If You are Going to Do It; Do It Right
March 3rd 2010 11:16
OK, so you need to go to the doctor. That’s OK. Just do it right. One practice that I know, has doctors who see an average of 50-60 patients in an 8 hour day. Do the math – that is somewhere between 6.25 and 7.5 patients per hour – that is seeing one patient approximately every 8-10 minutes.
In this 8-10 minutes the doctor has to talk to the patient, exam the patient, write the prescription, chart and teach. This time table does not include any time for the doctor to return phone calls, consult with other doctors or even go to the bathroom.
What is the point of all this? You do not have a long time with your doctor and you better use it appropriately.
Here are a few steps to help improve your health care.
• Know your past medical history. Nothing is more annoying to a doctor who is extremely busy than having to tease out every disease you have and every medication that you are on. You may be saying, “Who cares that is his problem, not mine”. When the doctor has to spend extra time tracking down your medical history, it will come out of the time it takes for you to ask questions at the end. A free form to record your medical history can be found at: Really Long Link
• Come to the appointment prepared to describe your health problem. A form to help you with this can be found at: Really Long Link (click on acute visit form).
• Come to the appointment prepared with a list of questions. Have one for you to hand to the doctor and one for you to read off of. Put the questions in order of importance – you may not get to all of them.
If you do you part – the health care system will do its part. Take charge of your health care.
In this 8-10 minutes the doctor has to talk to the patient, exam the patient, write the prescription, chart and teach. This time table does not include any time for the doctor to return phone calls, consult with other doctors or even go to the bathroom.
What is the point of all this? You do not have a long time with your doctor and you better use it appropriately.
Here are a few steps to help improve your health care.
• Know your past medical history. Nothing is more annoying to a doctor who is extremely busy than having to tease out every disease you have and every medication that you are on. You may be saying, “Who cares that is his problem, not mine”. When the doctor has to spend extra time tracking down your medical history, it will come out of the time it takes for you to ask questions at the end. A free form to record your medical history can be found at: Really Long Link
• Come to the appointment prepared to describe your health problem. A form to help you with this can be found at: Really Long Link (click on acute visit form).
• Come to the appointment prepared with a list of questions. Have one for you to hand to the doctor and one for you to read off of. Put the questions in order of importance – you may not get to all of them.
If you do you part – the health care system will do its part. Take charge of your health care.
| 62 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
