"Help Your Patients Keep Appointments"
Sue Bergeson
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
I was
recently catching up on a backlog of reading. I get a lot of journals and
magazines in the mail, and when things are busy, I toss them in a pile on a
corner of my desk. Recently, the pile was so high it threatened to topple over
onto my little dog, Cassie. (Cassie is sometimes in the office...
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2008
tabby
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 02:22 PM
Not confusing me with another patient cause they are in a hurry and are backed up
and
actually reading my file through BEFORE the meet with me so they don't sit there and ask questions about something that she/he asked me already in the last session or better yet
listen/hear when I do speak so I'm not asked about the same material twice during the same session
and of upmost importance
respect me for an individual that has perhaps some problems and not as "another crazy" (I worked with a slew of providers for nearly 3 years, you'd be aghast at what goes on or is spoken about or how something is spoken about. Then again, they are only human.)
reply
Chris
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 03:02 PM
Tabby you hit the nail right on the head. I think all of that is the most important part to me as well. It makes me feel like someone rather then just a medical record.
reply
HeyJude
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 04:06 PM
Hi Sue......
My doctor should treat me as an equal partner in my recovery.
He needs to give me a chance to talk, to explain my concerns.
Maybe our appointment should be 30 minutes instead of 20. Twenty minutes never seems long enough.
He should respect my input on med adjustments and changes.
He could share a little about himself so that I feel more at ease in our relationship.
reply
rseymour
Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 06:36 PM
This step of putting it in a cell phone calendar with a reminder set for minimum amount of time they need to get ready can help a lot. I also like to schedule things in my google calendar which can TXT message me a reminder at a set time. I have that all locked in with my work calendar on Outlook and my iCal calendar on my Mac.
Good stuff.
I think from the therapists point of view, you're looking at reasons why someone might not come even if they knew. But making sure they know the appointment is coming is half the battle.
reply