Does your doctor's office contact you????

Colleen

Colleen

Senior Member
Location
Pennsylvania
I'm just curious if your doctor's office contacts you with your bloodwork results or any other tests you've had done. Is this the norm for them to not let you know? I'm not use to that. Our doctor's nurse always called us and talked to us...even if everything was OK (that was when we lived in PA).

Living out west is certainly different than living in the east....in more ways than one :(
 

Yes it is procedure NOT to let you know any results over the phone. You must go into the office to get results OR at least that’s how many doctors offices work but some are different.
 
Keesha said:
Yes it is procedure NOT to let you know any results over the phone. You must go into the office to get results OR at least that’s how many doctors offices work but some are different.
Click to expand...

Yep. They like to hit you up for another office visit. Ka-ching.

 

My doctors office requires patients to sign a release of information form if you want any results/information to be sent via phone calls/ texts or if it's OK with you to have results left with someone else (spouse etc.). The nurse will call directly if anything abnormal and if appointments needed to recheck or do follow up tests. Otherwise, they have a patient portal where patients can log in and see all of their test/xray/lab results. I like using the portal. You might check and see if you signed one of those release of information forms (now required due to HIPPA privacy rules) and update if needed if you want results via the phone.
 
The nurse calls me with routine test results but I've usually already reviewed them in the patient portal by the time that she calls me.

I prefer it when I can have my tests done a few days prior to an office visit so I can review the results with the PCP.
 
My health plan has a patient portal for test results & lots of other stuff. I don't know how they handle it for people who don't use the Internet. The only calls I get these days from any of the "providers" is automatic appointment reminders or personal if they need to change an apt.
 
Well in Ontario now you go online to make an appointment to get a blood test or an electrocardiogram ordered by your doctor.

If you go online to make the appointment there is no waiting. If you have a time you bypass all those who don't have an appointment.

You can go back to the doctor and get the results of course, but you can also go back online and get the results.

I haven't tried it yet. I probably wouldn't understand the results anyway.
 
WE have no Portal... and the surgery (doctors' office ).. won't call us with blood test results, we have to call after a certain time to get them (usually 2 weeks after the tests were done)..they'll happily tell us over the phone, but we have to be the one to make contact!!
 
Yes, I asked to be notified by phone or text rather than the portal. I am so sick to death of passwords!

I like Aunt Bea's idea, I'm going to ask if I can have my tests done a few days prior to an office visit so I can review the results with the PCP.
 
This has nothing to do with west versus east, but rather the practices of your specific doctor.

I have online access to my medical records and am emailed to let me know when my results are in.
 
I don't go to the doctor very much, but I have Kaiser insurance and they mail me my test results and also notify me by email so I can log in and see the results on their website.
 
Geezerette said:
My health plan has a patient portal for test results & lots of other stuff. I don't know how they handle it for people who don't use the Internet. The only calls I get these days from any of the "providers" is automatic appointment reminders or personal if they need to change an apt.
Click to expand...

This is the way it works for me, too. I sometimes have the results before the doc does because the lab or whatever posts them directly to the portal.
 
I have been trying to get into the portal for a couple weeks and keep getting an error that my phone number does not match their records. I've called my doctor's office twice to confirm my number and it is correct. I checked the portal settings and my number is correct in there also. I called my doctors office again this morning and was told that they were too busy with clinic visits and could I call back in the afternoon.

I sure got spoiled with our doctor's office when we lived in PA :(
 
My doctor is part of a group that has an online portal. I can see test results, send/get messages from doctor/staff/specialists etc.

For test results, I can also see past results and see a graph of the differences.

I like it.
 
I have blood work done a week prior to my appointment so we can discuss results when I see her. Also use the online portal for reminders and reminders.
 
RadishRose said:
Yes, I asked to be notified by phone or text rather than the portal. I am so sick to death of passwords!

I like Aunt Bea's idea, I'm going to ask if I can have my tests done a few days prior to an office visit so I can review the results with the PCP.
Click to expand...

My doctor recommends coming in for the blood tests, 2 weeks before your scheduled appointments. No appointment is needed (for the tests) and the result pop up on my patient portal a couple of days later. You see the results before your visit, as does the doc.
 
Well, I've been trying for a month to get into the PatientPortal system. I spoke with the doctor's office 3 times and they confirmed my phone number was correct. On Monday this week, I asked to speak to the office manager and she said, "Oh...there's a code you can use instead of the phone number." Why didn't the office girls ever give me this code??? Who knows. Anyway, I put that code in and Bingo, got right in. I have been wanting to look at my bloodwork results I had done on Oct. 8, but, guess what...it isn't in there! I'm assuming the doctor's office has to put those results in???
 
Nope only time the doctors office would call was when there is something wrong with the results.
....now living in Texas a bigger problem is getting the doctor to show up for his/her appointment.
I left one because of the wait and now my current doctor is running 45 minutes+ late after the appointment time.
 
Pete said:
Nope only time the doctors office would call was when there is something wrong with the results.
....now living in Texas a bigger problem is getting the doctor to show up for his/her appointment.
I left one because of the wait and now my current doctor is running 45 minutes+ late after the appointment time.
Click to expand...

This new doctor of our is ridiculously slow. The first appt. we waited almost 2 hours! I'm calling the office on Monday to ask about my bloodwork results. Terrible doctors here.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top