Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why is it so hard to get in touch w/a doctor that you had seen? (I know it's ins., etc. that limit) but... do they not realize that it makes some less likely to seek medical care? - I blame it on the insurance companies and them just trying to make money for the investors.
I have no issue contacting any of my doctors. They may not come right to the phone but almost invariably they, or an associate, returns the call by the late afternoon.
Find a doctor with a portal. You can login and type messages for your doctor. Check later for a reply. Lots of doctors have this now, especially a practice with several providers.
Absolutely find a Dr with a messaging portal and it will be a game changer. This in fact is much easier than waiting for a return phone call from a Dr that you will likely miss.
My clinic has MyChart and I am able to log in and message my Dr at any time and see all my medical history. A nurse may answer my message after chatting with Dr. but most of the time it is the Dr. that replies.
Check into it as your facility may already have this in place.
Find a doctor with a portal. You can login and type messages for your doctor. Check later for a reply. Lots of doctors have this now, especially a practice with several providers.
Agree. My new primary doctor doesn't have a portal or use mychart and that's about enough reason for me to switch.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
Reputation: 57734
Quote:
Originally Posted by Floralscent1
Absolutely find a Dr with a messaging portal and it will be a game changer. This in fact is much easier than waiting for a return phone call from a Dr that you will likely miss.
My clinic has MyChart and I am able to log in and message my Dr at any time and see all my medical history. A nurse may answer my message after chatting with Dr. but most of the time it is the Dr. that replies.
Check into it as your facility may already have this in place.
Same here. When I have a non-urgent question I will send a MyChart message, and almost always get a response from his nurse the same day. Like Floralscent1, she often knows the answer but other times will say "Dr. XXXX says:" or he will answer. Beware though, that some doctors will charge for their time though that hasn't happened to me. I can understand it, email makes it so easy to contact them that some people may be abusing it.
I have no issue contacting any of my doctors. They may not come right to the phone but almost invariably they, or an associate, returns the call by the late afternoon.
This. All my doctors for the past 15-20 years have at least had a nurse practitioner, an associate, or a practice manager who could field my call, maybe consult with the primary, or handle the question themselves. If the answer really calls for a face-to-face discussion, they'll schedule one. The practices also had some sort of patient portal I can submit a message through. Depending on the issue at hand, sometimes a phone call is quicker, sometimes the portal is. IMHO an insurance company isn't telling a provider how soon they can return a patient's call! Think about it...a medical practice has who knows how many patients on their books. They don't all carry the same exact insurance! Face it, OP, this just isn't "the old days".
I can never reach mine - I will NOT use MyChart since CVS bought the ins. co. (STUPID to allow a drugstore to do such IMO) - This alone make me think I need to move to some small town - healthcare stinks anymore .
I can never reach mine - I will NOT use MyChart since CVS bought the ins. co. (STUPID to allow a drugstore to do such IMO) - This alone make me think I need to move to some small town - healthcare stinks anymore .
So, you do have a contact avenue available that could address your problem, but you won't use it for some rather weird reason. While it is your call, how's that working for you exactly?
Moving to a "small town" won't solve this problem. In fact, might even make the problem worse. An overworked provider in an underserved small town is even less likely to have the time to answer the calls of some patient who refuses to take advantage of the options the industry provides. You're going to them because you want something. They aren't coming to you.
Last edited by Parnassia; 03-20-2024 at 03:32 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
- I will NOT use MyChart since CVS bought the ins. co. (STUPID to allow a drugstore to do such IMO) - This alone make me think I need to move to some small town - healthcare stinks anymore .
So, you do have a contact avenue available that could address your problem, but you won't use it for some rather weird 
reason. While it is your call, how's that working for you exactly? 