So my son is turning a year old next month and while he has been going to the same doctor since he was born and it's at the best hospital (Northwestern) it's a lil hard to get to by mass transit, it's expensive and to be honest I'm not the biggest fan of the doctors there. We are moving within this month as well and I'd like to find a doctor that will be closer to our new apartment.
What I'm wondering is should I have him go to the new pediatrician for his first birthday or should I have him go to his regular doctor for the last time on his first birthday? What are your thoughts?
Good suggestion, Judi1158.
I also had to switch peditricians when my daughter was around 3 months old and we moved out of state. It was stressful, but I actually MUCH prefer her new dr then her first.
Get a new one NOW! The one year check would be a great way to see how you like the new doctor.
I would go to the new ped for the 1 yr visit. It might be good for the new doctor to have a well-check in the file just in case your son gets sick and needs to see the doctor before his next well-check. Always a good base line to help the problem solving of a cold/virus.
I'd recommend going to the new pediatrician for the 1 year well-baby visit (you'll need to pay to have the medical records transferred in advance). My rationale is that you'll want a baseline moving forward since the appointments are going to be less frequent as he gets older, and any abnormalities in development will be easier to identify if they know where he started.
That's my personal opinion - what I would do if I were in your situation. Good luck. I hope you find that you love the new pediatrician.
why not both, finish off with a last visit to the dr you have had and get the records ready to be transferred...the once you settle make an appt with the new dr and go in and meet them and have them meet your child, make sure the records are all safely there and establish your relationship with the dr and his staff.
Just a thought...
I think that I would call the office & ask for your sons medical records. Dr.'s do not like loosing patients so I would offer an explanation to the office staff that you are moving. I think by picking the records up in person or having the records mailed to your home while you a still a patient you will be able to avoid any fee's or service charges for having records copied and mailed out to the new Pediatrician's office. By making the phone call you can also inquire if your son needs any new vaccinations. I would schedule my son's appointment with my current Pediatrician if any vaccinations are required for his age group. If not and he is current with all shots, I would schedule the new appointment with my new Pediatrician's office.
Happy for your move, best of luck!
Mary
Recently overheard another mother in our ped's office while we both were checking out discussing with staff that her insurance would be covering the well-child visit at our practice (she had a letter as proof), even though her kid just had well-visit with former Dr. Maybe your insurance will do the same?
I would make an appt with the new pediatrician. I switched peds when my oldest was 2ish. The second peds offices transcribed some of the immunizations records incorrectly which resulted in my daughter getting an unneccessary immunization. I was livid!! Make sure that you review the immunizations records before consenting to any more. Some offices use a slightly different immunization schedule which can result in some confusion. Check and double check!
At this age, one of the most important aspects of a doctor's visit is whether they are doing good developmental screening. Tons of pediatricians aren't. I would ask your current doc's office what developmental screening tool they use eg Ages and Stages, Denver or another. If they don't formally use a tool, then I would find a doctor near where you will live that does. I changed my daughters doc at 4 months so that the doc was near us in case she got sick. I don't in general think it will matter which choice you make provided they are really doing the developmental screenings that are the most important aspect of a well child visit for 0-3 yr olds.
If you can find a peditrican in time for the 1 year check up I would say go to the new one. Doctors are use to patients leaving/transfering to another doctor so switch as soon as you can, don't worry about when you do it.
Hope you find one that you like!
if your baby has no major issues its no big deal to see him/her again than say goodbye. if a very negative experience to go than also no biggie to just move on to somewhere else.
Get all your ducks in a row before you do any switching. Depending on your insurance, the change might take a while before it goes into effect. We switched *right* at the 18 month mark and got behind on our vaccinations. While I wasn't terribly worried about getting caught up, by being late it really screwed up his schedule for the next few times he went. We went to the 2-year but couldn't get certain things done because not enough time had elapsed between the last time he got his vax, etc.
Do your research now, and get everything ready to make the change. Go see the pediatrician for the last time on the 1st birthday and then do the switch. You will probably also want to, at this appointment, be ready to request a copy of the record to be sent to the new doctor (it could be costly; this is a standard practice for copying/sending records). You also might wish to write a hand-written note to let the doctors know why you are leaving their practice - pick the main reason, and it doesn't have to be a long and involved note, just something so they know why. No, you don't have to do this but it is a professional courtesy and I'm sure they'd appreciate the feedback.
The only drawback I can see to not going to a new pediatrician for the 1st birthday would be if he gets sick or needs to see the doctor before his next well-child checkup. It might be a little strange going to see a brand-new doctor for the first time for something that might be an illness or emergency.
