What To Do When Your Doctor Has A Long Waiting Queue

It’s fair to say that the healthcare industry is pushed to its limits. People are now living longer than ever, and hospitals and doctors are cracking under the strain. No matter how much funding goes towards this cause, we don’t have enough doctors to deal with the pressure. And, this situation only looks set to get worse. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates a shortage of 91,500 physicians by 2020. It should come as no surprise, then, if you have to wait a week or two before you can see anyone about your health concerns.

This can be frustrating, and it can mean living in fear or discomfort until your appointment. In some cases, you may even decide that it simply isn’t worth the hassle of waiting that long to see a doctor. Many people hold off making appointments because they assume their issue will have cleared after that time. This can lead to significant health worries going unchecked.

But, it needn’t be this way. Healthcare does need a healthy injection of doctors soon. Until then, the following pointers could help to tide you over between appointments.

Put your mind at ease with an online diagnosis

In many ways, online diagnosis can be a bad thing. We’ve all concluded we have cancer after an errant search on Google, after all. But, we aren’t talking about that kind of online diagnosis here. There are now websites which allow you to speak to a doctor through live webchats. While these are no comparison to the real thing, they can be more help than you know. These doctors may be able to put your mind at ease or advise you on ways to ease your discomfort.

Book with a nurse instead

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It may also be worth booking with a nurse instead. This isn’t always possible, but it’s probably an option more often than you realize. With the help of accessible training options like these online dnp programs, nurses are becoming more a part of general care than they have been before. Far from taking blood or doing other tests, nurses are now coming to the fore with things like ongoing care. While a diagnosis still requires a doctor, then, it’s worth checking whether a nurse could sort you out. A lot of the time, you may be surprised to find that they can.

Ask for a phone appointment

At the very least, it’s worth asking for a phone appointment instead of one in person. Many doctors are now favoring these over in-person appointments to avoid time wasters. As such, you may find that you can get a phone appointment the same day rather than waiting weeks. After listening to your ailment, a doctor will be able to both put your mind at ease and advise you whether to come in. If you do still need to see them in person, the chances are that they’ll be able to squeeze you in sooner when they have an idea of what they’re dealing with.