Same issue here. I had a doc who I liked alot, but she quit to go work for the FDA. So, I started a process to try to find someone, and the only opportunity I could find was a concierge guy. He "only" charges $1800 a year.
First appointment he canceled because he had laryngitis. Second appointment canceled because he had torn his Achilles tendon and had to have surgery. Did I get any money back? Of course not. (He had someone covering for him).
Finally, I get in to see him. We chat about stuff. This first meeting was just a "meet and greet." At one point he says, "Let's talk about diet. You know, the three meals a day thing is relatively new to mankind. The cave men were hunter/gatherers, and did not eat breakfast. Many people these days stop eating at 8 PM and don't eat anything else until noon." I looked him in the eye and said, "Doc, have you seen any cavemen around lately? Didn't work out so well for them did it?" (My standard breakfast is no-fat yogurt, cheese, fruit and coffee....can't be that bad for you).
Then I get a real appointment with him, but first it is preceded by a meeting with a physician's assistant two weeks earlier. She put me through a hearing test, measured my height and weight, took BP, checked some other stuff. (Height went down, weight went up, but both marginally). Then she gave me three words to remember and said she'd ask me about them later in the appointment. Then gave me a piece of paper and asked me to draw a clock with the hands pointing to 10 past 11. Well, I can't draw. At all. I can barely draw a circle. This was very stressful to me and took me fully 10 minutes to do. She was staring at me. (I should have looked at my watch for help, but didn't...I'll do that next time). Ultimately, I gave her the paper and then she asked me for the three words which, by this time, I had completely forgotten due to the stress of drawing the clock. She measures my grip strength in my two hands.
Besides my inability to recall the three words, the only thing wrong was that my grip strength in my left hand (my non-dominant hand) was pretty diminished, compared to my right hand (the one I use for lifting glasses of wine). I figure that won't kill me.
Then I see the doc two weeks later. He mentions the grip strength and suggests perhaps I should get an MRI of my neck. I said, "Well, I could do that but that won't help the grip strength will it?" He says, "No. But it might tell us whether there is something wrong with my neck." I said, "Well, let's suppose it shows that I have some significant neck issues on the MRI, but no symptoms but the decreased grip strength. What then?" He says, "Probably nothing." I said, "Any other ideas?" I had complained of pain in my left knee. He said, "We could do an x-ray to see if you have arthritis in the left knee." I said, "Doc, I'm 70. I'm sure I have arthritis in the left knee. But, let's say the x-ray shows that I have alot of arthritis in the knee, then what?" He says, "You'll be put on some anti-inflammatory medicine." I said, "I already take that stuff."
What a great adventure. And for $1800 a year! Of course, they bill the medical insurance too.
