“I can never get through to my doctor on the phone.”
“They never return my calls.”
- You can reach me easily by phone. 24/7.
- My office phone number, 400-8223, is my cell phone. How many family physicians give you their cell phone number?
- If I don’t answer, I am with a patient or on the phone with a patient (or in the shower) (or driving). Leave a voicemail. I will call you back.
“If I’m sick, I need to be seen today, not three weeks from Thursday.”
“For a new patient, their first available appointment is in three months.”
- Whether you are a new patient or have been seeing me for a long time, I will try to get you in today if you are sick.
- Affordable urgent care with no waiting.
“The doctor spent the entire appointment typing on the computer. Never even looked at me.”
- I don’t have computerized medical records.
“The doctor spends 5 minutes with me, then he’s out the door.”
- How much time would you like to spend with me? It’s up to you.
“My previous doctor didn’t really listen to me.”
- Most of the art of medicine is in the art of listening.
- Doctors who take insurance have to keep their appointments short and see a lot of people every day. No wonder they don’t listen. They don’t have time.
“I had a cat scan last year, but I never heard the results. It must be OK, because I would’ve heard by now if there was a problem. Right?”
- This is the scariest thing I hear from patients. Always call for test results.
- Keep calling until you get them.
- Never assume a test was normal just because you haven’t heard anything.
- If you don’t get results in a reasonable amount of time, assume they are lost. Yes, it can happen. Sometimes bad news gets lost.
“My insurance changed, and my doctor is not on my new plan. I have to find a new doctor.”
“The doctor I’ve had for years stopped taking my insurance.”
- Since I don’t deal with insurance, these will never be problems for my patients.
Think about what you are looking for in a doctor. My goal is to deliver modern medicine with old fashioned care.