Dr. Joan Marie Bloom, MD

I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area in late 2009, where health care is provided by thousands of highly qualified and credentialed physicians. However, in my 12 years in that city I was profoundly aware that most doctor's had a mental time clock going as to how long they would spend with a patient. Also, it seemed their time was more important than yours and long waits in the reception area and then finally in an exam room waiting for the physician to enter was common. I was quite worried, when I retired to North Idaho that I would experience poorer care. To my amazement and blessing, my husband (who is highly critical of most physicians) and I we discovered Dr. Bloom. While it was initially difficult to get on as a "new" patient, once achieved we have found her care superior in every way from that experienced in CA. The waiting room waits are never longer than 5 minutes, and the exam room waits also very brief. As for her bed-side manner, as a new patient she spent well over an hour with me going over my quite extensive health care records. Now on a quarterly basis, I see her for no less than 30-45 minutes. She LISTENS to me, notes my questions in writing and then answers them in detail. And, she actually goes over my lab reports with me line by line....so atypical from what I experienced in CA, where the typical review was "your blood work came back okay." When necessary she has referred me to a specialist, but as a family practitioner she handles my GYN and Endocrinology needs. She works closely with my cardiologist too. I would highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a thorough family physician, who is informal in her manner and spot on with diagnosis.

I do not use the medical community often as I am very healthy and somewhat distrustful of Western Medicine. I saw this Dr about 6 years ago for a gyn issue. She referred me to a specialist. The issue was resolved and I haven't had a need to see a doc since. I called today for an appt.. was told I couldn't get in any later than 3, and so I arranged for a sub for my classes and made the appt. They called me back about 30 min. later to let me know they suddenly weren't taking new patients. Hmmm. I was a bit rude to the receptionist because she couldn't make a 3:15 appt. work, I am thinking they decided to penalize me for that by refusing me service, even though I'd signed Bloom on as my PCP. Go figure. I would suggst you go elsewhere.