1. Why can I not just speak with the doctor on the phone about my medical problem?
It
is very difficult to properly assess a medical problem without a face
to face interview and appropriate physical examination. If
you are asked to make an appointment to see the doctor, please respect
the medical secretary's judgement in this regard - we will see you as
soon as possible.
2. I have an urgent medical problem. Can I get same day appointments with the doctor?
When your medical problem is truly urgent we will make every effort to see you the same day. If
this is not possible, the After Hours Clinic is available to serve you
Monday to Thursday 5 to 8 pm and Saturday 9 am to noon. If
your problem is an emergency requiring immediate medical attention you
will be best served by going to your nearest Emergency Department day
or night.
3. What exactly is considered an urgent problem?
If you have a medical problem, call the office and seek our advice regarding whether it is urgent or not. Generally,
an urgent problem is one that in the judgement of a medically trained
individual, needs medical attention within hours, not days. For this
reason the following examples would most likely not be seen as needing
an urgent appointment:
- routine followup of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure
- mild abdominal pain, bowel or bladder symptoms that are not severe and especially if present for days or weeks.
- mild headaches or muscular/joint complaints
- headcold without significant cough, shortness of breath or high fever
- prescription renewals for medications that are taken chronically
Always call and seek our advice regarding the urgency of your problem. What you might think is not urgent, in fact might be and vice versa.
4. Why can't you give me an appointment today-I am available to come into the office?
For
non-urgent problems, thinking ahead and booking your doctor
appointments well in advance will go a long way to improving your
satisfaction when it comes to getting the appointment time and day you
would prefer. In this way, you
will not be in the uncomfortable position of trying to get an urgent
appointment when your problem really is not urgent. Please
understand that a doctor's office is a very busy place with almost
daily occurrences of urgent problems that cannot be predicted. Waiting
a few days or perhaps even a few weeks to see the doctor about
non-urgent medical problems is not unreasonable especially in this
present crisis of a shortage of Family Doctors.
5. If you cannot see me today, is it OK if I just go to a walk-in clinic?
PLEASE
DO NOT GO TO WALK-IN CLINICS--they may appear very convenient at times
but do not offer the continuity of care that you experience with
your family physician. They also do not send out reports to your family doctor. The Old South Family Health Network After Hours Clinic has the following advantages:
- with your consent, faxed reports the next day to your family doctor.
- it is most likely you will not wait as long to see the doctor compared to walk-in clinics
- at times you will see your own family doctor in the AHC (when he/she is on-call)
- excellent medical care by experienced family physicians
Go
to the closest Emergency Room or St. Joseph's Urgent Care Clinic for
true emergencies--these would be life threatening or severe medical
problems including suspected broken bones.
4. Why should I always have an up-to-date list of my medications with me at doctor visits?
Keeping medication lists up-to-date is a challenge for both the patient and doctor. Your list
should include every medication name, millogram (mg) dosage and how
many tablets/day + any allergies + any vitamins or herbal products you
take. Keeping the list on a small card or piece of paper in your wallet
is very helpful. Just keep it up-to-date!
5. Why can't the doctor just order medication for me over the phone?
Asking the doctor to order medication without reviewing your present medical condition is not proper medical care. Please keep a close eye on all your medications and when your are down to 1 or 2 repeats, call to make an appointment. Don't leave it to the last minute! Asking the doctor to give you a renewal prescription at your regular medical office visit makes a lot of sense. This means you need to look at all your medication bottles and check the status of repeats before coming to the appointment.
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