Need doctor recommendation

[beowabbit]

Aargh. I recently tried to get in touch with my doctor about getting a referral for a sleep study, to discover she is no longer practicing (or if she is, not through Fenway, and I don’t have a way of getting in touch with her).

cathijosephine had previously given me a glowing recommendation for her doctor, Kevin Kapila, who also works with Fenway. He sounded perfect for me in a number of ways. Tragically, I just discovered from his office that he’s no longer seeing new patients. (cathijosephine, if you want to ask about that next time you see him, in case his receptionist is more certain he’s not taking new patients than he is, I’d be delighted.)

So, looks like I’m in the market for a new doctor. Any recommendations? Here are my preference, in approximate order of importance. Note that only the top few are absolutely essential.

• Is taking new patients. :-(
• Takes Blue Cross (is there anybody who doesn’t?)
• In reasonable walking distance either from my house near Quincy Center or from Northeastern University (or T-accessible on a lunch hour from the latter).
• Can get me a sleep-study referral quickly.
• Will share information with me, take things I say seriously, and generally not talk down to me.
• Is comfortable with queer, poly, kinky patients.
• Will want to take his/her time with me when we have appointments.
• Is email-accessible, and willing to do quick simple followup things via email or the phone.
• Can make appointments for relatively urgent stuff in a timely fashion.
• Takes a relatively holistic approach to his/her patients’ health. (For instance, my previous PCP wanted to know about emotional stresses in my life in case they were affecting my health.)
• Is affiliated with Fenway Community Health. (I’m assuming this would make the transition go more smoothly.)
• Is willing to give me advice and not write me off if I don’t take it. (For instance, I’m not going to give up salt or red meat, or stop going out in the sun without sunscreen, even though I know those things might be better for me. I’m happy to hear that they would be better for me, but then I don’t want to fight about it.

Comments

[catya.livejournal.com]

If you end up not finding someone wand want to go outside the city, ping me...

[mud-puppy.livejournal.com]

HIya! My PCP is Dr. Alex Gonzalez at the Fenway. I really like him. He's young and energetic and very involved with my care. He is accessible by email and he even picks up his own phone occasionally. I called once expecting to leave a message and he picked up!

Oh, and I've been able to make appointments with him sometimes the next day or the day after. He's also been very supportive with the whole sleep apnea thing. OH, and I saw him marching at the Pride Parade this year with the Fenway :) I think he's great!

As for getting you scheduled for a sleep study quickly. The Fenway is affiliated with the BI, which is a good thing, their sleep lab is really nice. The downside of the BI is that it takes quite a while to get in for a study. Or at least it took me a while. I think that's probably pretty standard though. They only have so many beds and tend to book a couple of months out.

That said, I'm sure Dr. Gonzalez would be happy to refer you for a sleep study. He worked with my insurance to get them to cover Ambien so I could get to sleep with my mask on.

Good luck on the Doc search!

[ghoti72.livejournal.com]

I have had Gregory Fenton at Fenway as a PCP for years; not sure if he is accepting new patients and he is only in on Thursdays (he is at JRI the rest of the week, I think), but he was willing to give me a referral for a sleep study when I asked a few years ago, does great followup stuff via email, and is entirely comfortable with queer, poly, kinky (as well as gender-bending or free) patients. He has never rushed me through an appointment, has recommended acupuncture/massage/chiropractic over pills when useful, and has never mocked me for not taking his advice...in general, he fits your requirements except for possibly the taking new patients thing -- but he should be in tomorrow.

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

I can't recommend Tom Barber enough. He was my PCP at BMC the past 7 years, but he primarily sees patients at Quincy Medical Center. He fits all of your criteria except the affiliation with Fenway Community Health.