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Questions about Certified Quality Care centers

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 5:10 pm
by Bjorn
I live in Portland, OR and I'm thinking about seeing a doctor at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center. I'm not quite sure how this works so I have
a few questions.

Would I just call the clinic number and make an appointment?
About how far out on the calendar are the appointments?
Would I need to return to the clinic a few times after the first visit? (That would become a problem since I'd have to fly in, rent a car, motel etc)
My insurance won't cover this, so about how much would it cost to see a doctor there?
If they give me an opiate RX, how much of a hassle is it for refills in another state?
I'm sure the doctors are well qualified and I wouldn't hesitate to see any of them, but would you recommend seeing only Dr Buchfuhrer? He's available at the clinic one day a month though.

Thanks

Re: Questions about Certified Quality Care centers

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 3:49 am
by ViewsAskew
I see Dr. B. at his office in Downey, CA, rather than at Stanford - he is there most of the time. I originally paid $300 (a few years ago) to see him - I had no insurance - for the first visit. I now pay about $100 once a year when I see him (my insurance not accepted in CA, so they treat me as if I had none).

He had never made me come back more than once a year. He works with me through email and has worked with my local docs many times.

Re: Questions about Certified Quality Care centers

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:27 am
by Bjorn
ViewsAskew
I appreciate the input.
Well, I'll get some info from the Downey office then.
I find it interesting that Dr B has worked with your local docs. Not sure if my doc would be receptive to that but it could happen.
Good to have some idea of the initial costs for this too.

Re: Questions about Certified Quality Care centers

Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2016 9:47 am
by Rustsmith
Bjorn, I was a patient at one Quality center and the medical school where my current doctor work is in the process of applying to become one. I cannot say what you would find with Dr B with respect to getting a new patient appointment, but my experience has been that it can take a couple of months. Part of that is because there are so many of us looking for support from a physician who really understands what is required to treat serious cases of RLS and part of it is because many of the physicians at the centers only see patients a couple of days a week because they also spend time teaching or doing research. Both of the doctors working in this role have schedules that allow them to see patients one day per week. With only 8 hrs/wk available for their patients and the extra time that is required for a new patient appointment, there is quite a bit of "competition" to get the very few appointments that are available.
However, with that said, my experience has been that it has been worth the wait. Prior to moving to a doctor at one of the Quality Centers, I saw two different neurologists. I now know that one of them was completely clueless about RLS. She did not know how to treat me, even when I went back to her with my diagnosis. The other one was so busy handling the business details associated with has practice that he relied upon is PA's and nurses to handle his patients. Unfortunately, this meant that when something out ordinary would come through the door, such as a severe case of RLS or one of augmentation, it was beyond the PA's abilities and the doctor wasn't around to take over. So even though I have had to wait for long times to get appointments, both of my Quality Care doctors have been willing to do whatever was necessary to provide the appropriate level of care.

Re: Questions about Certified Quality Care centers

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2016 4:22 pm
by Bjorn
Thanks Steve. I knew it would probably take a while to get in to see a doctor. A couple of months is ok.

For whatever reason, my RLS symptoms go up and down in intensity. I can have minimal problems (with pramipexole) for a couple of weeks and then I'll have pretty bad symptoms for a few days. When it's bad I'm motivated to see a specialist and then when it gets better I'm not so motivated.

But I get motivated again real fast if I forget to take the pramipexole. I hate being dependent on it. I want to get off it, but I know I'll need some help, hence the Certified Quality Care questions.