Things We Wish We Could Say

        Do you ever wonder how you could help your doctor's office have a shorter wait time for appointments? No, of course you don't. You only wish your doctor's office had shorter wait times and that THEY would do something about it. (I'm going to let you in on a little secret; most of the time the doctor's office CAN'T do much about it.) We schedule appointments the best we can but what people don't realize is that an appointment time is just a guesstimation. We have to estimate how long we think the appointment will take, depending on the little information we are given. And then we just pray everything goes as planned. So how can you help? Come to your appointment ON TIME. Not early, not late (obviously), but on time. Okay, so you can come a little bit early, but not too early. IF you do come early just know that you will, more than likely, have a longer wait. I, personally, don't like when people come early because then the waiting room fills u...

I remember in school I was reminded over and over, from early on in my education, to read the directions. Every test we had, "Read ALL of the directions first." Failure to do so could result in a wrong answer or extra work if the teacher gave out one of those "trick" tests. (You know you had one, where there are a lot of questions on the paper, yet at the end of the directions it says, "only write your name" or something similar, just to see if you followed the directions.) So, why is it, that adults have such a hard time following directions? And on easy tasks, none the less. It baffles me. Filling out paperwork: When I hand them the paperwork I say, "fill out both pages and bring it back with your insurance card." It never fails, 1 out of 3 will bring it back, first page only filled out. Or I will have to ask for the insurance card, or (and this is the most common) I find that they didn't fill it out completely. We need ALL that informatio...

"Hi, I'd like to make an appointment for my sick child." "Okay, can you come at 11:00?" "Do you have any after school appointments?" ...Let me get this straight, your child is sick, sick enough to need to see the doctor, and yet, you sent them to school? "...I have a 2:00 available." "Okay, that works." "Alright. And what are their symptoms?" "Well, he's just coughing a ton." ...Oh, good. Coughing all over the place. Infecting other children. I mean, I pray it is just asthma acting up or allergies but even if it is, no one likes to be coughed on. PSA: If your child is sick, DO NOT SEND THEM TO SCHOOL. Kids are gross. I hate to say it, but it's true. They stick their fingers in things, (mouth, nose, etc.) and then touch everything! Keep them home. Especially if they are in elementary school. I promise they will be ok if they miss a day or two. And if they are in junior high or high school a...

I am the main receptionist in my office. Front Desk. And with that position comes a few things that drive me nuts about people at my desk. Part of my job is to check people in and out for their appointments and when they check-in there are often forms or papers for them to sign or fill out. I'd rant about how much people hate filling out forms but that's another blog post. Instead, let me tell you how annoying it is when I hand someone a clipboard with a form to fill out and instead of taking it to fill out, they stand at my desk and fill it out. CLIPBOARD. Take it. That's why I gave you one. Walk away. Sit down away from my desk and fill it out. The desk to sign in is higher than the desk that I sit at so when anyone is standing at my desk it is like they are hovering over me. And even if they are filling out a paper, it feels like they are staring at me. I really don't like when someone watches me work. Awkward. Also, when we are on call, working after hours, a patie...

Just that. Answer your phone. And if you miss the call, check your voicemail. Also, check your voicemail and clean out your voicemail box. Or set up your voicemail. I mean, really. Why even have a phone if you aren't going to use it? If the doctor's office is calling you, it's probably for something important, like results. Or, better yet, you called us for something and we are returning your call.  I just have to say how frustrating it is when we can't get a hold of people for important things and we try over and over and people don't return the calls or they don't have voicemail set up.  And if you change your number, please let us know. We aren't psychic. If you don't ever answer your home phone number, please don't list it as your primary phone number. We aren't telemarketer's, we aren't calling to bug you, we are nice people, so just ANSWER THE PHONE!

de·duct·i·ble dəˈdəktəb(ə) noun NORTH AMERICAN 1 . (in an insurance policy) a specified amount of money that the insured must pay before an insurance company will pay a claim. This is a PSA Working in the medical field we are finding more and more often people do not understand insurance. And I don't blame you (well, not entirely). Insurance is confusing. And frustrating. And usually seems unfair and ridiculous. But, if you are going to have it and pay for the premium you should probably at least try to understand it so that when you get a bill from your doctor you aren't floored by what it says.  The very first thing I think people need to learn and understand is what a deductible is. Most insurances have it and as of the last couple years they seem to have higher and higher deductibles. What you need to know about this, what is most important, is that you have to pay this (usually ridiculous) amount before they will pay a cent of your med...