Health Care in St. Mary's County Continues to Go Down Hill

[3CATSAILOR]

I just received notification today that one of the Doctors in Leonardtown is leaving her practice. She is being replaced by not a PA but a "Nurse". The problem I have experienced with the NP is that they are not a PA or a Doctor. But, yet when I go to one, they charge my Insurance Company not as a "Nurse" or a PA or a Doctor, but as a "Specialist", which is supposed to have more credentials than a "Doctor" or a PA, not "less". Isn't this insurance fraud against the patient? No wonder why our Health Insurance is so costly. This exact thing happened to me recently. I called my Insurance Comany. "They agreed" and said they would investigate.

 

[3CATSAILOR]

I just received notification today that one of the Doctors in Leonardtown is leaving her practice. She is being replaced by not a PA but a "Nurse". The problem I have experienced with the NP is that they are not a PA or a Doctor. But, yet when I go to one, they charge my Insurance Company not as a "Nurse" or a PA or a Doctor, but as a "Specialist", which is supposed to have more credentials than a "Doctor" or a PA, not "less". Isn't this insurance fraud against the patient? No wonder why our Health Insurance is so costly. This exact thing happened to me recently. I called my Insurance Comany. "They agreed" and said they would investigate.

Meanwhille, we continue to loose good doctors which are not replaced by other "doctors". This in turn degrades our Medical System in this County. This at a time when cancer continues to get worse in this County and people are still experiencing long Covid symptoms as well as long term reactions from the COVID-19 vaccines.

 

[TPD]

Medstar & Shah - the mafia of medical care in SMC

 

[3CATSAILOR]

Medstar & Shah - the mafia of medical care in SMC

So many Doctors have told me that Medstar is all about money and is not interested in the actual well being of anyone. Do you think it is true?

 

[TPD]

So many Doctors have told me that Medstar is all about money and is not interested in the actual well being of anyone. Do you think it is true?

yes - I have a friend who is a nurse that works at Medstar St. Mary's and has told me the same thing.

 

[GURPS]

Medstar & Shah - the mafia of medical care in SMC

So many Doctors have told me that Medstar is all about money and is not interested in the actual well being of anyone. Do you think it is true?

We should have Gov Healthcare like Britian's NHS .... that would be so much better

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Medstar is a business, hospitals have a near monopoly though unless you are in a very urban area, even then its not a lot better.

Some do better than others, but it isn't as if there is much of a choice though without driving hours.

 

[LightRoasted]

For your consideration ...

So many Doctors have told me that Medstar is all about money and is not interested in the actual well being of anyone. Do you think it is true?

Of course it's true. When was the last time a doctor told you that a simple natural diet free from all man made sugars, refined carbohydrates, processed and ultra processed foods, and the elimination of supposed "vegetable oils", along with simple daily exercise, is all one needs to reverse most illness and will which maintain good health to avoid the body inflammations that cause dis-ease?

If you want "well being", look to your own discipline to heal and maintain good health. Doctors, nurses, PA's, specialists,etc., today, sell nothing but snake oil and quackery. Never fixing or healing or advising one of the root causes of ill health. It's all a shame.

However, when it comes to actually fixing a person, broken from an accident, lacerations, fire burned, shot, heart attacks, etc., there are very good people that do good works. But when it come to good health? No.

 

[Sneakers]

Some do better than others,

I've found the Mercy system to be more client oriented than most, primarily because they are founded, and practice, Christian principles and is non-profit. I've used the one in Bentonville (Rogers) AR and was incredibly pleased with the whole outfit and the doctors. There is one in Baltimore.

About Mercy | Mercy

www.mercy.net

 

[OrneryPest]

"Medstar" is a code word for "Clown show of schedule mismanagement."

 

[OccamsRazor]

NPs and PAs cannot work unless they are 'governed' by a Doctor of Medicine. Essentially, they have to be sponsored by that doctor. Although your doctor left, there HAS to be another board certified medical doctor at the practice that sponsors those NPs and PAs.
As for the general practice of medicine around here (or anywhere else for that matter) my personal belief is that "Medical Providers" are exactly that. Providers. There are no more professional healthcare MANAGERS. YOU are your healthcare manager. When was the last time you received a phone call to follow up on a test or procedure from the doctor? A call to remind you to schedule for an exam? You don't get them anymore. YOU have to manage your healthcare.

 

[Sneakers]

When was the last time you received a phone call to follow up on a test or procedure from the doctor? A call to remind you to schedule for an exam?

I get them once a year, but not because they care. My primary is obligated to provide Medicare with a yearly status report on my health since turning 65. They're doing what they are told to do.

 

[Bare-ya-cuda]

So many Doctors have told me that Medstar is all about money and is not interested in the actual well being of anyone. Do you think it is true?

That pretty much sums up the whole healthcare industry. It’s all about the money.

 

[NorthBeachPerso]

Face it, you all, we all, live in an area that was backward (and still is in a lot of ways. Have me tell you sometime about a discussion I had years ago about how there is only one style of streetlight) for centuries.

I grew up in a rural area of NWPA in a County with 35,000 people. It had two hospitals (this was pre-Life Flight days) with two more hospitals twenty miles away in either direction.

The County now has 38,000 people and those four hospitals are still open, although the missions have changed a bit. They all have an Alzheimer's wing.

 

[Clem72]

I just received notification today that one of the Doctors in Leonardtown is leaving her practice. She is being replaced by not a PA but a "Nurse". The problem I have experienced with the NP is that they are not a PA or a Doctor. But, yet when I go to one, they charge my Insurance Company not as a "Nurse" or a PA or a Doctor, but as a "Specialist", which is supposed to have more credentials than a "Doctor" or a PA, not "less". Isn't this insurance fraud against the patient? No wonder why our Health Insurance is so costly. This exact thing happened to me recently. I called my Insurance Comany. "They agreed" and said they would investigate.

So first off, many Nurse Practitioners have a doctorate (DNP) and there have been rumors for a few years now that Maryland will require all future NPs to have one.

Second, specialist doesn't refer to how many years of schooling your provider has but rather that the provider SPECIALIZES in a specific system or body part. An MD, PA, or NP working in "internal medicine" would charge as a regular office visit, while the same folks working at a podiatrist office would charge as a specialist.

 

[Clem72]

NPs and PAs cannot work unless they are 'governed' by a Doctor of Medicine. Essentially, they have to be sponsored by that doctor. Although your doctor left, there HAS to be another board certified medical doctor at the practice that sponsors those NPs and PAs.

Not true in Maryland since 2015, look up "Nurse Practitioner Full Practice Authority Act"

 

[stgislander]

Not true in Maryland since 2015, look up "Nurse Practitioner Full Practice Authority Act"

Is that so NPs can perform abortions?

 

[Clem72]

Is that so NPs can perform abortions?

Maybe, was there a big push for more abortion doctors in 2015? I assume they would only be able to prescribe the medicines not perform the procedure as general NPs aren't OB/GYNs nor are they surgeons, and surgical NPs can't independently practice even under this law. The article I read says it was due to lack of MDs and research that shows statistically similar outcomes in seeing NPs vs MDs.

 

[LightRoasted]

For your consideration ...

I just received notification today that one of the Doctors in Leonardtown is leaving her practice. She is being replaced by not a PA but a "Nurse". The problem I have experienced with the NP is that they are not a PA or a Doctor. But, yet when I go to one, they charge my Insurance Company not as a "Nurse" or a PA or a Doctor, but as a "Specialist", which is supposed to have more credentials than a "Doctor" or a PA, not "less". Isn't this insurance fraud against the patient? No wonder why our Health Insurance is so costly. This exact thing happened to me recently. I called my Insurance Comany. "They agreed" and said they would investigate.

This is most likely the cause of today's modern medical establishments regarding sick care.

 

[3CATSAILOR]

Medstar is a business, hospitals have a near monopoly though unless you are in a very urban area, even then its not a lot better.

Some do better than others, but it isn't as if there is much of a choice though without driving hours.

So many people I talk to, including members of my own family refuse to go to St. Mary's for anything. Instead they choose to go to Calvert which is substantially further away from where we live. But the good news is they are not part of the Medstar money game.