Any night owls up?

[Aristus]

21. The problem with out-patient call is that the calls are rarely emergencies.

Ever hear those news stories about how someone called 9-1-1 because McDonald's didn't get their order right? Or because they can't find their TV remote?

I get a lot of calls like that.

Out-patient call is supposed to be for after-hours patient concerns that fall somewhere between "Let's see if it clears up on its own" and "You'd better go to the emergency room right away."

Instead, I get calls from patients who just don't seem to have anything better to do. Once, I got a call from a woman at 3am ( on a work-night, no less ) who just wanted to know what the potential side effects of her medication were ( despite the fact that prescription medications always come with a print-out of potential side effects ).

Twice now, I've received phone calls from patients who had issues that warranted a trip to the emergency room, and I told them so, only to find out that they were calling me from the emergency room, and they weren't happy with the treatment they were getting! That's crazy any time of the day, but when it wakes you out of a sound sleep, you start re-examining your life's choices...