Telephone Doctor Calls Anytime
The Doctor Is Always In
Telephone doctor calls any time of the day or night. How many times have you wished this were a possibility? When you felt so bad the thought of dragging yourself out of bed to the doctor’s office made you want to cry; when your frail grandfather just needed a routine diabetes check-up; when your toddler cut a finger, and you just weren’t sure if stitches were necessary—wouldn’t it have been nice to have the option of a telephone visit?
Now that we are dealing with the uncertainties of COVID-19, entering an emergency room or doctor’s office comes with added stress.
The words “game changer” get tossed around a lot, but in this case, they mean something.
Going to the doctor always presents some level of disruption. Whether this disruption means loss of work time for something routine like an allergy shot or something very stressful, such as bringing a wheelchair-bound elderly person in for lab tests, medical visits can present some frustrating hurdles.
So Many Doctor Visits Are Unnecessary
Astonishingly, a survey conducted by the Wellness Council of America concluded that as many as 70 percent of all doctor’s appointments are a waste of the physicians’ time as well as the patients’. The figure is only slightly lower for emergency room visits. Sometimes, the patients initiate unnecessary appointments; sometimes, the physician does.
There are many reasons for such wasteful visits. For example, sometimes patients want reassurance that everything is okay, or they might just be fishing for the latest medications they see advertised. Often, a routine check-up for a chronic illness requires a great deal of effort on the part of the patient and caregiver to get to the doctor’s office, but then the appointment basically involves a friendly chat and a “See you again in three months!”
In many cases, physicians order follow-up visits for minor injuries or illnesses that could easily be handled with a phone call.
Telephone Doctor Calls Can Handle a Lot of Issues
Obviously, you can’t deal with all emergencies and illnesses with a phone call, but there are many instances when a telehealth visit can substitute for an in-office appointment, even to the point of being able to initiate treatment in your own home.
So many types of healthcare can be handled by telephone. Here are just a few:
Urgent care for fever, sore throat, headache, and other symptoms
A telehealth visit is efficient, convenient, and fast—you will be speaking with a physician within an hour. And because medical equipment is so much more portable now than it was a few years ago, a wide variety of follow-up services can be brought to your door. The availability of mobile ultrasound, IV, x-ray, and heart monitoring equipment means that you can be treated in the comfort of your home.
Remember Doctor2me the Next Time You Need Care
The next time your child spikes a fever in the middle of the night or you need advice about self-care for a sprained ankle, remember that a telephone appointment with a Doctor2me physician is less than an hour away.