Latest news with #doctorAppointment
Health Line
25-06-2025
- Health
- Health Line
How to Prepare for a Doctor's Appointment
Taking time to prepare for your doctor's appointment can help ensure you make the most of your time and cover everything important to you. This can include writing down your questions beforehand and thinking about desired outcomes. Preparing for your doctor's appointment can allow you to communicate your health needs more effectively and ensure your doctor can create a treatment plan that addresses your health priorities. This can also help you walk away from your appointment feeling heard and as though you have an active role in your healthcare. Taking time to prepare for your doctor's appointment can involve considering your questions and concerns beforehand, identifying your desired outcomes, and requesting any needed accommodations. Write down your questions beforehand Taking the time beforehand to think about any questions you'd like to ask can help ensure your appointment stays on track and that you can cover what is important to you. You may find yourself unable to think or overwhelmed by health information during your appointment. This is why it can be helpful to write your questions down and bring them with you, either on a piece of paper or on the notes app of your phone. If you have limited time, consider prioritizing your concerns to ensure the most important points are dealt with first. Identify potential desired outcomes It can be beneficial to spend some time thinking about what you would like to achieve during your appointment. This may include: getting a referral to a specialist discussing any concerning symptoms seeking a diagnosis or further testing having an effective treatment plan put in place making adjustments to a current treatment plan so it better addresses your needs or changing symptoms If you have previously experienced medical dismissal or are concerned about a doctor not addressing your health needs, the following phrases can help you advocate for yourself during your appointment: 'I know my body. These symptoms are not normal for me. I would like to explore why this happening.' 'While mental health may be a factor here, I would like to ensure any potential physical causes have been ruled out first.' 'I don't feel this treatment option fully addresses my concerns. I would like to explore further options.' 'I understand my tests have come back normal, but I am still experiencing [symptoms]. What other treatment options can we explore?' 'My [condition or symptom] is negatively affecting my quality of life and makes it difficult for me to [complete responsibilities, such as work or care for my children].' Ask for any accommodations you need You can request any needed accommodations before your appointment to ensure you are comfortable and can communicate effectively. This can include language interpretation and assistance, such as: requesting an interpreter if your preferred language is not English requesting a sign language interpreter or non-verbal signals from reception staff, such as a wave, to let you know when it's your turn, if you are hard of hearing or deaf asking the doctor to avoid wearing a mask and face you when speaking, if you read lips You can also request mobility support to help you get to your appointment, such as: requesting accessible parking be made available asking for assistance to get to the examination room requesting an appointment at a facility that is accessible for you, such as one with ramps, an elevator, or with doorways that have a clear opening for a wheelchair Consider taking a companion with you It can be helpful to bring a companion with you to your doctor's appointment, particularly if you are feeling anxious or would benefit from a second set of ears to understand and recall medical information. This may be a friend or family member who: you feel safe and comfortable with you don't mind hearing your private or sensitive medical information can ask necessary questions on your behalf if you feel overwhelmed by health information can take notes for you, including follow-up information and next steps, if you feel unable to in the moment can act as a support system if you need to advocate for better care It's important to confirm beforehand whether a companion is allowed to attend your appointment with you, as some clinics and hospitals have certain restrictions, especially during flu season. If you are unable to have a companion with you, it may be helpful to arrange to see them after your appointment, to ensure you have someone to talk with about any health updates or how you're feeling. Prepare anything you need to bring with you There are several things that can be helpful to bring to a doctor's appointment, including: Any medications you are taking. This should include prescription and over-the-counter medication, vitamins, and herbal supplements. If it isn't possible to bring your medications with you, consider making a list of medication names along with your dosage information. Medical records. It can be helpful to bring along any copies of important test results or reports you would like to discuss. Information about your family health history. It can be beneficial to take time before your appointment to gather any information about your family health history. This is a common question asked when a doctor is assessing your health status, and so it can be helpful to have this information readily available. Health insurance information. It is important to bring your health insurance card along with you. It will typically be mentioned in the communication of your appointment whether you should bring anything specific with you. However, you can also ask the clinic or doctor's office beforehand. Setting up for a telehealth appointment If you have a telehealth appointment, there are several things you can do to prepare: arrange for a quiet and private space where you can take the call ensure you have access to a stable internet connection make sure your device has enough charge make sure you are comfortable have a pen and paper or a notes app open to jot down anything important mentioned know the name and location of your preferred pharmacy It may be helpful to test your device before the call to ensure your camera, audio, and microphone are working properly.
Health Line
25-06-2025
- Health
- Health Line
A Guide to Making Your First Doctor's Appointment
Making your first doctor's appointment can feel like a big step and may leave you feeling like you don't know where to start. However, taking time to prepare and understanding what to expect can help make the process easier. Making your first doctor's appointment can feel overwhelming. The process can often involve more than just picking up the phone. You will typically need to gather health insurance information, fill out paperwork, and research doctors in your area to find the right care. If you're navigating the healthcare system for the first time, you may feel like you don't know where to start. However, there are several steps you can take to feel prepared and ensure you can take an active role in your healthcare. Read on to learn how you can find a doctor that meets your individual needs, how to schedule your first appointment, and how you can prepare. Finding the right doctor When searching for a doctor, it's important to consider: if their practice location is convenient and accessible for you, particularly if you have mobility needs what experience they have and whether they specialize in your needs what conditions they treat and what procedures they offer if they are accepting new patients what credentials they have and whether they are board certified whether they accept your insurance plan It can also be helpful to ask for recommendations from friends and family members and explore online reviews. If you have a chronic condition, advocacy and online support groups can help you find doctors who specialize in your condition and understand your needs. » Find doctors near you with Healthline FindCare. Understanding your health plan Before scheduling your first doctor's appointment, it's important to understand how your health plan works. Your health insurance company, state Medicaid, or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agency can answer any questions you have. This can include: Checking if a doctor is in-network or out-of-network: If a doctor is in-network, they have a contract with your provider, which will cover all or part of the cost. However, if they are out-of-network, your plan may only cover a small percentage of the cost, leaving you to pay the majority of the charge yourself. Understanding if you need to have a primary care physician (PCP): Some health insurance plans require you to choose a PCP when you sign up. If you have yet to select one, your insurance company may have an approved list you need to choose from. Asking about cost-sharing policies: You can speak with your provider beforehand to understand what services they will cover, how much of the total cost they will cover, and how much you are expected to pay out of pocket. Scheduling an appointment When making the appointment, it can be helpful to mention the following: Your name, and that you are a new patient. If you want to speak with a particular doctor, and why you would like to see them. The name of your insurance plan, or that you are enrolled in Medicaid or have CHIP coverage. If you require any accommodations, such as requesting: a language interpreter accessible parking assistance to get to the examination room Confidentiality in healthcare: Your rights as a minor As a minor, you may have the right to access some forms of healthcare, such as sexual health and mental health support, without parental involvement. However, this depends on the state you live in. When scheduling your appointment, it can be helpful to ask the clinic or doctor's office about the laws in your state. They can inform you if your care and documentation will be kept confidential. Taking time to prepare for your first doctor's appointment can help you feel well-equipped to communicate your health needs and make the most of your time. Steps you can take to prepare for your first appointment include: identifying what you would like to achieve from your appointment taking the time to think about what questions you'd like to ask and writing them down beforehand preparing anything you need to bring with you, such as: your health insurance information your medical records information about your family health history any medications and supplements you are taking any health questionnaires or forms » LEARN MORE: How to Prepare for a Doctor's Appointment
Telegraph
23-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
‘I had to fight to get a GP appointment for my mum – the system has to change'
It would only take a simple phone call, Edward Lane assumed. His elderly deaf mother had found a lump in her breast and needed to see a doctor. Understandably anxious, she asked her son to make the appointment as she was unable to make phone calls and struggled with the online booking form. It turned out there was nothing simple about the process at all. An assault course across the Himalayas might have proved easier. On calling his mother's surgery in Wokingham, Berkshire, the finance director, 60, was told he would need a signed letter from her permitting him to make an appointment. When he dropped that off in the afternoon he was told he could not make one in person and would need to call. When he went home and did that – which felt ludicrous in itself – he was informed appointments were made at 8am. When 8am the following day arrived and he finally got through there were no appointments left. Only then when he went straight down to the surgery again in desperation did an apologetic practice manager surreptitiously lead him into a side room and hand him an appointment for the next day. Lane got the sense they were speaking in private because she couldn't let other patients see the breach in protocol. They might want an appointment, too. 'They said: 'We've had to break the process for you',' he recalls. 'We should not have to be assertive' 'It's like, why? Why am I having to fight somebody on this?' Lane reflects, exasperated. 'Once that log jam was broken it was fine. The doctor was great, very reassuring, it was not a serious problem. But it's trying to get through, trying to navigate through; to actually get my mum to see a doctor was just so difficult. And you know, we should not have to be assertive, but sometimes it's almost like you're forced down that street.' Earlier this month, The Telegraph published a powerful account written anonymously by a GP's receptionist highlighting in disturbing detail the barrage of abuse she endures daily as she struggles to manage the 8am doling out of appointments at her understaffed surgery. 'Five or six times every single day I'm called a name or sworn at,' she wrote, replaying how one patient, aggravated he could not get a same-day appointment for a sick note review, came to the surgery and threatened her, forcing her to press the panic button. 'Since the pandemic the demand for appointments has probably doubled and with it the abuse we get on the front desk.' Over 1,000 readers responded, both sickened by the reality of what GP receptionists are subjected to, but also expressing their side of this broken process. A process which breeds frustration, as receptionists on the frontline field high demand with fewer GPs, causing patients to wait on hold for excessive periods – if they are not stopped from calling at all. Lane was one of those readers. He is softly spoken but his distress still sounds raw as he recounts the bizarre ordeal he faced in 2021. It is clear just recalling it brings back the sense of helplessness he felt at a moment of real concern for his vulnerable mum, then 82. 'I explained three times [she could not make an appointment herself],' he says. When the receptionist finally asked for the letter he organised it the same day, admitting it felt 'overkill'. 'It's not like I was discussing any medical issues, I just wanted to make an appointment,' he says. To then be told as he stood with it in hand he still needed to telephone was a moment beyond belief, he says. 'I said: 'This is the letter, and now I'm going to go home and I'm going to call you and make an appointment',' he describes, his frustration pointed. To then realise that could only be done the next morning was beyond exasperating. 'I was polite, because you have to be, but at the same time…' While abuse is never acceptable, he could have been forgiven for dropping the niceties. It was only when he was then told there were no appointments left he felt he had no choice but to become, in his words, 'assertive', returning to the surgery and eventually getting that side-room appointment. A broken system Did he feel for the receptionists? 'Very much,' he says. 'They're following the processes they are told to have… I kept saying, 'I'm not angry with you, it is the process that is wrong'. But somebody needs to change the process because it's broken.' He adds: 'I never raised my voice, but… if I'm not being assertive, then we're not going to get my mother seen by a doctor… And some people can't do that.' He adds: 'If I wasn't around, then she would not be treated.' Patrick Hodson, 58, also got in touch with his own battle-weary story. The retiree from Tunbridge Wells, Kent, became so frustrated after calling to make a GP appointment only to find himself stuck at 'position number eight in the queue' for nearly an hour, he decided to cycle to his practice while still on hold. He was still 'number eight' when he arrived – and found the receptionists were not on the phones. 'It wasn't moving. I wasn't getting any higher,' he recalls. 'I had the phone on speaker-phone so I put it in my pocket and cycled over there, about a mile and a half away.' The hold message parroted all the way, continuing as he walked in. 'I was looking at them thinking, well, neither of you are on the phone dealing with call number zero, and neither of you are answering the person in position number one,' he recalls. 'I said, 'I've cycled down here, you're not answering the phone'. They didn't want to engage with me really, apart from to say 'we're very busy' or something like that.' He adds: 'You do feel they consider the people queuing outside the little receptionist window a bit of a bloody nuisance, really. That's how I felt. I'm sure they don't feel like that, but that's the impression given to people who have to deal with this regularly.' At this time, two years ago, Hodson was recovering from a brain injury sustained in a car accident. He had been facing what he calls the 'feeling of doom – that, oh god, I've got to call the doctor' feeling for some time. Before this incident he had spent an hour waiting to speak to a receptionist before giving up, only to learn later the phones were not answered during lunchtime. No message stating this had been played. Nowadays he tends to delay contacting them: the process, including filling in an online form before calling, which is requested, is especially difficult because of the symptoms of his injury. 'I probably put off arranging to see a doctor,' he says. 'It's very much a disincentive.' Mandatory online booking and 'wretched forms' Amanda Stephens from Somerset feels the same. The 62-year-old told The Telegraph she has not been to see her GP since before the pandemic because the surgery does not allow a phone call or a visit to make an appointment. All bookings must be made online. 'If you think, well, I'll circumnavigate it and I'll actually go into the surgery, they hand you an iPad and tell you to fill in the same online form,' she says. She explains: 'I've got chronic joint pain. I do wonder if I've got some kind of rheumatic issue but I literally cannot stomach the thought of having to fill in their wretched forms. Then I know what will happen, I'll get an appointment with a nurse, and I don't want an appointment with a nurse. I want to see my GP because I want to talk it through with somebody I know and trust.' The key issue for her is the 'whole list of questions' that need to be answered on the form. 'Have you got this? Have you got that? Have you got the other – if so, a GP appointment isn't appropriate,' she says. 'They're just pushing people onto 111 or the A&E service.' She sounds angry but she of all people has sympathy for the receptionists – she was one herself for a decade, from 1997. She rarely faced abuse because she could chat to patients and offer on-the-day or next day appointments. 'I feel sorry for the current receptionists because they're only carrying out practice policy,' she says. 'They're the frontline, they're going to get the abuse.' And she believes the online system will be creating more work for them. 'It must be creating a whole load of extra admin.' An 'unsustainable' workload GPs have stressed they are providing more appointments and 'working harder than ever', but with a declining workforce – an 'unsustainable' and often increasingly complex workload which is the result of decades of under-funding and lack of workforce planning, they say. Speaking last year, Dr Victoria Tzortziou Brown, the vice chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: 'The bottom line is we don't have enough GPs to keep up with the growing need for our care, and patients are feeling the impact most.' She added: 'We need significant investment and dramatic efforts to increase the GP workforce, especially retaining GPs, or things will only get worse.' Dr Amanda Doyle, the national director for primary care and community services at NHS England, has emphasised that 'improving access to general practice is an NHS priority', adding: 'We know there's still more to do to make it easier for patients to contact and see their local GP team, which includes making even better use of new technology to improve patient care.' She stressed that almost every GP practice in England now has a digital telephone system. Earlier this year she also welcomed increased funding to the GP contract, following the decision of many GPs to work to rule last summer. 'This is the first time in four years that the GP contract has been accepted as proposed and I hope it will be seen as positive for practices, GP teams and patients...,' she said. The Government has said all practices in England will have to allow patients to request appointments online all day from later this year. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson stressed the Government's recognition of a broken system and the need to create more appointments. They said: 'This Government inherited an intolerable situation where too many patients face long waits for GP appointments or cannot get them at all. This is unacceptable and we understand how stressful and frustrating this can be. That is why we are cutting red tape and investing more in our NHS – we have already put over 1,700 extra GPs into general practice to deliver more appointments. We have also provided the biggest boost to GP funding in years – an extra £889 million on top of the existing budget for general practice in 2025 to 2026 – and just announced £102 million to upgrade and modernise GP surgeries.' But in the meantime, the broken system means no-one wins. 'I think there's an awful lot of fobbing off going on,' says Stephens. 'And I think that fobbing off takes time – time that could be being used more productively.'
Medical News Today
28-05-2025
- General
- Medical News Today
Preparing for a doctor's appointment
Preparing well for a doctor's appointment can ensure a person gets the most out of their time with the doctor and covers everything necessary, including questions and concerns. A person can feel more prepared by noting anything in particular they want to discuss with the doctor, any questions they may have, and gathering important information beforehand that the doctor may require. Portra/Getty Images Preparing for a doctor's appointment can ensure it goes smoothly and successfully, discussing any symptoms, issues, and possible treatments for the future. Some ways to prepare for a doctor's appointment include : Make a detailed and thorough list of concerns so nothing important is forgotten. The National Institute on Aging has several 'Talking With Your Doctor' worksheets that may help a person put into words what they want to say. Document all the symptoms a person may be experiencing, including when they began, how long they lasted, feelings and emotions accompanying them, triggers, and more. Note down questions a person may want to ask, including what symptoms may mean, what certain tests are for, and possible treatment options. Make a list of what medications are currently used. Prepare to discuss current lifestyle factors, such as diet or exercise. Bring a family member or friend along for support. The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK has a list of questions that a person can use to prepare for an appointment with a doctor, including: how to make sure everything the doctor says is understood, including the next steps, such as booking tests or waiting for test results making sure to ask about all the different treatment options possible, side effects, duration, and what a person can do at home to help themselves where to find more information, or who to contact for more information Some people may experience anxiety or apprehension when getting ready to go to a doctor's appointment. It is important to remember that a person can write down their concerns or questions and give this to the doctor instead if they feel anxious about having to discuss things verbally. Other ways of preparing include: arranging transport so a person can arrive early and on time for the appointment taking a pen and paper to note down anything significant that the doctor discusses making sure to communicate clearly and effectively Preparing for a doctor's appointment by noting down questions, voicing concerns, and gathering important information beforehand can help a person ensure they have a productive and helpful doctor's appointment. Medical Practice Management
