I have a bunch of doctors. I have a PCP, a urologist, a guy who did my weight loss surgery, a guy I consulted with about another surgery that my OB thought I might need (turns out I don’t need it, thank goodness) and my OB/GYN. Out of all these doctors, many of whom I’ve had for years, only my OB/GYN actually phones me.
Sometimes, a staff member of another doctor will phone me, to let me know I have an appointment coming up, or I missed an appointment yesterday, or some such. But only my OB/GYN ever phones me herself.
This morning she called to see how I was doing (I had a complication following a hysterectomy she did; nothing that was her fault, just something that happens), and it’s not the first time she’s called, either. It’s maybe the third or fourth time.
Oh, and once, when I called her office just after my hysterectomy, I said to the woman who answered “Hi, my name is norinew, I just had a hysterectomy Thursday. . .” and she said “I know, this is doctorsname”
How many of you have had doctors that call instead of having a staff member do it? (sometimes a staff member of hers does call; she doesn’t always do it herself) How many of you have ever had the doctor him/herself answer the phone in the office?
I’m always mildly freaked out by this, but was wondering just how common it is (or isn’t).
I’ve never had a doc answer an incoming call. It’s rare enough for that to even be a live person! Whenever I’ve left a message that something hadn’t gone right, like side effects of a medication, it’s been the doc that’s called back.
My doctor has called me a couple of times. Once to see how I was doing the day after I saw him for a very painful knee injury, and once to let me know that an MRI I had had was negative for some possible bad stuff.
This is the good thing about health care for profit.
Here in Ontario you can’t even get a family doctor these days.
Believe me, socialized health care ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, get the government involved in anything, and it ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The oral surgeon who removed the tooth from the roof of my mouth* gave me a large carnation after the surgery, and called me that evening to make sure things were still ok.
He neither gave me a flower or called me the next year when I had my wisdom teeth out.
*I happen to have inherited from my mother a condition in which the tooth next to the center front teeth does not appear in the permanent teeth. The next tooth over never descended. The least fuss manner of solving the problem was to have oral surgery to remove the permanent tooth that was not going to descend on its own. I’ve still got two baby teeth, which I will deal with if and when they fall out on their own.
My OB/GYN has called me over the years. I have a long history of cervical abnormalities. Whenever I ‘fail’ a PAP smear he calls me himself to discuss next steps. There was a run of years when I would expect a personal call from him after every PAP. [I’ve had some good years now but if cervical cancer crops up I can’t be surprised]
He’s the only one I’ve come across to do this. An excellent practice all around. I’ve moved 35 miles away but I’m not switching doctors.
My father’s physician makes house calls for the advanced elderly. If he wants blood work they send someone to his apartment to take it. How common is this?
I leave a message for my family doctor with his receptionist and he calls me back by the end of the day or I can email him directly and get an email or a phone call within a couple of hours.
I’ve had two doctors call me. One of them even answered her own phone, took appointments herself, etc. She missed my appointment, and then called at 11:30 at night (!) to reschedule (this was not urgent stuff, although maybe she didn’t know that). Very weird.
The other guy called and left a totally garbled message on the answering machine. Never did figure out what that was about. He probably told me I’ve got exactly ten months to l
My missus is a doctor. She calls her own patients all the time. Sometimes other staff members do it, but she makes a lot of patient calls as well. Incoming patient calls go to a front desk (I think), but she does call back or take the transfer if needed. Seems normal to me.
I have had a couple of MDs call me themselves, but most have staff do it. I like it when they call, though.
I have a small psychology practice, which I run without a receptionist or other staff. I think it freaks some people out a little when I answer the phone, but they seem to get used to it.
That’s actually one of the reasons I love my PCP – he has called me personally to give me test results, etc. When I had my abdominoplasty, he came by to see me to see how I was doing. Some doctors actually care about their patients. I know it’s kind of hard to believe, but it does happen
My mom’s dentist called her on Memorial Day a couple of years ago.
Although really, that was returning a call from my mom made the day before in response to losing a crown. Mom wanted an emergency dental apointment because we were leaving town the next day. Dentist was busy with her son’s graduation and bad weather on Sunday, but Monday called her back and established a mutually convenient time for the appointment. Mom thought it was funny to have her dentist fix her teeth in blue jeans.
Well, from the way my PCP and urologist treat me in-office, they care about me, too. But it still feels kind of weird to get a call from the doctor herself, barring anything but life-threatening results!
Still, good to know I don’t have the only doc who does this!
Could you say that louder, please? I think there are a couple of hundred million people down here who didn’t hear you. Thanks.
To respond to the OP: I only have a PCP, and he calls me after every annual physical with the results of the blood tests. Once he called me four months later to remind me that he was still concerned about my cholesterol.
Roddy
I’m from Canada (Alberta) and my family doctor always calls me personally with test results. If she leaves me a voicemail, she usually leaves her direct number so when I call back I get her directly, instead of having to get the receptionist to put my call through to her office.
I’ve recently started seeing a Gastroenterologist, and her office staff answers the phone but I had to ask the doctor a question and she called me back personally that evening (after her shift was done at the hospital).
I hear ya! I belong to a message board for people who’ve had the same weight loss surgery as I’ve had. About a year ago, there was a Candian patient who’d given up on socialized health care and paid for her own surgery in Michigan, with a doc that we’ll call Dr. L. Well, she posted on the boards for about two months saying she was having pain everytime she ate or drank, and shortly after she ate or drank she would vomit, no matter what. We kept telling her “do what you have to do, get to see your surgeon”
She saw her doc in Canada, who referred her to a gastroenterologist, who couldn’t fit her in for something like three months.
We continued to tell her “do what you have to do to see your surgeon”. Finally, she borrowed the money to go see Dr. L. She had a “stricture”. It was a growth of scar tissue that wasn’t really allowing anything she ate or drank to be digested. If she had waited to see her gastroenterologist, she probably would have died!
This is not to say that socialized medicine cannot work. Just that, as it exists already, it is far from ideal.
I saw this response after my last post. My last post was not specifically meant to denigrate the national health care system that Canada and UK have, for example. Just to exemplify that it is not always ideal, or a panacea, as some here like to portray it.
I’m very glad you’ve had this positive experience!
For my docs, although my OB/GYN is the only one who ever calls me personally, when I call my surgeon or my PCP, I can almost always talk to a real live person, and at least a nurse calls me back promptly.
My urologist’s office is a very busy practice, with four urologists (although each patient had a “primary” urologist) and a nurse practitioner. When you call there, you get a “call system” i.e.: “You have reached Urology Associates; to schedule an appointment, press 1; to speak to an advice nurse, press 2; if this is an emergency, proceed to your nearest emergency room. . .” etc.
To their credit, at least a nurse does call you back within a couple of hours. Still, it would be nice to speak to an actual human when you call. . .
