The Patient Portal—Help or Hindrance?

Well, Nutmeg, you will be sadly surprised out there when you actually need care. Doctors and surgeons give us extremely limited time. If their nurses and staff can deal with us, you best believe they will. Gone are the days that you speak to your doctor directly. My friend has to wait 3 months to see her family doctor.

I don't know how I'd feel about a doctor like that. Sounds too cut & dried for me. I want to know that my doctor is there for me and doesn't just hand me off to a nurse. Not my idea of a caring physician, especially dealing with Cancer. Wish you all the best.

We have 2 extremes in health care each year, depending on our current residence. In our Minnesota home, where we try to have most of our care, very provider has a portal, and most of the larger ones "talk" to each other. Test results are available promptly, we communicate directly with the providers, care is generally superior.
In our Texas home, 1970's style care is prevalent. Individual practices, often with few or no xray and lab facilities in office, nobody covering nights and weekends, the ER is your only option...find your own specialists...except at 2 very busy teaching hospitals.

Here many hours are spent helping friends find care they need. Our friends 20 miles away, across the border, have an even tougher time - hardly anyone has insurance, hospital admission is not assured even if you have cash, and many of our friends must raise thousands before a family member can get surgery or chemo.

As hard as it is for us to get prompt care sometimes, many in the world are far worse off!
Sue

My experience with patient portals has depended on where I was. The good thing always was that I could see what was in my medical records as soon as it was available. The unfortunate thing was that I found errors in some cases, egregious ones. The other problem was that it highlighted a lack of communication. I had a hole in my heart diagnosed by echocardiogram, and then no word from the doctor for weeks, even when I repeatedly asked for it. It would have been simple to send a note by the portal to say it was a small hole and unlikely to be a problem. But he didn't. Things went from bad to worse. I ended up at the Mayo to get diagnosed, and it was a wonderful experience, with one exception. The neurologist I saw suggested a possible serious problem in her notes, but no one told me. I had to find it for myself. Not the best way to find such a potential diagnosis.
All in all, it's a definite positive. It keeps everybody honest and allows me to determine the quality of care I am receiving. It also is showing me what I need to ask about at appointments.

When I got the appointment with my breast cancer surgeon, she sent a letter out giving her contact info as well as that of her nurse and two nurse practitioners. In the letter, she clearly stated that I would see her on the day of surgery but not after unless absolutely necessary. All of my follow ups have been with her staff.

good idea, it cuts a lot of wear and tear on the issues at hand for DOCTORS VISITS....YOU ARE SMART...THANKS>..Margareto

Omg, I am not alone. I went from waking up and 45 minutes out the door. I could hardy get dressed; I was so groggy. Years ago they sent my daughter home right after a hysterectomy and that night she could not urinate. I raced her back, they catharised her and then had the gall to charge her another co-pay FOR THE SAME DAY that they screwed up. I wrote 7 letters to ever CEO and anyone of importance. We got off the hook. This is not good.

@mikaylar: Yup, happened to me as well. Consultation with surgeon for lumpectomy - maybe 15 minutes in office. Day of surgery (still with COVID protocol, mask on my face at all times) he waltzes in about 40 minutes behind schedule, says “hey”, scribbles something on my right shoulder, and that was it. Post surgery consult a few days later was with a very nice PA, never saw the surgeon again. And - because of numerous delays, recovery rooms were full, so I went from that immediate “waking-up” station/stage straight out the door.

It was a 1 day procedure in the hospital and the of the best in Philadelphia, might I add, Penn. It was 2 weeks later that the nurses assistant had a telemed with me to tell me exactly what the doctor did during surgery - 2 freakin weeks!! I saw this surgeon for consultation a month before surgery for 15 minutes and 3 minutes before surgery when she talked to the anesthesiologist. That's it. I assumed the surgery went well or I would have heard before 2 weeks but who knows.

i know other who have experienced similar situation to yours... I am now an older person who remembers going into hospital, getting a bed and ready for the procedure the next day, and for however many days in hospital the doctor came by to see how you were - the morning rounds....then those drs went on to their afternoon private-type practices in the afternoons etc. ; and forget now but when had babies I think it was one or two weeks in hospital... now I think can go in and out same day? i can understand cut backs etc. but it seems a lot of responsibility for aftercare is falling on nurses or psw's but my adult daughter works in entirely different field and says its the thing now to 'delegate" .... even when I asked my nurse practitioner about referring me to a neurologist I had seen before she said 'you phone him' !! So why have 2 or 3 receptionists - I feel and am keeping track of my patient records, data, when get copies of blood work I have to ask about results etc, and am not criticizing but questioning, its the way of the world these days.... and IMO COVID changed everything! My husband's oncologist said he liked working from home and going into hospital only one day a week - so obviously not now seeing as many patients face to face; but was it necessary for him to be at the hospital 5 days a week, i dont know... but it IS the future and we somehow have to grin and bear it. Hope you feel better soon.