades.com or WebMD or any of a dozen other places, all in an effort to learn more about the candidates nearby.  But what am I looking for in a doctor?  In many respects I have no idea.  For instance, I seem to have two principal choices in age: either folks who are over 55 (experienced, not much I could throw at them they haven't seen; but, prone to retiring themselves in the next decade or so), or around 30-35 (likely having the freshest training from med school; but do I really want a doctor younger than me? Isn't that what old people have?).  Or, do I take a sexist approach and rule out all the women, regardless of qualifications, so I don't have to discuss prostate health with one as I age?  Do I care about where he went to med school?  Not so much as I do whether he's been disciplined by the state board…all of which is out there now.

And other considerations exist that weren't dreamt of two decades ago when I found my retiree.  How user-friendly is his website? Will he interact via e-mail, or does every question have to be done in person at an appointment (at $20 apiece)?  And how many layers of answering-system hell do I have to endure to make a simple appointment?

It all feels so…commercial, like I'm comparison shopping for a new car.  Or vaguely "gotcha," as if the negative comments posted up about a doctor are truly representative of his service, instead of just being the pissed-off ones who are prone to posting anyway.  Gone are the days, it seems, when everyone knew the doctors in town, which ones were good for which kinds of patients.

I'm left with a sense of dread as I begin this effort.  I hope it won't be as difficult as it appears likely to be.