If you have a medical problem, or something is bothering you or a member of your family, The Jackson County Times now has a local physician, Dr. John Spence, of the Panhandle Family Care Associates available to respond to your questions.
This is the second part of a series entitled: Medicine Demystified. I am attempting to break down the barriers that may exist between patient and physician. Previously, I discussed the nuances of appointment scheduling. Here I will tackle wait times, rooms and reps.
Waiting times: The scourge of our existence, long waits is my biggest stressor. I pride myself on being punctual with a goal of only one hour spent in the office, from check-in to checkout. Understand the unpredictability of scheduling. A visit for a cold may take eight minutes whereas an 85-year-old patient with diabetes, Alzheimer’s dementia and frequent falls may take greater than the aforementioned fifteen minutes. It only takes one walk-in or emergent care visit per day to slow my schedule down considerably. Do not allow your physician to rush you out the door! Again, you deserve 10-15 minutes of his/her undivided attention. If I am behind, my patients still know I will hear their complaints in full without exception. For those who absolutely cannot wait to be seen, I recommend seeking early morning appointments or those just after lunch. Wait times are obviously minimized with this strategy. A 10:30 appointment time is a set-up for potential delays.
In the Room: I don’t mind covering multiple issues, but be sensible. Unraveling the Dead Sea Scrolls of complaints is a recipe for disaster. Remember that fifteen-minute timeframe. Though you are important and have waited patiently, there are many more behind you. Often due to the inherent medical costs and the inconvenience of office visits, patients will present with dozens of problems. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I will try to accomplish as much as possible in that 15 minute to make your visit complete. If you expect ten complaints to be addressed in their entirety, you will undoubtedly leave dissatisfied. In this case, a more reasonable lowering of expectations will improve perceived quality of care. If you are a patient with a long history office visits with multiple complaints, your physician may label you as a nuisance or hypochondriac. This will only further serve to erode your doctor-patient relationship and may adversely affect your health in the long run.
Drug Reps: Many of my patients hate pharmaceutical reps. They view them as mere salesmen who waste my time, slow me down and do nothing more than provide free lunches, golf trips and a plethora of fancy pens that are later sold on e-bay. I disagree. I provide drug rep samples to patients on a regular basis to assist with cost and allow them to "test drive" a new medication before paying a large co-payment to obtain it. The reps do serve a purpose. They occasionally provide valuable information regarding novel agents that can be used to improve a patient’s life.
Do you have any medical questions or concerns that you would like addressed? You can contact Dr. Spence by mailing your question to Daily Dose, P.O. Box 6107, Marianna, FL 32446.
No comments:
Post a Comment