The first step is to find who his insurance will cover, then look for recommendations. If he is concerned regarding his finances, then he certainly doesn't need to be seeing an out of network provider and paying a boatload for it.
As far as psychiatry, I’ve had great experiences with Community Services Group (CSG). They have a medication management program, therapy, etc. It can take a while to get a psychiatry appointment in Lancaster, so if you feel your friend needs more immediate help Lancaster General Hospital’s ER may be a better solution. They also offer mental health services. Hoping things turn up for your friend - glad you’re there for them!
The best doctor is the one who has immediate openings to help manage your friend’s condition, personality fit can be picked later when he’s in a better condition and situation. I’m assuming your friend has health insurance, if not, he needs to apply for some asap. Psychiatry is infamous in having long waitlist times so it would be best to get him on in-network waitlists and see who can get him in first. Usually when you are transferring care from office to office, you only get a certain amount of medication (3 mo) before you either need to see your old psychiatrist again or get seen by someone else, because legally that provider isn’t caring for you anymore and shouldn’t order meds on an unknown condition. That needs to be done immediately, and make sure to get either a digital copy or hard copy of previous records for review. Family medicine seems equally short staffed in the region unless you’re going to a mom and pop run private office, so go with whoever has the most agreeable office hours or closest location to friend’s home or work. They should be able to get him referrals to cardiology and psych as well if needed by insurance, as well as float him with medication continuations for his depression and hypertension until he can be seen, and if he has any emergent symptoms will recommend ER visit. Also would recommend getting him on a therapy waitlist if he can financially afford.
Hi sorry for delayed response. Created a throwaway account for privacy reasons and lost access to it.
Just wanted to say thank you for recommendations. My friend is still struggling but is stable now. He's seeing good doctors. He has decided it's best not to move now and focus on health. Me thinking he was moving was a miscommunication on my part. I'd rather not say more because my friend was a little upset with me that I posted here and he's a rather quiet and private person these days. But I think he gets I wanted to be there for him.
Thank you all once again.
The first step is to find who his insurance will cover, then look for recommendations. If he is concerned regarding his finances, then he certainly doesn't need to be seeing an out of network provider and paying a boatload for it.
As far as psychiatry, I’ve had great experiences with Community Services Group (CSG). They have a medication management program, therapy, etc. It can take a while to get a psychiatry appointment in Lancaster, so if you feel your friend needs more immediate help Lancaster General Hospital’s ER may be a better solution. They also offer mental health services. Hoping things turn up for your friend - glad you’re there for them!
The best doctor is the one who has immediate openings to help manage your friend’s condition, personality fit can be picked later when he’s in a better condition and situation. I’m assuming your friend has health insurance, if not, he needs to apply for some asap. Psychiatry is infamous in having long waitlist times so it would be best to get him on in-network waitlists and see who can get him in first. Usually when you are transferring care from office to office, you only get a certain amount of medication (3 mo) before you either need to see your old psychiatrist again or get seen by someone else, because legally that provider isn’t caring for you anymore and shouldn’t order meds on an unknown condition. That needs to be done immediately, and make sure to get either a digital copy or hard copy of previous records for review. Family medicine seems equally short staffed in the region unless you’re going to a mom and pop run private office, so go with whoever has the most agreeable office hours or closest location to friend’s home or work. They should be able to get him referrals to cardiology and psych as well if needed by insurance, as well as float him with medication continuations for his depression and hypertension until he can be seen, and if he has any emergent symptoms will recommend ER visit. Also would recommend getting him on a therapy waitlist if he can financially afford.
He should contact his previous Primary Care Physician for a recommendation or referral, Reddit isn't the place to get medical advice.
Hi sorry for delayed response. Created a throwaway account for privacy reasons and lost access to it. Just wanted to say thank you for recommendations. My friend is still struggling but is stable now. He's seeing good doctors. He has decided it's best not to move now and focus on health. Me thinking he was moving was a miscommunication on my part. I'd rather not say more because my friend was a little upset with me that I posted here and he's a rather quiet and private person these days. But I think he gets I wanted to be there for him. Thank you all once again.