We arrived punctually for Dorothy's 3:20 pm appointment. We shared a waiting room with 6 other people; one a 2 year old coughing with indeterminant illness, another a teenager coughing with strep throat. After 56 minutes, we were ushered into a consultation cubicle, where, 9 minutes later the doctor appeared. [Note to our U.S. friends, this is very typical waiting time, for an appointment. The appointments are booked every 10 minutes so that the Doctor is chronically behind. Apparently, it is not an option to go to a longer appointment period of say 15 minutes?]
We had brought all the medical records we received in Florida. The Doctor reviewed those quickly, commenting he would like to have seen an echocardiogram. He used his stethoscope to listen to Dorothy's breathing. He wrote requisitions for tests: (1) a battery of blood work, (2) x-rays, (3) an echocardiogram, and (4) a pulminary function test. We have to look after booking the first three ourselves, a pulmonary lab. will contact us about the fourth.
The Doctor facilitated the making of a follow-up appointment with him for Friday afternoon. [Usually, he does not work Friday afternoons.] Our time with him totalled 22 minutes.
I had two additonal questions for him.
1. Should we be in a crisis situation,such as extreme loss of breath, is there any way of including him (as the "family doctor") in the decision making process about Dorothy's treatment?
Answer: You can always phone the office and ask the staff to contact me.
2. What happens if the crisis happens outside of office hours?
Answer: I have no availability outside of office hours.
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