Don't Be Afraid to Reach Out to Your Doctor

I know it can be intimidating to call your doctor, but you really shouldn’t be afraid too. Don’t assume the doctor is too busy; don’t assume you’ll be interrupting something very important; and don’t assume that the doctor doesn’t have time for you. Because, if you have a problem, especially if you have a problem following your doctor’s orders or your doctor’s instructions, it’s very important that you communicate that to your doctor. Let me give you an example. There are times when a patient just can’t get the prescription filled that he was given. And instead of calling the doctor, two weeks go by until the next visit, and then two weeks later, the doctor sees the patient and says, “How are you doing, how are you feeling?” The patient says, “I didn’t get the medicine,” and those two weeks have been wasted for you, the patient, and also the doctor hasn’t been able to do as much for you during those two weeks as he or she could have done. So, the next time, despite your best intentions to follow your doctor’s orders, if you can’t, give him or her a call. If they can’t come to the phone, leave a detailed message, and I assure you that somebody will get back to you, but it’s important to communicate these issues because it’s much better to have called the doctor and to not have needed to, than to have not called the doctor and really to have needed to speak to him or her.