Are you one of the people who still believe your doctor is always looking out for you? Naaah... really? They try, but the docs and their staff are overwhelmed. I've been in a lot of waiting rooms in the past two years. I bet it is safe to say that in the course of an 8-hour day, doctors see at least 2 patients an hour, or at least 16 patients a day x 5 days. That's 80 people just like you, trying to get help or get treatment. That's a lot of lab work, insurance filing, appointment calls, and processing to keep up. It all repeats the next Monday, too, and the Monday after that, and the Monday after that.
I wanted to share this link about a study posted in USA Today that found many patients do not get a call from the doctor regarding abnormal test results. These results get stuck on someone's desk or filed away in a patient's chart.
If you do not ask for your test results, this could be you.
If you do not take an active role in your healthcare, this could be you.
What can you do?
I always ask the doctor how long it will take to receive the test results.
I then ask the lab tech that draws my blood how long it will take to process the labs.
If they say 4 days, I set a reminder in my iPhone calendar to call on day 5. I ask the staffer to fax me a copy, or I tell them I will be by to pick it up at a specific time and day.
If they say 2 weeks, I set a reminder in my calendar and call on day 15. I ask the staffer to fax me a copy, or I tell them I will be by to pick it up at a specific time and day.
ALWAYS. As I have said numerous times on this blog, if you do not care about your own health, why would anyone else?
~Moxie Melissa
