We're so slammed at the clinic, I had to create a COVID-19 text template, to save time charting

[Aristus]

visits.

It's a bullet-point auto-text template that I'm using for every patient. All I have to do is paste it into the text field of the patient's visit note, fill in the blanks, and add some patient-specific details.

We saw fourteen patients yesterday, just for COVID-19. That's not counting all of the patients coming in for unrelated reasons (even though we're begging people with non-urgent conditions to stay home and relieve the overcrowding...)

Needless to say, we're having to tell the patients who routinely hit me with "Oh, one more thing!" that there just ain't no time...

[Jirel]

1. I can't blame the patients.

What medical personnel consider “non-urgent” stops feeling “non-urgent” to patients after being told to stay home and wait since April. Clinics are going to have to start working out ways to handle both. We’re in this for probably another year. “Non-urgent” can’t be put off for 6 months and likely longer.

[Aristus]

2. If my patients have conditions that require close monitoring, like diabetes, hypertension, or

high cholesterol, we continue to maintain their regular visit schedule.

What we try to discourage is something like this:

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, I got a little thingy on my finger here."

"Is it painful?"

"No."

"How long have you had it now?"

"Oh... I dunno, about ten years, I guess..."

Something like that can probably wait a little.

I had a guy in not long ago who wanted me to 'fix' him because he couldn't sing high notes anymore. After taking a history of his problem, I concluded that he needed a voice coach, not medical care. He persisted "Isn't there some kind of pill you can give me for this?" because he didn't want to do the hard work that comes with training his singing voice.

Meanwhile, people are dying from COVID-19...…

[blaze]

3. Ugh. Sorry you're getting slammed.

Any particular reason for the uptick?

Stay healthy Aristus!

[3catwoman3]

4. Way too late in my career, I figured out that at the end of an exam, I...

...should not say, “Any questions?” That invites Pandora’s box to open.

I now say, “Any questions about today’s discussion?” If a “by the way, as long as I’m here...” still comes up that is not urgent, I will suggest a separate appointment to give the additional concern the time and attention it deserves, rather than a 1 minute token assessment.

I think patients/parents do not realize that if everyone had a “by the way,” you would be hopelessly behind by mid morning.

[Aristus]

6. Yeah, I had to make the same adjustment.

I try to respect the fact that often, they have taken the day off work to make their appointment. But the upshot of that is, they have all day to talk about every little ache and pain. I don't.

[LuckyCharms]

5. Keep up your good and important work, Aristus.