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To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question.
Transplants | Last Active: Jun 28, 2021 | Replies (313)Comment receiving replies
@ess77 and all, Getting hold of a physician can sometimes be a challenge because many aren't given administrative time in their day to answer and return phone calls. I am sorry you had this experience with your PCP. I hope you are able to work out a better system to contact them in the future. Many doctor's offices have processes for patients who need assistance after hours or when they can't reach their usual doctor.
At Mayo Clinic, transplant patients are all given a card with an after hours phone number to contact the organ transplant physician on-call. This number reaches someone 24 hours a day/7 days a week in case of a patient emergency. Our hope is that our patients use this number in situations similar to yours, when they need assistance, but don't feel the situation requires 911. Many other hospitals have a similar system. Everyone should ask their doctors how best to contact them during and after business hours. Of note, patient portals are nice for communication, but keep in mind they should not be used for urgent matters. While we usually handle messages within a day, Mayo Clinic has a 2-4 day turn around expectation to patient portal messages. If you require immediate assistance, the portal may not be your best method of contacting your doctor as it may take them a day or more to get to your message.
Replies to "@ess77 and all, Getting hold of a physician can sometimes be a challenge because many aren't..."
Thanks, Kristin. Great information. I suppose if I had an after hours issue I handle it myself, usually. I've called 911 several times when I was having tremor problems or reactions to meds or whatever, but these kinds of things I use Crucial Care. Only thing - they close at 7!
So, in fact, I may go to the Mayo Hospital later. My temp is still very low, 96.3 today and I'm not feeling well, but it takes some time to get over an infection like this. The low temp bothers me, tho. I''ve called Crucial Care yesterday and today to get the bloodwork bateria test results. Can't get an answer. Waiting for the nurse, who's very busy, to call w/results and change antibiotic if necessary. So, at 5pm.
Pooh! Guess I'll get dressed and hit the Mayo Hospital just to be safe. I've doubled my antibiotic daily dose, on my own. Let you know what happens when the new day arrives! blessings, Elziabeth
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@keggebraaten @ess77 I suspect all transplant centers have a 24/7 phone number. The last thing they want is for something to go unanswered if a patient has a real problem. I know Mass General has the same as what you describe that Mayo has. I did use it once, I forget what for, but they are very responsive.
The local hospitals are unfortunately not as responsive. Many of them have a message to go to Urgent Care of the ER if you have a problem.
@jerrynord I have had almost every doctor call me at times in response to a portal message! Certainly not for every message, but I think they sometimes feel they can field the question better than someone else in the office. One of my endocrinologists called recently and we conversed for about 20 minutes. I felt that was really above and beyond what I expected.
JK