How to get an appointment | Arthritis Information

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Chances are that if a doctor (or any other professional for that matter) is any good, getting a timely appointment is not going to happen. At least not at first.

Monday I called the office to get an appoint with my GP for my FM. They said October. I'll let you guess what I was thinking ( I guess I'm very fortunate.  My primary care doc always devotes time in his schedule for urgent, same-day appointments. I may have to wait an hour, but I've never had a problem getting an appointment the same day if I have an urgent need (acute illness/injury).  If I need to see another doctor (like when I do stupid human tricks and have to get a referral to the orthopedic guys) he gets on the phone himself and tells them that he has a patient who needs to see Dr. so-and-so TODAY if at all possible; tomorrow at the latest.  Never had a problem. I haven't had that problem either.  Both my RD and PCP are very good about getting patients in when they have a problem....... Lynn492008-08-27 16:24:47I've never needed an emergency appointment from my RD, but I have called her during acute flares to get a script or two.  Never had a problem. Just saw an article about a study on the topic of same day appts.:
http://www.healthcarerepublic.com/rss/news/article/841637/Same-day-appointments-lower-patient-satisfaction/

You're never going to please everyone.
Here's another study with a decidedly different conclusion:

http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20000900/45same.html

"KEY POINTS: Advanced access reduced the authors' 55-day wait for appointments to just one day, improved the odds of patients seeing their own physicians and increased satisfaction" I wholeheartedly agree with this part of the article.  It is very important for me to always be seen my PCP or my RD.  

 
  1. Continuity, meaning the system's ability to match patients with their own personal physician. Good things happen when physicians see their own patients. For example, an unpublished quarterly report by Kaiser consistently shows that patients in every demographic group are always most satisfied when they receive an appointment with their own primary care physician, rather than being bumped to another provider.
 
Lynn492008-08-27 18:04:40Yep - and if there was widespread acceptance of same-day appointment philosophy, I imagine it would greatly cut down on ER/acute care center visits.  Our pediatrician's office has sick call every day of the year, and I can't tell you how many times we've been there for semi-urgent matters.  If we had to wait days or weeks for an appointment, we would have ended up in the emergency room.  Unless it's his well-deserved day off, we can always see our own pediatrician when we go for sick call.  He's known both boys since they were tiny babies, and doesn't need to waste time scouring the medical history and asking basic questions when we show up with an acute problem.  The boys like him and have no problem telling him exactly what is wrong (and sometimes how they think it should be dealt with as well!). I have to agree with the second article's concept. The sticky issue is that the doctor has to be in the office. Mine rotates between two offices and I know many others who do too . Maybe mix the concept so that the doctor gets to the patient within the work week, unless it's an emergency.

My original thought is not so much for an obvious do today scenario, but that one should be seeing patients in a timely manner. I'm saving that article--the idea is something that should be used in a lot more scenarios.
[QUOTE=JasmineRain]Here's another study with a decidedly different conclusion:

http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20000900/45same.html

"KEY POINTS: Advanced access reduced the authors' 55-day wait for appointments to just one day, improved the odds of patients seeing their own physicians and increased satisfaction" [/QUOTE]


If I'm reading it correctly, this is from Sept. 2000, but it sounds like a good plan.

The recent study does have an unexpected and surprising conclusion, no doubt about that.

My goal is to never need appointments LOL.
[QUOTE=Suzanne] [QUOTE=JasmineRain]Here's another study with a decidedly different conclusion:

http://www.aafp.org/fpm/20000900/45same.html

"KEY POINTS: Advanced access reduced the authors' 55-day wait for appointments to just one day, improved the odds of patients seeing their own physicians and increased satisfaction" [/QUOTE]


If I'm reading it correctly, this is from Sept. 2000, but it sounds like a good plan.

The recent study does have an unexpected and surprising conclusion, no doubt about that.

My goal is to never need appointments LOL.
[/QUOTE]

I agree, I would rather not have to go to the doctor on an urgent/emergency basis... but I'm sure glad that when I do get sick/injured, I can get in to see my doctor, that day.  He knows me and my history.  The urgent care doc is probably not nearly concerned with my sprained ankle as he is with the stabbing victim, chest pain, or threatened miscarriage down the hall.
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