In the past couple of months I’ve gotten to know my way around the Harbor pretty well, from Ocean Shores to Montesano to Grayland. I love it, and I still have plenty of exploring to do. But first, it has to quit raining all the time.

And, of course, my knee has to quit hurting.

The good news is, I was finally able to take positive steps in that direction this past week.

After my last column was published, I received feedback from folks all over the Harbor: many who’ve gone through the same lengthy process to find a new doctor (including one with horrific consequences); some simply empathizing with my situation; a few placing political blame.

But the most productive response came in the form of an email conversation with a longtime local physician — not one of the three I applied to initially — who offered me some context for the practice of screening potential new patients.

He gave me quite a lot of background “from behind the white coat,” which helped me better understand the situation. In a nutshell, he told me there are two primary factors at play: First, doctors are trying to weed out those who are just seeking narcotics, as “these patients can be very difficult legally and otherwise to manage.” This seems perfectly justifiable with no further explanation.

Second, he said, it’s “financially suicidal” to take on too many Medicare patients. This is much more complicated, involving many facets.

Primary care physicians on the Harbor are not raking in the big bucks to begin with, he said. About 75 cents of every dollar that comes into a private general practice around here must go toward overhead, staff salaries, supplies and other expenses; so the docs have to watch their pennies. Sadly, that includes being careful not to take on a disproportionate number of patients whose insurance reimbursement rates leave them swimming in red ink.

From a business perspective, I absolutely understand the reasoning. But these are harsh, ugly facts. Anyone on Medicare who’s seeking a new physician in this environment may be up the proverbial creek without a paddle — and, since one of our handful of local doctors just announced he’s leaving private practice to become a hospitalist, there are plenty of Harborites on that creek right now.

At the end of his initial email, this doctor invited me to become his patient. In fact, he arranged to get me into his office very quickly. He performed a physical exam on my knee and ordered an MRI to confirm whether it’s a torn meniscus, a cracked tibia or something else. Looks like I may be facing surgery no matter which diagnosis it turns out to be, but it’s good to know I’m finally on the right track to fix the problem; and for that, I’m immensely grateful.

I know a lot of others are still out there scrambling to find a new primary care physician. My new doc’s best advice is to wait a couple more weeks for the massive wave of new free-agent patients to recede, then try applying (again, if necessary) to other local practices.

I wish you all the best. And I’ll lend you a paddle whenever I can.

Kat Bryant is lifestyle editor of The Daily World. Reach her at kbryant@thedailyworld.com or on Facebook at Kat Bryant-DailyWorld.