<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

If you are in an HMO, all referrals are done via your primary
care physician who is affilated with a medical group that is
associated with a hospital. Thus you are locked into that system
even if you could get better care elswhere.

Some employers offer a PPO option in which you may select
doctors who are out of plan and even out of the system. Your
out of pocket costs are higher as they reimburse at a lower
rate. But if you have medical conditions in your family that
are out of the ordinary, it is worth it to seek the treatment
you need.

Some HMOs are better than others and we are all familiar with
the range of competence in the medical profession. It is really
frustrating to have a doctor blow off a compaint and not
follow-up.

As the population ages, we really need more doctors doing geriatric
medicine who can appreciate and advise about changes in the
digestive and circulatory systems.

Many of us may not have CD in the classic sense but we all exhibit
a sensitivity that effects our sense of wellbeing, if not our
actual health. It would be nice to have physicians who might
address that aspect of health and aid in fine-tuning our lives.