When Claudia Siegel got a stomach bug earlier this year, she reached out to her primary care doctor to prescribe something to relieve her diarrhea. The Philadelphia resident was surprised when she received an online message informing her that because she hadn’t visited her doctor in more than three years, she was no longer a patient.
And since he wasn’t accepting new patients, she would have to find a new primary care physician.
“I think it’s unconscionable,” Siegel said, noting that many patients may have stayed away from the doctor’s office the past few years because of the COVID pandemic. “There was no notification to patients that they’re on the verge of losing their doctor.”
