Is There a Place for a Family Doctor Anymore?

This morning I woke up with some pain in my right eye - it felt like I might have an eye infection, pink eye, something like that.

Since it was uncomfortable, I decided not to do what I usually do in similar situations (i.e. wait until it gets better on its own), but rather to go see a doctor.

I had a couple of choices for how to go about seeing someone:

1. Wait until my doctor's office opened at 9 am, and call them for an appointment. Assuming I could get through, I would then have to stay home until that time, which might be late in the day. Once the time of my appointment arrived, I would go to the doctor's office and wait for my turn (because I would most likely have been "squeezed in").
   
2. Drop my kids at the bus and head straight for MedEmerge, an urgent care office near my house.

I chose option 2 - drove to MedEmerge, arrived there at 8:30, saw a doctor by 9, was out of there by 9:15. In case you're interested, the problem is an ulceration/abrasion on my eye, which we are treating with antibiotics. No contacts for a week, unfortunately.

This is not the first time we've chosen to go the Urgent Care route instead of going to our family doctor. MedEmerge is a little farther away than we would like (about 30 minutes), but it's open much longer hours than a regular doctor's office, it's in-network for our insurance, and the care is good.

Fortunately, I'm pretty healthy. I don't see the doctor too often. And when I do, it's generally for something specific. I haven't developed the stereotypical relationship with my doctor in which he gives me advice, knows my family, etc. My insurance doesn't require me to have a primary care physician to see the doctor of my choice (although I believe MedEmerge would be in-network anyway).

Which brings me to my question: is there a place for the family doctor any more?

For me personally, the answer seems to be "no". Since I don't have a close relationship with my local doctor, and since MedEmerge is convenient and provides good care, I'm likely to just go there for my medical needs in the future.