dialysis doctor

[Ohio Buckeye]

When I was going to my regular gp and found my kidneys were failing, he
sent me to a neph. who was part of the davita group of 5 drs. who do the
clinic.  So of course he sent me to the davita class and I chose to do home pd
and am now on the cycler.  The 5 drs. rotate on a 3 mo. basis.  Some are ok and
some I do not care for at all.  Is there any way that any of you know of that I
can continue to do pd at home and find my own neph and have 1 dr. of my
own choosing instead of having to deal with 5 different drs. or is this just the way it is
done for everyone?  I go onc a month for blood work and then go back to get
blood results, see one of the drs. (whoever is on that month), sw, dietitian and
my nurse.  I really don't like the dr. setup here.  Do I have any other options?
Thanks for any answers any of you know of.

[goofynina]

O.B.  are the 5 docs your talking about the only docs that go to your clinic?  I have recently switched my nephs and it was a very easy transition, i just simply told my PD nurse that i wanted to switch nephs, told her which neph I wanted and she took care of the paperwork for me.  I really do hope you are able to switch to the neph of your choice so that way you know who it is you are going to be dealing with each and every time, it helps when it is the same one each and every time and besides that, after all the shit you've been through DAMMIT YOU DESERVE IT!!!  Demand it O.B. and dont take no for an answer.  Good luck to you and remember we are just a keyboard away 

[Sluff]

You might only be a keyboard away but wait until you see goofynina's keyboard.

I would think OB that you should have a choice.

[KT0930]

OB, though I've never switched neph's while doing dialysis, I have several times while I had a functioning transplant, and I would think it's a similar process...go to your insurance's website, search for nephs in your area, and choose one. Then call the one you want to see, explain you're a current PD patient and want to switch docs. They should be able to send you all the release forms to get your records sent from your previous doc.

I've seen docs rotate through clinics before, but the patients still saw their own doctor (the one of their choosing) once a month. The worst that could happen is you might have to switch from Davita to Fresenius or Baxter, depending on what clinic the doc you choose is associated with, but that would only require switching the connector portion of your cath (I think). Hope this helps and you find a doc you like.

[paris]

OB, I changed nephs in the same office. I didn't really "click" with the first one and didn't feel like he did enough  for me.  When I ended up in the hospital, he walked in to my room on Thanksgiving Day, told me I had kidney failure and would be on dialysis in 6 months and left.  My family wasn't there yet--it was 6:30 in the morning!  I didn't think he handled the situation in the best manner.  Then another neph from the same office saw me the next day, took time to explain things.  My next visit to the office, I asked the nurse if I could change doctors. No one questioned me. It was just done. And I LOVE my neph. He treats me with respect and listens to all my questions. If he doesn't have an immediate answer, he will research and call me at home.   So keep pushing, you should beable to see the doctor you want. It is important to have a good repore with you health care team.