Appendix G -We asked those who told us they have their primary care doctor off-island why.
These are their responses.
| Why Not |
|---|
| when Camille left I had no doctor on island that I fully trusted. |
| We belong to KP in Seattle, and we established a primary care provider there while we were residing mainly in Seattle. |
| We are used to a large group practice which can provide flexibility in scheduling, extended hours, low wait times for appointments, and the ability for follow-up diagnostics/test in the same clinic the same day, and specialty provider access. |
| Was already using Virginia Mason specialty care services, and started using their primary care services when OMC was starting to fail and in the poorly planned transition. Have been satisfied with their primary and specialty care services, and see no reason to change. |
| Use it for incidentals. For more complicated needs Peace Health because they are capable of rigorous testing. |
| Waiting to see if the quality of care warrants a change and if the quality is there our household will switch to a on-care primary care provider. |
| Very happy with our current docs and waiting to learn more about the UW program. |
| wait times too long |
| They don't accept my insurance. |
| They just send you off island |
| Spend a lot of time off island |
| The UW center would not provide a blood draw without an appointment and the closest appointment was a few days out and was expensive. |
| There has been so much instability and physician turnover at the medical center that I have stayed with my off island physician. I also would only consider a female as my primary care physician. |
| Rude, unresponsive desk staff. Only serve as gatekeeper to mainland care anyway. Not sure how stable current solution is. |
| Quality. |
| Quality of care, lack of referral network for complex issues. |
| Quality, reliability |
| Quality is not an issue I take lightly. |
| Providers keep changing on Orcas, female doctors left before appointment made, easier to access primary care when staying off island in a city for awhile, where you can also follow up on any recommended standard tests quickly and easily. |
| Prior horrid experience with Shinstrom. Not a fan of Geiffer. Established elsewhere when those two were the only options. Will go to UW for acute needs. |
| Prefer broader capabilities than currently available on the island; would consider changing in the future. |
| Not included in insurance in network preferred providers |
| Past negative experience |
| Perceived poor quality, prefer a female primary care doc |
| Not in health plan |
| Not enough time to deal with getting registered even though I was a client prior to the transfer to the UofW. I understand there was a lot of money spent to make this easier but the result are not good.....and the other clinic has had less than skillful service (failed to diagnose cancer for my mother and misinformation for me) |
| Not enough services here In general and I?m Tentative as to weather they will be here next Year so I protect my base |
| Not enough services available. |
| Not always available and I use a specialist not a general practioner |
| Not enough availability |
| Moved here full-time 1.5 years ago and have maintained my Seattle-area medical team for routine care, feeling that island care availability was minimal. I support the PHD creation. |
| My doctor wasn?t here |
| No predictable care. |
| New to island |
| No confidence in the quality of care. |
| New healthy residents so no need as yet. |
| Long history with Polyclinic in Seattle. Tell us IF -- and WHY -- you might want more of us to use Island clinics, tell us whether it will cost taxpayers more -- or less -- for me to do so. Your earlier questions suggest you lose money on patient visits. This question suggests existing clinics are not busy all day and need more patients; if so, why would it cost more tax dollars to handle more patients???? Commissioners need to do a better job of explaining the economics to residents. |
| Insurance coverage, providers - our specialists are in the Seattle Metro area. |
| Kaiser insurance and medicre |
| Lack of confidence in providers & UW red tape |
| Like my provider and don't want to switch. |
| Local care has been too inconsistent. I prefer to have a long term primary care provider. |
| I'm satisfied with my current off-island provider. |
| Inadequate qualifications and tools |
| I?m fond of my doctor in Bham I?ve had for 25 years. Will switch to Orcas provider when she retires. |
| I have plans to do so but I have a doctor in Seattle I have been seeing for 20 years. |
| I have special needs that need consistent care |
| I prefer a female doctor. When I moved to the island, none was available. |
| I see a reputable naturopath. The island doctors I've seen so far are very resistant to naturopathic options. Of course, if I need something like stitches or vaccines, I see a regular doctor, but the resistance and negative views toward naturopathy are unfounded and frustrating. The doctors I've dealt with here automatically discount a naturopath's recommendation as wrong. They generally do not listen. I would love to have some more healthcare professionals who can approach healthcare and consider all reputable approaches. My doctor is accepted by my insurance, and any treatment plan we discuss I can research in peer-reviewed journals. It's not quackery, and it would be nice to have a few people who understand this on the island. This is Orcas after all! |
| I have not had good experiences for after hour care and had to go to the Fire Dept. |
| Found excellent doctor. |
| Friday Harbor Hospital is easy to get care and appointments. Chose a primary care Dr. there. |
| Have been with the Polyclinic/Seattle for over 50 years....don?t want to give up my doctors and access to Swedish Hospital |
| Have not had good service. Too long to get into the doctor and diagnosis not always accurate. |
| Have PCP (primary care physician ) off island (for now). |
| Haven't needed to (yet). |
| History, established relationships. |
| I am healthy. I got a Primary care Dr. 3 yrs.ago in Bur!ingrown Peace Health.before the new Drs. came to Orcas. |
| I am planning to use an island clinic for Primary Care, and am happy there will now be a female primary care physician. It is important to me to have better access and hours. |
| I don?t like the wait time for an appointment (if I have a UTI, I would like a lab done that day). |
| I have a long and extended history with the internal medicine and dermatology departments at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic. I have however established a patient relationship with Dr. Russell at UW Orcas Clinic. |
| I have Kaiser |
| I have lived here 22 years and have never been happy with any Orcas medical provider. Poor quality care and understandably limited services. Yes, I believe there should be an acute care clinic available to everyone, but I do not believe tax money should be frittered away on a full service facility that will not function any differently than what is here now. The labor and professional staffing does not exist on Orcas. People (read "wealthy retired" or simply "entitled") should not be moving here who expect city level services. This is a rural island. Peace Health Friday Harbor is a top facility with great doctors, why not join their district? Provide a shuttle bus from the ferry. I am very pleased with primary care clinic there. |
| Don?t like the providers. |
| Don't have confidence in the doctors |
| Established care south after my provider left practicing on Orcas and remain happy with my current Doc |
| Difficult to get an appointment and/or see a physician when medical attention is required. |
| Couldn't get appointment for urgent care. No call backs from any nurses, PA's or Doctors so I travel to Bellevue for primary care with Kaiser. |
| Cant provide service we need |
| Conflict of interest |
| Cancer-I only use Orcas Family for blood draws occasionally, or fill-in because I am so often in Seattle for my oncologist or other major issues. |
| Because when I called I was told the next appointment was 14 days away. I went to the mainland because of the pain and the long unnecessary delay. |
| Because we can?t get in for three weeks! |
| Because there is a much wider network of primary care physicians on the mainland. They are in our insurance network and have associated specialists which we need due to our health issues. |
| Because there has been so much uncertainty and continues. Our records have not been available. We had established care with Virginia Mason for specialist care. I expect UW to coordinate with our physicians at Virginia Mason as they coordinate with UW. |
| We have only lived on Orcas for 2 1/2 years. We are pretty healthy and have only needed to see our drs for annual checkups. We have made initial connections with the UW clinic for acute care options and we plan to move our primary care docs as soon as we know exactly what services will be provided on Orcas |