Second Part to Ob-Gyn Vs. Family Doctor

Obgyns aren't specifically trained for ailments such as herniated discs. They don't typically have xray machines, or may not have the contacts to give you a referral to specialists for issues such as those. A familiy Dr can review your issue and refer you to a neurosurgeon or physical therapy, but that is not a n ob's area of training.

You should still have a family Dr for those other things who has a broad knowledge and referrals for other health issues. As for blood tests, I suppose you could always call your ob to see what they cover. Also. I don't know how your insurance works, but mine views ob visits as specialist so co-pays are more expensive. Insurance may not approve non women's health related issues through an ob specialist.

OK- short & sweet answer. I think you need both and I'd imagine people have already told you why. Here is something else.

Check out your insurance plan. One of the stipulations of the new health care bill is provisions for "well visits" (I mean, that they are paid for by your insurance company). You may find you can find you can visit both at no cost. I know my old plan used to pay for one well visit a year, but I'd have to pick OB/GYN or GP...now I get both.

I think you need to see both. However, you lots of doctors are just gyn, not ob and since you are done with kids -read your first post-you could go that route. You really need a family doc though for everything else, blood work, tests, etc. IMO

Awesome What Happened. I understand wanting to consolidate but glad you see the need to keep them separate. I don't know if you watch 30 Rock, but Dr. Spaceman is like a doctor of EVERYTHING, and while it cracks me up, it's not possible for 1 doctor to do well in all areas.

And also, it took me years to reach this point, but now I will not go to a male OB/GYN. I can NOT begin to tell you how much difference the experience is. Women helping women--it's awesome.

Honestly you need an OB and a family doctor. The OB handles things in her own specialty, anything womanly related and you surely need to keep on a doc like that on hand. You can get blood tests done but I doubt you can do a lower back problem. Some insurance requires that you have your regular physicial refer you to specialist doctors. My husband had to go see our promary care doc and then get a referral to another specialty doctor before getting his back fixed. The insurance will not pay for MRI's, XRAYS, etc without a primary care doc referring you first. Some insurance will but you still want someone who is specialized in those areas. OBs are specialized in womanly things.....OBs do take care of thyroid issues.

My OB did the blood work to test my cholesterol and thyroid and such, but would not treat me when the results came in...he referred me to my family doctor. I imagine an ob will not treat a herniated disc as it is not the area of expertise.

I did see our family doctor for two years for my yearly pap smears...my Ob-gyn wouldn't take my insurance and I didn't want to hunt for a doctor I liked. He did my checkups and exams for me, but made sure it was clear that if anything came back abnormal, he would want me to find a gynecologist.

LOL- I love your response on What Happened.