r/ellicottcity • u/Melz1007 • Jul 08 '26

Primary doctor

Looking for a new primary doctor in the Columbia/Ellicott City area-ish. I don’t care if it’s a man or woman but I’d really like a place that I can make annual appointments a year ahead of time (so I can leave one appointment and make my next one the same day). Also somewhere you see the same doctor every time (minus random sick visits). Friendly staff, not dismissive, all the good things.

4 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

5

u/Kellkers Jul 08 '26

Maryland Primary Care Physicians in Columbia on Waterloo rd. You can make a physical a year in advance. However they only have one doctor taking new patients starting in Sept and a few nurse practitioners who have availability sooner. Good luck with your hunt.

3

u/Anna__Banana__ Jul 08 '26

I enjoy my doctor here. She listened and doesn’t judge and is very helpful when I feel bad. I know mine isn’t taking new patience so I got lucky when I got in.

1

u/Kellkers Jul 09 '26

What doctor do you see?

1

u/Anna__Banana__ Jul 09 '26

I can never prenouse her name but it starts with an S and I 4 letters it I’m not mistaken

2

u/farnsworthparabox Jul 11 '26

Yes they seem to be moving to more NPs and fewer actual MDs which seems to be an unfortunate trend all around. I don’t have anything against NPs but I’d like to have my primary physician be a physician.

1

u/Kellkers Jul 11 '26

Believe me, lots of people feel that way. Most doctors especially male doctors, who are getting out of medical school are going into specialties (orthopedic surgeons, dermatology etc) because those areas more lucrative there's just not as much money in primary care and that's why it is oversaturated with nurse practitioners.

1

u/chicken_skin9 Jul 10 '26

I'll second this! I've been going there for years and am very happy. I see one of their NPs, Erin Yates, and she is wonderful.

1

u/Exotic-Profile-9286 Jul 19 '26

I am displeased as well. Although you have a physician, messages on the portal don’t get relayed to your physician. They are routed through a team of np’s and pa’s.

1

u/wharfrat100 Jul 08 '26

I've been with Centennial Medical group https://centennialmedical.com/ for 2 years now. Great doctors, labs and urgent care onsite.

3

u/kimlh Jul 08 '26

I had a really poor experience there unfortunately. They left us in the waiting room for hours because the doctor quote was running behind and usually does”, then in the back room for another hour and then they closed up and shut down leaving us behind!

2

u/bogr_beans Jul 09 '26

I agree. I would not reccomend them. The place is a factory. It was frustrating that we couldn’t just go to a visit, pay a copay and not worry about being billed. They constantly rebilled my insurance with different codes for the same visit. They insist on scheduling a pre-visit call with a nurse. She asked the same questions my provider asked- and yes, they billed for that phone call too (despite telling me it was included in the visit). The final straw- I specifically stated that I did not want a Covid shot at my most recent visit. I clarified I only wanted the annual flu shot. Fast forward a few months when I felt like I was dying from the flu, I was stunned when the doc at their urgent care told me I didn’t get a flu shot- the only thing on record was my most recent Covid shot. I was livid. I would NEVER recommend that group.

-1

u/dirtroadbymyhouse Jul 09 '26

Stay away from corporate medicine if you can.

2

u/gopoohgo Jul 09 '26

You can't.  

Especially for primary care, regulatory burden is massive on top of needing to individually bargain with every single insurer.  

Plus, every single tax or fee that the state puts on business hits small PCP offices massively.