My regular doctor is on a long-term leave of absence, I don't know why, and I have mixed feelings about the doctor who's replacing her. And I'm going to need to get my prescription renewed within the next three months. So I was looking up the replacement doctor on RateMDs.com, and someone said that he's a bad doctor for women's health issues, and that he prescribed her (presumably it's a woman) unnecessary treatments. Now when I read bad at women's health, my first concern is whether I'll have difficulty extracting birth control pills from him. Other commenters have described him as a bit judgemental (and he administered my last Gardasil and seemed a bit judgy about it, despite the fact that I had already discussed it extensively with my own doctor and had already started the treatment), so this makes me worried that I might have to jump through hoops to get my pills. But the same commenter (and others) also suggested that perhaps he overprescribes, which is a good thing for me since what I want is a prescription. Plus in my googling I found him on a website of health care providers for people with HIV/AIDS, and it seems to me that a doctor who would advertise/allow himself to be advertised to people with HIV/AIDS wouldn't be the kind of person who would give someone shit for a routine birth control prescription.
So I really wish I could ask some of these commenters to elaborate on how, exactly, they think he isn't a good doctor for women's health issues. If they don't like how he's treating their menopause or infertility, or if he's quick to prescribe oral contraceptives for endometriosis or something, then at least I'd know I don't have to worry. But if other people have had trouble extracting pills from him, I'd like to know so I can make a backup plan. (My backup plan for if my regular doctor ever mentioned "Hey, you know, you've been on the pill a long time, that's not always a good thing" was to say "All right then, let's talk about Essure" but that might not work as well on a judgemental male doctor who's not good with women's health issues.)
Also, I recently saw an article somewhere suggesting that pharmacists should be allowed to prescribe in simple cases. I would love that! (Or nurses, or nurse practitioners.) The vast majority of my doctor's appointments in my adult life have been about the pill, and it's almost always routine. (And when I've wanted to switch pills, they look stuff up in a book before writing the prescription anyway.) My doctor also has patients with chronic conditions and complicated pregnancies and sicknesses that want immediate attention and degenerative disabilities and, presumably, HIV/AIDS. Is it really necessary to take up an appointment slot for "Everything's fine, blood pressure's decent, more pills please"?
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