Our doctors seems to think a phone call is all we need now, her indoors has problems with blood pressure, she gets it checked at the pharmacy adjoining the surgery. Last time she went the pharmacist said it rather high so I'll go into the surgery with you so you can make an appointment. The result of that was " the doctor will phone you in two weeks time" and she was given the date and estimated time for the call.
The system here took a bit of getting used to. A visit to the doctor is chargeable at fixed rates set by the state, and then a percentage is reimbursed by the state, and the rest is paid by your own health top up insurance. For those of limited means, the state runs a top up scheme which is free based on a means test. If you wish, you can opt for a zoom or FaceTime consultation, which is charged and reimbursed as if it was an in person visit.
For an urgent hospital visit, the doctor will sort it directly. For a visit to a specialist, the doctor will hand over an introductory letter and you sort it yourself with whoever you want. My doctor wanted me to see an Endocrinologist, so armed with the letter, I chose one in the town of Albi and made an online appointment. Why Albi ? Because it is a lovely old town with the biggest brick built cathedral in the world. Saw the specialist, then we spent the rest of the day having a nice meal and wandering around with Julie. Nice day out.
As long as health care is centred on my doctor, I am free to choose my own specialists.
My doctor, and nurse like to have a recent blood pressure to look at each consultation. I do that myself with an automatic cuff, filling in a sheet over 3 days. They also like regular blood tests, so I have a prescription lasting a year for the various factors to be monitored. I walk into the health centre when I need to, no appointment, they extract the red stuff, and I get the results online the next day. The doctor also gets a copy directly. If I am in town, I can go directly to the testing laboratory that the health centre uses. Or anywhere else that does blood tests that might be convenient at the time. If the doctor sees something irregular, she will call me in. If I see something, then I will make an appointment, otherwise it is a 3 monthly cycle alternating with the nurse. The results I get also show the previous results, and the expected range for each factor for guidance.
Because doctors work within a charging system, they tend to feel that they must deliver value for money. I can't just have a repeat prescription, it has to be a mini health check every time. Normally a visit is about 20 min. That's fine though.
Andrew.