3 Things You Can Do to Help Your Doctor
If you are planning to visit your GP, it is important you keep in mind the different things you can do to make sure that you work well with them. This won't just make your life easier; it will also help other people who also want to see the doctor. Read on to find out more.
Try to arrive early
This might sound obvious; however, a lot of people like to try to turn up at the surgery just as their appointment is supposed to begin. The waiting room at your local GP surgery isn't a fun place to be. The waiting room may contain crying babies and sick people, and the entertainment may consist of daytime TV shows and old magazines. Despite this, you need to make sure that you arrive at the GP surgery well before your appointment is due to take place. If you try to time your arrival so you do not need to wait around, there is a chance that you will get stuck in traffic or miss your bus or train. If this happens, you will either lose your chance to see a doctor or you will put the doctor behind, making everyone else wait longer to be seen. Even if you do manage to make it just in time so you don't have to wait around, you may be entering the consulting room in a flustered state which isn't ideal.
Only speak about one health condition at your appointment
Once you are in the consulting room, you should only speak about one medical condition. An appointment slot is only a few minutes in duration and a doctor will only be able to focus on one problem during this time. If you introduce other medical problems, your GP may not have time to properly concentrate on or investigate any of them. If you wish to speak to your GP about multiple and unrelated medical problems, you should ask the receptionist to book you a double appointment so the doctor will have adequate time to diagnose and treat each complaint.
Consider a telephone appointment
Before booking a face-to-face appointment, you should consider if you could use a telephone consultation. If you wish to speak to your GP about medication or about an existing condition which they are aware of, you may be able to do this over the phone. Telephone appointments save you time as you don't have to attend in person. They also help GPs to manage their workload so they can see more patients.
If you would like more info, contact your doctor today.
