New On PTManager BLOG

[Guest guest]

Your Daily Posterous Spaces Update October 7th, 2011 A doctor

cannot be on time and take care of your

needs<http://ptmanagerblog.com/a-doctor-cannot-be-on-time-and-take-care-of-y>

Posted about 20 hours ago by [image: _portrait_thumb] Kovacek,

PT, DPT, MSA <http://posterous.com/people/1l1oCkDWEWjv> to

PTManager<http://ptmanagerblog.com>

[image: Like this

post]<http://posterous.com/likes/create?post_id=74339036>

A doctor cannot be on time and take care of your needs

by Segal, MD

<http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/stewart-segal>| in

Physician <http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/category/physician> |

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/?p=59841 "

Today’s article addresses a common complaint about physicians.

“Freewheel” responded to a previous article by writing the following, “you

will not make me wait more than 10 minutes. My time is important, too.”

One of the most common complaints I hear is “I waited over an hour to see

you!” Waiting for an appointment, particularly when you are sick, is

frustrating. Once you have that appointment, waiting for a doc who is

running 1 hour behind provokes anger.

Meeting patients’ expectations for timely appointments during which their

needs are fulfilled is almost impossible. I have to admit, my approach for

the last 28 years is brilliant. When my doors open in the morning, we will

see you on a first come first serve basis. You don’t have to call to be

seen. And, when I come into your exam room, I am on time. (I do make a few

appointments for wellness care).

As a patient, it is critical for you to understand why your doc is never on

time. Here’s my typical day. I get up at 5:30am to get to the hospital at

6:30am. If all goes well and my patients don’t have any medical crisis, I

get to the office on time. On a bad day, Mr. “MI” decides to drop his blood

pressure, stop breathing and “code”. I can’t tell Mr. “MI” that he’s not

scheduled for a “code” situation; I have to do what I have to do.

I’m lucky, Mr. MI recovers quickly and I get to the office only 15 minutes

late. However, I’m behind schedule. For the sake of this article, assume I

make appointments like most docs. I walk into Mrs. Ulcer’s room 15 minutes

late. I apologize. Mrs. Ulcer is scheduled for a 15 minute appointment for

stomach pain. She is 42 years old and has been having intermittent stomach

pain for 3 months. When she scheduled the appointment, she told my staff

she thinks she has an ulcer. At 2 am, she developed a fever (103 degrees)

and severe pain.

Mrs. Ulcer does not have an ulcer. She has an infected gallbladder. Mrs.

Ulcer needs surgery. She is alone in the office and can’t drive to the

hospital. I call the paramedics, the ER, and the surgeon. I’m now an hour

behind.

I apologize to the next 4 patients for being late. They are relatively easy

and I’m now 1 hour and 15 minutes late. I walk into Mr. Aged’s room. He

has a 15 minute appointment to follow up on his diabetes. Mr. Aged is

sitting with Mrs. Aged; she appears concerned. There is a faint smell of

urine in the room. Mrs. Aged says, “His blood sugars have been high over

the last 2 weeks. He’s more forgetful than usual, stumbling a lot and

dropping things.” Mr. Aged’s 15 minute appointment takes 45 minutes. Mr.

Aged is on his way to the hospital. He’s had a stroke.

I’m 2 1/2 hours behind, I have to go to the bathroom, my patients are mad,

and they are taking it out on my staff. I value their time, but I value

their health more.

Your doc cannot be on time and take care of your needs. Your doc cannot

tell Mr. MI to schedule his “code.” He cannot tell Mrs. Ulcer to come back

in the morning as her appointment time had expired. Mr. Aged needs lots of

attention, now!

Deciding how much time to allot for an appointment is like divining what the

weather is going to be like next Monday. Either your doc gives you the time

you need and is perpetually late, or your doc cuts your appointment short

and moves on. If timeliness is of essence, then chose a doc who is in and

out on time; and don’t expect him/her to meet your medical needs. If your

medical needs are important, then don’t expect an on-time appointment.

You can help your doc improve his timeliness by reading the articles on this

blog. Many are designed to help you formulate the answers to your doc’s

questions before he/she asks them. The more proactive you are in caring for

yourself, the easier formulating a differential diagnosis and treatment plan

will be.

Always remember, the life you save may be your own.

* Segal is a family physician who blogs at

*Livewellthy.org<http://livewellthy.org/>

*.*

via kevinmd.com <http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/10/doctor-time-care.html>

[image: Posterous] <http://posterous.com> Want your

own?<http://posterous.com> Change

your email

settings<http://posterous.com/email_subscriptions/hash/gspsqucxgqviGogjvCufJwAxB\

xkgmH>