Any medical professionals out there who can explain

[angie_nrs]

Also a reason that a Dr. might be late is that if they are also on call at the hospital. Sometimes they get called out on a hospital situation and that puts them behind. That happened quite a bit to the D.O.'s that were internists at the hospital but also had offices right next door. However, I live in a very small community so I'm sure not all hospitals operate like that.

Yes, the late arrivals of patients and doctors are irritating! It is a cumulative effect when the late patient arrivals start early in the day. A doctor that I worked for hardly ever got a lunch b/c he was finishing up his morning appts. that ran over into his lunch hour and then his afternoon appts. came rolling in. You couldn't pay me enough to be a doctor!!

Also, one of the reasons a doc says they need to see you every 3 or 6 months could be b/c of the medications you take. Many of them need to be monitored with blood work to make sure your levels are what they are supposed to be or to make sure there is no damage being done to the liver, kidneys, etc. If in doubt, always ask why they need to see you back. Good doctors don't have a problem telling you why. Besides, the more informed you are, the better your health care will be.

 

[LauraMax]

But to get the meds online from a Canadian pharmacy, don't you have to fax them a doctor's prescription? So you would still have to go to a doctor to get the written prescription.

No, you fill out some kind of medical questionnaire online that a doc w/the pharm presumably reviews & approves the scrip. It's actually very easy.

Anyway, I'm way too busy at work to take a half or an entire vacation day for a doc to take 5 minutes to review my blood tests & write an illegible scrip. I wonder how they'd feel if I showed up 2 hours late to my appt? I'm guessing they wouldn't see me.

I suppose I'll just have to take the risk that I'll know when my meds need an adjustment. I've always been of the mind that regardless of their education & experience, I still know my body & its issues better than a doc. Esp. a doc who's running an assembly line.

 

[lainiefig]

I might look into that online pharmacy thing if it can get me out of seeing my dermatologist--kind of tired of going there.

I do have a fabulous podiatrist. I almost never have to wait AT ALL. They show me right in to a room and she's there a minute later. She also takes lots of time with me and when one of my sons needed a prescription she took the time to call and consult with his pediatrician before deciding on the prescription to give him. She's definitely the exception to the rule, though. I figure she probably doesn't have a ton of patients because fewer people need a podiatrist than need, say, an internist.