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Patient phone calls (was Frustrated)From: AMD (anonymous@obgyn.net)Mon, 19 Jun 2000 17:11:26 -0500 (CDT)
I do genuinely appreciate the insight that the doctors on this forum provide into the business of medicine. This is all foreign territory for most patients, yet their medical care is definitely affected by it. I certainly understand the compensation issue associated with phone calls. However, I have often gotten the impression from various practices that they would rather handle the problem on the phone than schedule an appointment, if possible. I am probably a classic abuser of the "phone privileges" with my doctors. Between my GYN and the pediatrician, I have probably called at least 4 times in the last month. However, I rarely get a call back from the actual doctor, but usually the nurse or the receptionist after consultation with the doc. Which is fine by me. 1. "I am weaning my baby so I need to switch from Micronor to a combined pill. Can you send me a script?" (Which was done) 2. "I got my new pills. When am I supposed to start taking them? Should I count the heavy spotting as a period?" 3. (Ped) -- "I think my 5 y.o. son has an ear infection." (After much pushing on my part, I got him an appt for the next day). 4. (Ped) -- "My son has started sleepwalking and peeing on the floor in the middle of the night. What should I do?" My guess is this is pretty typical of most practices. A lot of calls that don't require a lot of in-depth research or analysis. Some you probably don't even need the chart. Just basic patient education. I can't even imagine a pediatrician trying to schedule an appt for every parent that calls in with questions or concerns. And do you really want to see every preggo patient that is complaining that her back hurts, or do you just want to screen for any potential problems beyond the normal aches and pains and advise on any serious warning signs? And do you want your patients to be hesitant to call about concerns because there will be a charge associated with it? Not trying to be argumentative -- just food for thought. As for the car analogy, I DO call the mechanic and describe the problem I'm having. If necessary, I take the car in. But the mechanic can often give me some guidance as to how urgent the problem probably is, or some steps to try myself first. And when I need an oil change, this mechanic gets my business. One thing is for sure -- we need to find a better way to do this 3rd-party payor system. Everyone is suffering for it. Andrea
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