Sorry this is so long....but may be worth reading.
I work for a medical answering service and we get calls from patients ALL the time with the same complaint.
We don't answer for the offices until late in the day....typically after 4 or 5p. Each office will call us and tell us a.) Dr ______ is on call. Reach us on the private line for stats only...or b.) Dr.______ is on call and he can be reached on cell (bp or text) for stats only.
Most offices will put their phones on service and continue to see patients. If they don't work like that they will NEVER get out of the office.
Most doctors will return patient calls that were made during the day AFTER they are done seeing patients.....UNLESS it is a life/death situation. Think of it like this......if you were a patient sitting in an exam room, would YOU want the doctor to stop what he's doing with you every 5 minutes to take a call during your exam? No. That's why they make non emergent calls when they are done seeing their patients.
Many times we will get a call from a patient with your same complaint right after the phones go on service. We will tell the patient to give it a little more time and if they don't hear from the doctor within the hour to please call us back......99% of the time they don't call back because the dr. has called them back.
Just some friendly advice when you call your doctor after hours.
1. Don't call at 10p and tell us you need to spk to the doctor because you have been sick all day. Call before 5p.
2. When you call the answering service we don't need your life history....give us your doctor's name, your name, phone # and the reason you are calling at that moment. Don't tell you "don't feel well" or "I am sick". Be specific...."I have chest pain for 20 minutes.....I have pain in my head and my BP is 140/92......My daughter has a fever of 104 and won't go down after meds"......etc.
3. If you need an Rx refill.....call during the day. Most doctor offices will NOT do refills after office hours. Call your pharmacy....most pharmacies will give you enough meds to hold you over till the office re-opens. (unless it is a controlled substance). If they don't and it's a critical med call....we'll figure something out to get around the rules. SOME doctors will do refills after OH....but it's still best to be pro-active and get your refills BEFORE you run out of meds.
4. IF you are looking for a controlled substance.....MOST doctors will NOT prescribe after hours anyway.
5. IF you need meds for any reason....have your pharmacy # available when the operator asks you for it, and make sure they are open when you will need to get there. Don't give us a number of a pharm that is closed (or closing soon) and then call back and tell us the dr called your Rx in, but the pharmacy is closed and you need him/her to call another pharm.
6. Don't get pis sed at the answering service. WE are following the instructions given to us by the doctor or his office. We can't do you a "favor". We work for the doctor, not you.
7. Don't call for stupid reasons. IE: I have a runny nose, what can I take? That is something that can wait till OH. Also, if you have a true emergency.....IE: I have chest pain, SOB, and pain going down my left arm.....GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. The doctor can not treat you over the phone. If you feel you need to spk with your doctor...have someone call for you while you're on your way to the ER.
8. Most of our doctors get your message via text. We tell all of our patients to call back within 30 minutes if they don't hear from the doctor. There is a reason why we say this....because when we send a text, there is NO way of us knowing if the doctor ever got the message. In addition...doctors are human too and require sleep....they may not hear the text tone. Don't think that the dr just doesn't want to call you back.
9.) We do not work in your doctor's office. We are off site and do not have your medical records in front of us. Also, our service answers for more than 400 separate dr offices...not just your doctor.
10.) Don't call for test results after hours(unless your dr specifically tells you to)....the doctor doesn't bring them home with him and many offices still don't have EMR's (electronic medical records)....and YOUR doctor may not be on call that night.
11.) If you call and YOUR doctor is not on call (one of the other drs in the group is or it's a covering doctor) don't give us a hard time when we tell you that we can't reach YOUR doctor..only the one on call.
Hope this all helped....his is just general information.....you know your body best.....if you think you have an emergency......CALL YOUR MD or go to your nearest ER.
Shorty.....This was not directed at you....it was for everyone reading.
I hope your dr calls you back and that you have some relief soon.
"People with closed hearts will always feel as though they are at war with the world." ~My friend Nancy
Blogs & Forums
Forums
Blogs
