Alternative Ways of Getting Through to Your Doctor

It is always pleasurable to be able to take time out and attend a face to face appointment with our doctor for check ups or concerns that might be building up. However there are times when we end up avoiding ourselves because we simply can not steer away from other priorities, especially for small yet distressing concerns. Or even worse, the situation when your doctor does not have any appointment dates available can come up and it can be frustrating.

Fear not - we seem to very easily disregard that there are other alternative ways of communication that can also be taken advantage of when trying to connect with our doctor. Hey, the invention of the telephone and email should not be discarded so soon.

Yes, there are people who call their doctors up on the phone to exchange information regarding health concerns or report in new symptoms. If you're not having an emergency and you're unable to have a face to face meeting with your doctor, yet there is something that you necessarily need to communicate with your physician - the telephone can be an easy break for the anxiety of waiting till you find the time. If you do not have your doctor's number, get it and even memorize it.

Here are some tips on how to communicate with your doctor on the telephone

-Get your message across and clearly. "Skip the social niceties and cut to the chase," Advises Leo Cooney, MD., chief of general internal medicine at Yale Medical School. Describe symptoms, which you should jot down before calling. Note how long they lasted, like taking your temperature.

-Have specialized information ready when talking to a specialist. For example the name, prescription number or doss of the medicine you're currently taking.

-Do not diagnose yourself "Doctors want to hear your signs and symptoms but not your theories" says Dr. Cooney. Be Objective and Factual. Saying things like "This looks to me like a ..." there is a possibility of inadvertently tying together unrelated symptoms.

-Write what your doctor says. It can be reassuring to have you're a hard copy of your facts. This way you can look at your notes if you forget something.

-Have the phone number of your pharmacy ready. Saves a lot of time.

Some hospitals also have advice nurses available on the phone, so use these same tips when talking to a nurse on the phone.

For concerns that can wait for a day or two put away the phone and go online. Hopefully your doctor and you both have email addresses that you have exchanged (if not, do so) or your provider or hospital official website may have email facilitations. Emailing can be a huge assistance for patients and for doctors. Because your not going to an appointment or calling your doctor for a small question your saving your time and the doctor's also. Because emails lay everything out for your doctor he or she can plan their response to his or her patients - who needs a fast reply, whose reply can wait ... If you go to an appointment or make a call, you might be taking precious time from your doctor that someone else might be in need of.

Here are some tips on emailing your doctor

-Be précised, to the point, descriptive, yet do not drag the message. This means, you're not trying to have a conversation. State your name, medical Id, phone number and address your concerns in a couple of sentence - not a 2 to 3 page essay.

- Your asking or stating simple things, not trying to get diagnosed online.

- Avoid starting a thread of replies and messages. If you write down all your information in the first email and not send thank you messages this can be prevented. Reply back only with when you do not understand something or if the doctor asks you to.

- Doctors also might print out your email and keep it in your chart - so they are not strictly confidential

Note: Before calling and emailing ask your doctor if you can do so! He or she might have certain rules that you may need to fallow. Know that there is a difference between emergency, worrisome concerns and questions that can be waited upon. Emergencies are for the emergency room, worrisome concerns can be taken care of on the phone, unless they need an appointment (which is the best way to attend the problem). Questions that can be waited upon yet are related to your health are for emailing.

We are all mature, so no sending your doctor junk mail, text messages, or forwarding jokes. Be professional about it.