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I didn't expect 253 votes when I launched the poll! While a majority of #disabled people have had 5 or fewer GPs/primary care doctors in their lives, almost a third have had up to 10! And 7.5% have had 16 or more GPs. This doesn't count specialists! #NEISvoid
1/? https://twitter.com/RealKaristina/status/1351391352626573312
1/? https://twitter.com/RealKaristina/status/1351391352626573312
The reasons everyone provided as replies to the poll were so varied, too. Doctor changes were the result of patients moving, doctors moving, docs retiring, docs being harmful, insurance changes, patient's changing needs, bad fit, and more. #NEISvoid
2/?
2/?
The whole concept of "doctor shopping" was called out as an ableist dog-whistle. Doctors provide a service, and if a service provider isn't taking care of your needs, especially health needs, no one should be shamed for looking to find a better doctor. 3/?
In fact, what many ableds sneeringly call "doctor shopping" is generally a case of patients seeing if they connect with a new doctor and moving on if that doctor doesn't meet their needs. It may take multiple tries to find the right doctor. Especially when you're disabled.
4/?
4/?
Abled people can generally settle for the first mediocre doctor they find. You don't need a really GOOD doctor when you only need one for your annual checkup, flu shot, and occasional infection or injury. #NEISvoid
5/?
5/?
Sadly, even GOOD doctors aren't always enough for disabled people. Sometimes, we need GREAT doctors. The definition of a great doctor varies for each patient. For me? I needed a doctor who took me seriously and knows all of the best specialists for MY ISSUES.
6/?
6/?
My cardiologist, referred to me by Dr. B, even told me that he was wary of second-guessing Dr. B's POTS suspicions (he thinks it's "just" my SFN) because she is the locally recognized self-made expert on POTS & related disorders. 7/?
I'd never even heard of POTS before I started seeing Dr. B, and she helped me investigate multiple possibilities before we addressed that. That's the type of primary care doc *I* need. Rule things out to narrow down the possibilities. 8/?
Of course, to ableds, my medical journey to get testing for everything from mitochondrial disease to rheumatological disorders may look like hypochondria. But when you have multiple disabilities, there is a lot of testing to rule things out based on symptom lists. 9/?
Heck, I found out this week that I have a #RareDisease! I went to my ophthalmologist for a complaint that turned out to be normal for a fat woman like me, but Dr. A. ALSO determined that I have papilledema. Swelling of the optic nerve, most likely due to CSF pressure... 10/?
...But I have to have an MRI (scheduled for two days from now) to rule out brain tumor and multiple sclerosis. Then a spinal tap. NOT FUN, but necessary. Dr. A doesn't think I have a brain tumor because the swelling isn't bilateral, but we HAVE to check. 11/?
I wouldn't have even had an ophthalmologist to call if Dr. B hadn't referred me to this practice in 2017. That's right, my hit-the-lottery-perfect primary care doc lined me up with the specialist helping me today with a rare disease that I'd never heard of & is asymptomatic. 12/?
It may seem that I've gone off on a tangent, but it's an example of how the RIGHT primary care doctor is ESSENTIAL for #disabled people, and we shouldn't be shamed with the non-issue of "doctor shopping" just because it's more difficult for us to find them. #NEISvoid
13/FIN
13/FIN
