Doctor's Urgent Care Appointments And Seeing Another Doctor: Your Worries Alleviated
It used to be that if you saw a different doctor for an urgent care need, you would have to see your own family doctor within a few days to follow-up and make sure your own doctor had everything he/she needed to enter into your file. Prior to the age of computers, this meant that all of the information you gave the other doctor had to be transferred by hand to your own doctor and re-entered into your file manually or via typewriter. Now, seeing different doctors is really not a big deal. If you find that you have to see a doctor other than your regular doctor for an urgent care need, and you are worried about your regular doctor getting all of the information, here is the information to help alleviate these concerns.
Same Healthcare Group, Same Computer System
Most of the time, when you need to see a doctor immediately and your regular doctor is unavailable, you can see another doctor within the same clinic or office. Even if you are referred out of that clinic or office to see a different doctor, they try to keep you within the same healthcare group. That way, the billing stays the same and your doctor can view your files simply by logging in to that healthcare system. The only time there is a problem with having to transfer a medical file after seeing a different doctor is when you are referred to a specialist outside of your doctor's healthcare group.
Email Messaging Between Doctors
The doctor you see has the ability (thanks to modern technology) to email your visit and results to your regular doctor. A password-protected file can be attached to this email so that your visit and pertinent information can be sent securely. If nothing else, the doctor you see for your urgent need can email your regular doctor with a "heads up" to check your file because of new patient information.
Your Doctor Will Not Take Offense
Finally, if you are worried about your doctor being offended about you seeing another doctor when you really needed to see somebody urgently, do not be. Most doctors, regardless of their bedside manner, do not make these things as personal as they may seem. Your doctor would expect you to get really good care when you need it, even if that means that he or she is not the one that is providing care. Click for more info.
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