save money with local medical care
We need doctors that are closer to our home. The daughter has seen the same pediatrician since we first moved to Maryland, which sounds wonderful except for the fact that she was local for less than 2 of the 5 years we’ve lived here. Since then, she’s been more than 30 miles from where we’ve lived. But, I really like the doctor, value the continuity of care, and don’t want to leave her practice. About two years ago, the daughter started seeing an orthodontist which was then less than 15 miles away, now the distance is almost twice a far. Again, I really like the care we receive and am not interested in finding a new doctor.
For the most part, this isn’t a major issue except when I get the clever idea of scheduling appointments with each office on the same day, today. School was closed for some reason or another and I figure this would be the best time to take care of some standard appointments. This would have worked out fine if the pediatrician and orthodontist were nearby, instead they are both 30+ miles from us, in opposite directions. And, of course, it had to be wet and rainy today and traffic was slow and tedious. So we drove the 30+ miles to the orthodontists, just to learn that it is now time for phase II of her treatment (aka time to fork over $4,200), then 60+ miles to the doctor where all is well (but we need to come back in 6 months instead of 12), and then 30+ miles home.
I’m exhausted from all the driving and waiting around for appointments. The daughter is happy though because the appliance that is in her mouth gets to stay in for a few more weeks and she got to eat at one of her favorite places for lunch. While I don’t plan to change doctors any time soon, I will be wise enough to not schedule both appointments for the same day again. As for future children, a more local pediatricians is a must — but so far, the mummer about local doctors isn’t very promising (at least not for parents interested in altered or delayed vaccination schedules).