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I live in Texas and we have what we call mychart. You get it from your doctor and from the hospital and any doctor that you see, however I sent my doctor an email letting him know some health problems that I was having but that was a week ago and it is suppose to take at least 2 days to get an answer back. I did let him know that I need a diabetic test my A1c is due but I can't get it cause he has to sign the order. And I did say that it would save time that he could send me for tests here in my town and then I could make an appointment to see him to get the results. My doctor practices at a clinic that is about 25 miles away from where I live. And when you see the doctor they only give you 20 minutes. I have not seen my doctor since July but I saw another doctor at the same clinic in early August. They know I am having some diabetic issues, and some memory problems, and some other problems, but how come I haven't heard from someone from that clinic I just don't understand it. When you send an email to the clinic to have your doctor get back to you, you expect an answer. I have tried to send an email but I get so mad and upset that I know I shouldn't do that if I expect to get an answer. I have been trying to find a doctor in my same town but because of insurances it is not possible. So I have to keep this one at least for now, so I can't afford to make them mad at me so that they would fire me as a patient. And he has already threatened me with that. This doctor is in his 30's and he has only been at this clinic for 2 years., I don't like this clinic but I have to use this clinic for now so that I can get my medicine and I know I need my medicine. However I can't send an email and just be mad and angry. I need to know how to get my point across and still have them understand that I do need to see a doctor. I have a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, an Ear, Nose, & Throat doctor, and Eye doctor, and a Pain doctor, and a surgeon and they all send him my reports and I am wondering why he hasn't made me an appointment to see him at his office? I am getting upset just thinking about this and I don't know how to approach his office about an appointment. But I know that other doctors have told me to go see him but He should know that I feel bad and that his office needs to call me. I sent him an email and he never returned the message. If this was easy for me, I wouldn't do this. But he thinks he has me between a rock and a hard place. I have already had 2 doctors leave me high and dry for nothing. No warning, no nothing. I have to keep him even though I can't stand him, but I try to stand up for myself. But the doctors don't want me to rock the boat or even speak. They expect their patients to "do as I say, or else" and I feel that the medicine that I have been on, is the biggest problem that I have. But doctors don't really care if you have side effects from your medicine. They want you to take what they give or else. I want to send an email to let them know that I am asking for an appointment but I also have to let them know when I can't make it and that they will have to work around it cause I already have appointments in November. It is just so upsetting the way that I have been treated by this clinic, that I start an email, then end up being really mad and angry. I am 62 years old and I am disabled, and I am on a walker because I can't walk on my own. And I need more than 20 minutes to see a doctor.

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sue, sadly enough it is the way of modern medicine. I feel like the clinics now line patients up on an assembly line and the doctor-of-the-day goes from one patient to another. Often they haven't reviewed any charts, so you have to fill them in about what is going on. Some people are lucky in having a good family doctor who they share a good relationship. We had one of those until a few years ago when he retired. Now we're on that clinic assembly line.

My cousin is a doctor and he said that is how it is now, that the old style doctor was a thing of the past. I know what you mean about the doctor not writing back. My mother's doctor will respond sometimes, but not often. I think she is very busy with patients, teaching, and continuing education. I sure miss the days of the family doctor.
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Sue, can you go into your " sent" folder and make sure you typed the email adress correctly? Can you cal the clinic and make sure he's not on vacation?
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I have used My Chart before and had good luck with it. In fact, I got faster service that way.

Maybe, they are having troubles with their system. I would CALL the office and report what has happened. There could be a problem on their end and they didn't get it. Tell them it's urgent and you need to speak with the doctor's nurse. I hope you get some response.
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Oh, I forgot to add that we stay with my mother's doctor because my mother needs someone to write prescriptions. If my mother has anything really wrong she'll refer her to a specialist or we go to urgent care. It is all very impersonal now, but at least she has someone to write prescriptions. Many doctors around here now won't accept Medicare patients, so we were lucky to find a place that did.
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Try the 20th century method: call and make an appointment.
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Yes. Call. Some docs are awful about e-mail and some e-mail systems are awful. Now if you used MyChart there should be an Inbox message for your doc to answer, or ask the nurse about. Some docs just hate EMRs and do as little as possible with them. Sometimes the issue is if answering the e-mail would take a lot of time they feel they are not being paid for what really amounts to a visit or rightly or wrongly, they judge you are too demanding, like if you were asking for urgent appointments but not being able to take what they can offer, or if there are requests that seem perfectly reasonable to you but there may be risks or concerns from the doctor's point of view. I can tell you for sure it can be a huge pain to get lab results from an outside facility - you'd think it would be easy, but it can be almost impossible at times.

Also, if you used regular e-mail instead of MyChart, if they do not have a HIPAA-certified "secure" option they may just not be able to answer. I am one of the few docs at my place that will happily do the secure e-mail thing, as my hospital does not have good two-way portal yet, but if someone tries to message me on FB they get a note back redirecting to secure e-mail as I am not permitted to do that at all.

But I will say this - doctors should NOT ignore the side effect issue, It is a big frustration but you have to deal with it. I wish you could find someone more simpatico that your insurance would cover!
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I have MyChart accounts with 3 different clinic systems and I think vstefans is certainly right that some doctors are much better than others in dealing with electronic media. Also, some clinic systems take the MyChart thing more seriously than others. You just have to work with what's available to you.

I never use MyChart for urgent concerns, or to make appointments. I have used it very successfully to get simple questions answered.
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My various doctors plus the hospital wanted me to log into MyChart, but I am old fashioned, I want my doctor to tell me the information so that we can chat about it. So I never use MyChart, for me it is too much information overload.

I always call for an appointment to see the doctor, and if she is busy and the appointment isn't until next week... if I feel it is more urgent, then I will go to the Urgent Care center just down the street when I can just walk in and see a doctor. Always had good luck here.
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I used to always call, but then I started with MyChart and my prescriptions and questions were handled within a couple of hours, as opposed to a couple of days.
I guess it depends on the particular doctor's office.
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On the subject of Internet access for medical questions and appointments, I've found that hospitals also present patients with the option to view their medical information online. Thus far only one doctor's office has suggested it.

When this has happened, my first question to the presenting person is what level of security do they have and what are their security protocols. The bland answer is usually "oh, it's a safe site." If they don't even know what level of security they have, they're not in a position to advise that the site is safe. I doubt if any of them even know what their protocols are.

I think it was last year or the year before when Chase was hacked. One of the Chase reps told me the hackers reached the 5th or 6th (or maybe the 7th) level of security and were able to get names of customers but no account numbers or detail on the accounts.

It's also my understanding that Chase spends a massive amount ($1B I think) on data security. I doubt if hospitals have that level of commitment. One of the local hospitals no longer even provides a little plastic pan of toothpaste, lotions, etc. I had to ask specifically for some toothpaste and soap!

After the BCBSM and Anthem hacking, I decided never to ever post or access any personal medical information online. To me, it isn't worth the risk. Besides, speaking with medical office people is a chance to interact with a real human being, and sometimes that's a treat in this increasingly nonhuman interactive world.
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Sue,
I am in Texas also. In the last 2 years our doctors office staff have been handing out the online, log in to your information pamphlets as we exit. Family Doctors, Eye Doctors, Dematologists, etc, etc. Frankly, I don't think they are using them. There is no "chart" information on any of mine. I did send a message through the one with the Eye Dr. A nurse did call me back a couple days later to answer my medication question. She did not use the "portal" as it is called. I would call and make an appointment if you need an answer to your question. Or call the office and leave a short msg for the nurse to call you back.
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Suentsmith, do you have a specific medical complaint today?
Beside what you need the doctor to do ( write an order)?

Is your condition stable enough to go in once every three months? Yes/No
Are you following the doctor's advice, and if not, what do you expect of him instead?
Are you aware that doctors must see you in person in order for the insurance company to approve the care, the order, the prescription, the test?

Have you considered taking someone to the appointment with you to improve communication? Are you a bit difficult to interrupt with mild pressure?
Do you interrupt the doctor when he is speaking? Are you argumentative with others? Are these questions causing you to be upset, get angry?

When you see the doctor next, will you spend a portion of the 20 minutes setting him straight about the e-mail, or will you let that go? Time is short.

How long was the e-mail? Can you practice making your answers very short? To the point?

Why do you expect the doctor and his staff to change their practice to save time at your suggestion, instead of complying with their normal ways of routine practice.
Such as, what do you want to talk about to the doctor? Won't you be angry or disappointed again when you are told to make an appoinment, because they cannot treat you over the phone?

Will you be calling for the appointment during normal business hours?
Fridays, if the staff is in the office, they can make an appointment for next week.
If you have a more urgent need, go to urgent care. Do not go there if you need a routine prescription refilled. Have (ask) the pharmacy to call your doctor.

Have you heard about "the standard of care?" For example:
If you have high blood pressure, the standard of care would be to start you on a med that everyone else will be prescribed. If that doesn't work for you, the standard of care will get you the next medication that everyone else is going to get. And so on. If you don't comply, there is little else they can do for you.
That is what you get.

Sit with this for awhile, mull it over, don't despair.
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Hello, To all the persons who gave me good answers; I just want you to know that I did email through mychart, and got a response from him the next day I believe. My appointment is set for Nov. 9th at 1:20 pm. So I am good for now. I am trying to write down what is the most urgent thing to go over with him but I also know I only have 20 minutes which is not enough time. But I am grateful that I did ask for an appointment and I got it. He didn't seem mad or upset but he did answer some questions for me, but I still need to go over my health record and decide what I really need to talk about. But I do appreciate all the advise that I got, and yes I did have to call for the appointment but at least he knows what I need and why I need the appointment and I am hoping that he is better than I think. He is sending me to the lab so I will go on Monday. So Thanks everyone for the support and if I can help any one else I will be glad to.
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Thank you for checking back and letting everyone know. So happy that you got your appointment soon.
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We don't have MyChart or anything similar to that out here in the wilderness. My doc won't send me my test results after a test and it drives me crazy. He says he is too busy.
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Well, brandywine1949, there are advantages and drawbacks to living in the wilderness. If he is the only doctor for miles around, he may indeed be over-extended. If he has to decide between squeezing one more sick patient in today or reserving some time to send out test results, which do you suppose he chooses? It sounds like he might be short-handed for clerical help.

Software works in the wilderness just as well as in a huge city. But a one-person practice may not find it cost-effective to use MyChart or a similar package, especially if he doesn't have the manpower to operate it.
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Brandywine, ask the lab to send the test results directly to you. I've always done that if blood isn't drawn at the doctor's office, and even though they're surprised I want the results rather than leaving it up to the doctor to interpret, I always get the results.
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