What should patients expect from their medical experience?
Every year, millions of people visit a doctor or a medical practitioner. Some are just doing their yearly physical or routine checkup; others have a medical issue they need examined. Though the causes and issues vary from person to person, one standard is always in place: the quality of care they receive.
It’s no small matter. Our health is possibly the most important thing we have, and a good experience that answers our needs is essential. We’ve seen way, way too many instances of shoddy care, inaccurate results, lack of interest, and jobs left half done to ever want that for a patient. Plus, with the rising costs of care, patients are coming to (rightfully) expect a higher standard, and more bang for their buck.
Patients deserve, first and foremost, to be listened to. They deserve to be heard, and their concerns to be taken seriously by the medical provider they confide to. They deserve tests and results to find what may be wrong with them, and they deserve nice, friendly teams to accommodate them, and to understand their concerns. Listening and caring are invaluable for a medical experience. Bedside manner still holds true, even in the technological 21st century.
It isn’t always easy, or even possible, to see patients as soon as they’d like to be seen. It’s simply a numbers game, and sometimes even large facilities are all booked up. So patients have a right to be seen, but they won’t always get seen when they wish. Tele-health and interactive technology for medicine are helping this process a bit, but there is still a long way to go before every patient is accommodated exactly when they want to be seen. This time of year is especially challenging, with vaccines, colds, and other ailments occurring before the holidays.
For a smaller clinic like Coddington Medical, the challenge is seeing as many people as we can as soon as we can. We struggle with it the same way the majors do, and we still strive to provide the very best care for everyone who comes through the door. When we see you, we make sure we also listen and hear you. When you need treatment, we make sure we provide it the best we can. If we aren’t able, then we’ll refer you to someone who can. If you need medications and have been prescribed them, we’ll help you get them at your chosen pharmacy.
We’ll also work with you on your payments, including your co-payment options and your insurance. We take many forms of insurance, and we always try to write the best option without up-charging for things that aren’t needed. There’s too much waste in the medical field, and too many hoops for patients to jump through to get simple things for their health. No one deserves to be put through the ringer.
With the right atmosphere and the right expectations, everyone’s medical journey can have happy stages and a brighter outcome. We always work toward that at CMFP, and we’re delighted that thousands of people trust us with their care and their future. As a result, we’ll always work our hardest to continually earn that trust.