A reader writes in…
Hi! I’m wondering if your subscribers would be willing to weigh in on best family physician in the Decatur area. We are new to the area and need to get connected.
v-bsh
Steve
Siv
brianc
At Home in Decatur
At Home in Decatur
Rival
Proud Mama
brianc
Chris Billingsley
New Scott
The Walrus
Looking Back: The 2011 Atlanta Snowpocalypse
Hello! I am just responding so I can be notified of comments in this strand. We are also new and need to find a physician!
I highly recommend Dr. Ilene Grossman at Winn Way Internal Medicine. I’ve also seen Dr. Chacko for an emergency visit (same practice) and really liked her as well. My husband also sees Dr. Grossman and likes the care he receives.
For a pediatrician, we see Dr. Rudnicki at Children’s Medical Group in Century Center.
Chad Costley – Ponce Primary Care. He just added a new MD to the practice to join himself and Kara (nurse practitioner). Great folks – they take their time with you. http://www.ponceprimarycare.com/
+1 for Ponce Primary Care and Dr. Costley. It’s probably the most modern and best-run medical practice I have ever used, and all the doctors are very friendly and helpful.
Another vote for Costley.
Just don’t plan on getting old. All with Medicare got a “Dear soon-to-be-former-patient” letter.
I keep wanting to use some of the wonderful local physicians that folks mention often but my problem is that they all admit to DeKalb Medical Center. Over the years, my experience is that DeKalb Medical has too many horror stories, not because of physicians but because of the hospital as a whole, especially the ER; I trust Emory at Clifton but it’s customer service is awful, ditto for Emory Midtown; so I’m only comfortable at Piedmont.
I spent a good part of last year camped at DeKalb Medical as “extended family” for a senior neighbor. My firsthand view of ER (3 trips), ICU, post surgery, and monitoring care was that, as a whole, the doctors, nurses, aides, housekeeping and other staff are dedicated professionals. At no time did we feel his care was compromised by the setting. Medical professionals everywhere are stretched thin, and ensuring the best care for your loved one means advocating on his or her behalf.
[DeKalb Medical is also a very good neighbor to the nearby neighborhoods. They were and will continue to be active participants in the Medline LCI. They participated in the 25MPH effort for Sycamore Dr. They’re quick to respond when contacted, and they do their best to pitch in where they can.]
Like AHID, I feel most comfortable with Piedmont for a variety of reasons, and I’m willing to drive outside of Decatur to get doctors who are affiliated with Piedmont.
The other critical thing for me is a doctor who has patients come in a few days before the annual physical visit to do blood and urine tests so that the doctor actually has the results when you are sitting together face-to-face. (Our last internist took blood at the physical, and then sent a letter with the results. Once we got to our 40s and started having issues, it was extremely unsettling to find out about them in a letter and have to schedule a follow up appointment to discuss things with the doctor.)
We use Dr. Robin Pyburn in Old Fourth Ward and I could write a book about how fabulous she is.
The Emory Clinic is light years ahead of what it once was, in terms of customer service.
Totally agree with that! I recommend Dr. Angela Prakash to everyone looking for a good internist/gp.
Good to know. Have to admit that I haven’t tried it in years.
My experience with the ER at Dekalb Medical is that they are sometimes understaffed. Was there last summer and there was only one doctor there, I was told. I got good care once I saw the doctor, but it took 6 hours to see her (6 hours of severe pain…thank goodness it was not an imminently life threatening situation )
Chad Costley for family practice.
For Pediatrics we like Children’s Medical Group PC on Century Blvd.
For pediatrics, we also like Children’s Medical Group–they are high quality in terms of best practices but also in terms of clinic administration.
Jitendra (“J.T.”) Singh, M.D.
2801 N. Decatur Road, Suite 300
404-296-3111
Great Doctor. Very smart and takes time with his patients. Really nice person.
Second the recommendation of JT Singh. And not just because of his cool, though non-underscored, name.
My family has been going to see Dr. Robert Monett for almost 20 years. It’s a small practice so we have been lucky enough to establish a relationship with the doctors.
Dr. Monett is not a pill-pusher, he is willing to say that you don’t need medicine if you don’t, he doesn’t prescribe ‘just because’ or to get you out of his office.
Also, he treats his patients as a ‘whole person’ not just a collection of symptoms.
Since they are family docs, we all go — me, my 20 y.o. daughter and my husband. Wouldn’t go anywhere else!
I stopped going to Dr. Monett when he asked me if I have a firearm in my home.
Good grief — to asking the question, not your appropriate response.
I think that’s a pretty standard question, at least for pediatrics. I have also been asked, and when I answered yes, the doctor just moved on to the next question on the (seemingly endless) list without reaction.
I can certainly understand your position given the sensitivity surrounding firearms. But since I have a CCW and am a member of the NRA, I figured the gubmint, Google, the NSA, North Korea, and my neighbors already know I have firearms, so what’s the harm in our doctor knowing.
Just none of his/her business. He didn’t ask me if I had a swimming pool. Or STAIRS!! You know, things that tend to be even more dangerous in the home than firearms.
But point taken on the level of knowledge already obtained through other means!
A group of doctors in England started a crusade against “long” kitchen knives on the theory that they served no useful purpose in the kitchen (which is false) and presented too great a danger to stabbing victims. The idea being that since shorter knives don’t penetrate as far, that’s all anyone should be allowed to have.
As always, Walrus, they are only looking out for you.
Actually, pediatricians ARE supposed to ask about swimming pools! And if you have a locked gate around them and make sure no children use them without an adult who could get them out if they were drowning. And if you have a toddler, whether you have gates at the ends of your stairs. I’m glad pediatricians ask these questions. They are just as important as whether you have started to offer your child rice cereal. Most of pediatrics is advice on parenting, safety, child development, and vaccination with a little infectious disease thrown in.
He’s not a pediatrician. And he was treating me, an adult. And he only asked about firearms, not swimming pools or stairs. And I still am not sure these questions are appropriate for a pediatrician, either.
I thought walruses used vets.
I’m a walrus/human hybrid. Don’t you oppress me! 😉
That’s because stairs and pools aren’t nearly as deadly as fire arms.
Accidental deaths in the home due to falls and drowning far outnumber deaths in the home due to a firearm.
Ahh, true…but that’s because there are more falls and people in pools. Given either incident, one is much more likely to die from a gunshot than from a fall or a pool.
I appreciate Dr. Monett asking if there are firearms in the home.
Well, why wouldn’t you? It makes complete sense for a doctor to ask.
They want to know if you own a gun so they can charge you accordingly.
Just in case you want to pay them a visit for outrageous billing errors or overcharges.
What, is he gonna report it to Obama’s FEMA death squads or something? Or is it just part of the standard “how much do you drink, do you smoke” health questions?
(also, if you’re having suicidal ideations or other psychological issues, your doctor knowing there’s a gun in your house is prrrrrobably for the best.)
“Or is it just part of the standard “how much do you drink, do you smoke” health questions?”
These are directly related to your health, including possible disease, liver and lung function. You know, stuff that concerns medical treatment. Whether you own a gun relates, at most, to the mere possibility that you might have an accident in your home involving the gun. Medical care doesn’t require a doctor to inquire into every possible accident that might befall a patient, which begs the question of why it’s a “standard” question these days. And why would anyone expect doctors to be experts in gun safety merely because they are doctors?
It would be one thing to ask about guns if the doctor has some reason to suspect mental instability or depression. But the fact that the question is “standard” shows that at least some doctors ask everyone as a matter of course.
I am not concerned about reporting, it’s just not any of his business. And if you can’t understand the difference between asking about guns and smoking, then no need to discuss further.
Isn’t he pretty close to retirement? For my part, I wouldn’t start going to someone if i knew I would have to start the search over again pretty soon.
We use Dr, Monett as well as all of the doctors in the Downtown Decatur Medical Group. We like them. So if Monett retires, we’re OK with the others and they are on our new Humana policy. They were also on our old BCBS policy.
As far as the gun, I think I was asked that question by Dr. Jarett another doctor in the group so it wasn’t just a Monett thing. She is no longer with them but they have another guy that took her place. It might be a policy that is required by Dekalb Medical since they are affiliated with them. It might be a good thing for them to know though in case there is some kind of depression, mental health issue or if they suspect abuse.
FYI – there’s a great Facebook group called Decatur Mamas Enjoying Sanity (DAMES) that has great participation for questions like this.
I believe the firearms question is required now by some funding sources ( standardized point and click templates). As a speech pathologist, you wouldn’t believe some of the questions I was required to ask / document at a hospital
The Doctors at Oakhurst Pediatrics are excellent. I can’t recommend them enough. …for those of you who are under the age of 18.
We use the Downtown Decatur Kaiser Permanente and they have a great pediatrician – Dr. Gautier. He lives in the area (I’ve seen him jogging around on weekends. I know it’s an HMO and many do not like HMOs, but we have found KP very convenient. Love that the Decatur location has its own pharmacy that is generally cheaper on everything, even OTC than any other pharmacy. Also, love the bigger locations and the way they have x-ray, labs, many specialists and pharmacy all in one place with electronic communication.
We were with KP for over 10 years and our daughter saw Dr. Gautier. He was a great pediatrician. No longer with KP; it got too expensive for self employed people.
Dr. Monnett was really nice. We stopped using him because he/his staff was awful about returning phone calls and my husband had pretty much continual problems getting the prescription he needed (it was supposed to be on file and they kept sending the same one or something). Used them for about 8 years. Now my husband is at Costley and I don’t currently have a PCP.
My kids use Oakhurst Pediatrics and they are awesome.