Are You Making These 5 Doctor's Appointment Mistakes?
by Lexi Petronis
Every year, one of my biggest health resolutions is to get all my annual doctors' appointments scheduled all at once--well, at least know when I should call in order to be seen on schedule. That way, there's no excuse to put any of them off. (I guess that technically means my resolution is to stop procrastinating. I've had varying degrees of success with that resolution--I'll figure out why someday. Heh!)
Anyway, according to ZocDoc--a free online service that helps you find a local doctor or dentist and book an appointment in real time--lots of us have similar ideas, because patients book nearly twice the amount of appointments in the beginning of January than during the rest of the year.
So, while having appointments on your brain is a good thing, it's also a good thing to avoid making some of these mistakes while booking.
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1: Requesting the most popular days and times. On the most-wanted list for appointments: 10 A.M. on Friday; 2 P.M. on Monday; and all day long on Tuesday (but is also the day with the most cancellations and last-minute openings). If you want to see your doc quickly, avoid these super-popular times.
2: Booking too far out. The national average for calling to book and actually getting seen is more than 20 days--and, after waiting, 10 to 20 percent of appointments are still canceled at the last minute. Knowing what's on your schedule (and avoid canceling) is a bit easier when you try to book earlier.
3: Choosing your doc based purely using your health insurance directory. It's just frustrating to pick out a physician and find out he or she has moved or no longer accepts your insurance--plus, it's hard to know anything about them, based purely on a name in a book.
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4: Going to a doc outside your network. It gets expensive--fast! Patients' share for costs associated with out-of-network appointments rose from 30 to 40 percent. And also be sure to find out if your lab work is covered, as that can add up as well.
5: Deciding not to go at all. Funny thing, I once called to book a skin-cancer check with a dermatologist whose first available appointment turned out to be eight months away--and I ended up not booking with him or with anyone else because I was too irritated. And actually, 54 percent of people in a recent survey found that they have done the same. But delaying care and treatment is a definite don't...and, um, I am going to finally book that dermatologist appointment.
Do you ever put off your doc appointments too?
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