What would you choose- a pediatrician or a family practitioner?

[Sarai]

Putting this here for maximum exposure.... ;)

First, I realize not everyone here takes their kids to see a traditional medical doctor, so not everyone may be able to answer my question. However, for those that do...... my insurance recently changed from a wonderful HMO to a cruddy consumer-driven health plan. :td NONE of my doctors take my new insurance- not my regular doc, my GYN, or DS's peds. However, there is a family practitioner on the plan that a few of my family members use & like (though none have kids there). There is also a pediatrician's office that I know is excellent, but is about 30 minutes away (I know for some that's not far, but for me it is). Also, when DS is first born we all went to a different family pract. and loved her (she has since moved away), so I'm familiar w/that type of doc.

So.....would you choose to take your DC to a family practitioner who is local but doesn't specialize in peds, or drive to a not-at-all convenient peds office that you know is good? Keep in mind that I'm a single WOHM and will be responsible for taking DS to the majority of his dr's visits, both well-child and sick.

Thanks for your input! :)

[arwen]

ped.....
interview first though :yes

sorry typing with one hand

[inesperada]

My ds has seen a family practitioner his whole life and I love him. :)

[BHope]

We recently switched to a Family Practice. Our new doc was just as thorough in her well-baby exam as any Ped has been. Plus, I like the idea of establishing relationship with her a as a whole family. Plus, my experience has been, that family practices are less likely to push vaccinating in the same manner Peds are. They do them. Obviously, but there isn't that overwhelming peer pressure that I was getting from the different pediatricians we saw. (Could be my own isolated experience, but I thought I'd put it out there for those interested.)

[ProudMommaof2]

I agree with the PP who said they liked the idea of the whole family going to the same practitioner. I recently transfered my kids from a ped to DH and I's family practitioner at the clinic here in our small town, and found she did very thorough well baby exams, and I think it was beneficial that one doctor is aware of the health of our whole family. I also think it helps that my 3 y/o DS gets to see her evey time I take DD or myself in, so that he gets comfortable with her. That way when he ever needs to see her he knows her well and has developed trust. He rarely has to go to the doctor himself and he is wary of people he doesn't know, so his comfort and rapport with her is very important. Good luck to you...I know it is an important decision.

[Teribear]

Yet another vote for the family practice doc. I SO miss having all our records at one place and having a doctor that knows us all and is observant enough to notice, sometimes on a visit for someone else, that something is a bit amiss with one of the other members of the family. Ours used to see me, charge me for my regular appointment and check DD for no additional charge (on well care type things) at the same time. She also knew that if I came in presenting with a sinus infection it wouldn't be more than 3 days before DH would have it as well and would often send me home with prescriptions for both of us, his to be filled if needed, saving us the cost of a second visit. Now I'd been with her since her residency and I don't know if all her patients got that kind of care but WOW after having had it, its hard getting used to the process of going to the doctor in two different offices and both DH and I having to make appointments when allergy season hits.

[Sarai]

ITA w/those of you who liked having the whole family see one doctor. When DS was born, we brought him to our family pract. and she was just wonderful- very thorough, very caring. I just about cried when she moved away!

Ds has been seeing a pedi for less than a year, and I've liked it, but don't like the fact that he sees so many different doctors.

I do think I'm leaning towards sending him to a family practitioner, since the one I'm considering is the same one his dad sees. It would definitely be easier on all of us, I think.

Still want to hear others' opinions, though! :yes

[Ajani]

Maybe it's different here, but I think most people stick with the family doctor unless something comes up that requires the specialties of a pediatrician. We'd never even considered a ped with Owen. Never even crossed our minds.

[Mama Bird]

Another vote for family practitioner. I love mine, although she's not the one taking care of me in pregnancy. We have a MW for that. We used to take our DD to "THE" pediatrician in our area...the literature in their office came from a very punitive mindset, and vaccinations weren't something you questioned. A crying child was something to be hushed. We tried a different ped with DD and DS after his birth, but it was essentially the same thing. The only huge benefit there was a lactation consultant we had access to, and that saved our nursing relationship due to some latch problems DS had.

I like seeing the family doc b/c she (and her entire office staff) know my family by name, know how my and DH's medical history can influence our childrens', etc. Plus, it's much easier to get into their office than a busy pediatrician. It seems like every time I took a child to the pediatrician's office, there was at least one child with a bucket or huddled over the trash can... :sick

[Elora]

Growing up we all saw the same family practioner, and now my husband and baby do too.

[MarynMunchkins]

Family practitioner. :yes

[Iarwain]

I MUCH prefer a family practitioner but could be swayed the other way if the FP was not on the same page as me philosophically and the ped was.

[illinoismommy]

We use a pediatrician ... both kids have the same one .... I don't have a doctor except for pregnancies a midwife :shifty

[Teacher Mom]

After all of us were sick a few years ago and had to go to seperate doctors miles apart from one another, we changed to a family practitioner too. It has worked out well for us. Well, except for the cost. We have bare minimum coverage now. We have a $1000/person deductible. $2000/family :doh

[illinoismommy]

If I ever do need to go, the family doctors are right across the hall from our pediatricians :)

[Sarai]

It has worked out well for us. Well, except for the cost. We have bare minimum coverage now. We have a $1000/person deductible. $2000/family :doh


Ugh...ITU....when we lost coverage thru my stb-xh, we went from having a wonderful HMO (and wonderful docs) to my cruddy plan. I have pretty much the same deductibles as you (I think it's $2200 for family for me). It just stinks, doesn't it? :td


Thanks to everyone for your opinions. I called the FP that I was originally interested in, only to find out they're no longer taking new patients! *sigh* I checked around at work to find out where some of my coworkers went/took their kids, and several of them said very good things about another FP who is actually closer to me. I called there today and got initial interview appointments for both me and DS in 2 weeks. The assistant on the phone was very pleasant and thorough (which is a good sign to me). They can't treat us for anything until our initial visit, but when I told her DS was sick she referred me to a local Urgent Care facility that I wasn't even aware of, which was very helpful. :rockon So, overall, feeling good about this.....we'll see how it goes.

Oh, and yes....DS has woken up the past 2 days w/a sore throat and today has crud in his eyes. I have a feeling we'll be going to Urgent Care tomorrow since he can't go to daycare if he has conjunctivitis. :sigh

[siberian]

We started out with a pedi but our insurance changed and the pedi didn't accept our new plan. So now we are going to a family practice (one of the doc is non-vaxing-friendly)...although when I brought ds in last week the nurse was badgering me about why I don't bring ds to a pedi :scratch. I'm like "Uh, its a FAMILY practice; that includes 2 year olds, correct?" :shrug

[stbmomof1plus2]

We are trying to switch from a ped to a family pract., but I am having trouble finding one that takes infants. We are having some trouble with our peds office since we decided to not vaccinate/stop vaccination.

[TestifyToLove]

Late to the party. But, we use a family practice clinic. In fact, unless the kids have something significant going on, the children all see the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. We LOVE her. She's respectful, has great bedside manners, accepts that she's not going to sway me from my alternative stance on most things, but has honest and legitimate conversations with me when necessary. Basically, she presents the information and her opinions and then understands that the final decision is mine. She also pegged I was a nurse within 10 minutes of our first visit, though I try to keep that indeclared because it often puts people up in arms to know.

DH, ds#1 and I all see the actual doctor. Dh and I because we aren't children, though tbh DH usually sees the PAs and I refuse (my medical care is more complicated). Ds#1 sees the doctor because he didn't want to see a woman anymore.

I've hired and fired 3 peds in the course of parenting. Its my opinion that most peds are far too interventionist minded, too gung-ho about antibiotics and immunizations and too sure of themselves to be willing to make healthcare of my children a partnership. My sister is a ped and I love her to death. But, my opinions of how she operates medically is the same as every other ped I've dealt with. And, tbh, if there's a issue to significant for our FP to handle, we're getting referred out to specialists anyway, so I don't see the point of a ped for our family. Its SOO much easier to have all 8 members of the household with ONE clinic, one staff, one set of nurses and one doctor's office!

[RealLifeMama]

I am sorry the first Family Practice won't work out for you, but it sounds like the one you found might be a good fit.

We take C to a FNP at a family practice. She has been great, not pushy at all, and very pro-BFing in reality, not just giving lip service to it. The rest of us have not needed to go yet.

[mommyTay]

Our "core" family goes to a family practice with 5 doctors, 1 of which is a pediatrician. Our foster children go to the local ped. office. We have had good experiences with both situations. :tu

Insurance however is another story! :banghead We are sort of on the edge of district dividing lines, or whatever they call it. Because dh worked north of where we live and our doctors were south of us, the insurance his employer chose last spring didn't cover any of our doctors. Our kids qualify for a Healthy Start medical card, which has recently changed to managed care/hmo program, we HATE IT!!! We chose the plan that our family practice is accepting and later learned that the dentist, eye doctor and many medical people in the area weren't going to take that one. I hate having to chose between the doctor and other programs. It switched in September and we still haven't found a dentist that my kids are willing to see. The only one in the area that accepts this program is one we have had previous bad experiences. :hissyfit