Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Do you have a query on how to get things done in Andalucia, where to find things, who to call? Find out by posting and hear about others experiences.
Free at Last
Resident
Posts: 1911
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:32 pm
Location: Velez-Malaga

Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Free at Last » Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:00 am

Another permanent change being brought about under the pretext of the Corona virus. Now the Andalucian Health Service have announced that they will be continuing to require patients wanting to see their GP to phone for an appointment (rather than making the appointment online or via the app) and there will then be a filtering process to decide whether a face to face consultation is needed or not. I imagine this will be more problematic for those patients who don't speak Spanish.

https://www.diariosur.es/malaga-capital ... 52-nt.html
Last edited by Free at Last on Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

Paulinmalaga
Resident
Posts: 433
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:27 am
Location: malaga province

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Paulinmalaga » Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:10 am

Sounds like a very positive and efficient system and as they say was being planned anyway for over a year. And as stated will give more than double the time when a face to face is needed.
I So Bella tis you

elusive
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3275
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:49 am
Location: East of Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby elusive » Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:44 am

A family member needs a blood test. Had to make an physical appointment with the dr in order to then have the paper work to give to the receptionist to then make an appointment for the blood test! Very logical.

Be better if thy had an emil address where you could email for an appointment and explain what you need. So you so you dont have to make a phone appointment, wait for that. Then have to wait again for a physical one

Manchesteral
Resident
Posts: 1967
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Manchesteral » Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:36 pm

Si Senor, cual es su problema ? estoy teniendo un jodido corazon attaaaaaaaaaaaah !! Joder me estoy muriendo !!

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Wicksey » Wed Jun 10, 2020 4:02 pm

I struggle in Spanish over the phone although am not too bad face to face. I too have to have an appointment to see the Dr to then arrange my six monthly blood tests. Then I go back to see her for the results. I would prefer to call into the clinic to get an appointment rather than try to phone.

I've had a phone consultation whilst we've been in lockdown but I had no idea when they would phone as it didn't give a time. We have a very poor phone signal at the house so had to keep the phone outside and keep checking it was ok. In the end I was rung at 1:30pm after hanging around all morning waiting. Not very convenient.

Evelyn
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 242
Joined: Sun Oct 09, 2016 9:36 am
Location: La Cala

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Evelyn » Wed Jun 10, 2020 9:07 pm

I only go to get repeat prescription, the doctor then sends me for a blood test. Normally I then have to go for another appointment to get the results. If it worked that I would only have to go back if there was a problem with the bloods would make more sense. Don’t mind the phone call but as I only live around the corner seems a bit silly.

elusive
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3275
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2012 11:49 am
Location: East of Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby elusive » Thu Jun 11, 2020 8:37 am

Five mins on the phone or five mins face to face. Still taking up time. You can understand during corona not after.

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Wicksey » Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:07 am

Our Drs has always been very good and I've not waited more than a day or so to get an appointment. Last time I went there was no-one else waiting and I went straight in to see her. As it is I was told to go to the Dr's after the phone appointment if I'm still having problems. Although I plucked up courage to phone the other day the line was engaged all the time. It's meant that I've put off going when usually I would have made an appointment and seen her by now.

Free at Last
Resident
Posts: 1911
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:32 pm
Location: Velez-Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Free at Last » Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:32 am

Wicksey wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:07 am Our Drs has always been very good and I've not waited more than a day or so to get an appointment. Last time I went there was no-one else waiting and I went straight in to see her. As it is I was told to go to the Dr's after the phone appointment if I'm still having problems. Although I plucked up courage to phone the other day the line was engaged all the time. It's meant that I've put off going when usually I would have made an appointment and seen her by now.
This is going to be the problem. To make an appointment online or via the app takes a few seconds. Getting through on the phone then having to wait for a call back takes far longer, plus you could choose your own appointment time from the slots available before. I presume if the doctor calls and says you have an appointment on this date at that time, that will be it.

I strongly suspect this will just lead to a reduction in the number of doctors employed in primary care, not to a doubling of the appointment time allotted to each patient. Like Evelyn I only tend to visit the GP for a repeat prescription, and I am in and out of the consulting room in less than a minute. There has never been more than one other patient waiting to see my doctor and I was always able to go in and see him earlier than my actual appointment time, so there was obviously no problem about previous appointment over-running.

Free at Last
Resident
Posts: 1911
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:32 pm
Location: Velez-Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Free at Last » Thu Jun 11, 2020 10:36 am

There's a piece in Diario Sur today about this, with the doctors' spokesman saying it has been a problem during the pandemic for doctors doing the callbacks when the patient does not answer the phone. Well, if you have no indication of the approximate time when you can expect a call, what are you meant to do? You could be in the bathroom, in your garden, driving, in a noisy place where you wouldn't be able to hear the phone, whatever.

The next steps, by the way (according to the doctors' spokesman quoted) will be videoconsultations replacing face to face appointments and biometric implants to monitor patients with long term chronic conditions. At least we have fair warning. Great when the technology works (except for people who find it difficult to get to grips with) but the system going down in the middle of a consultation with your doctor, not so good.
Last edited by Free at Last on Thu Jun 11, 2020 10:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Wicksey » Thu Jun 11, 2020 10:50 am

Free at Last wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 10:36 am There's a piece in Diario Sur today about this, with the doctors' spokesman saying it has been a problem during the pandemic for doctors doing the callbacks when the patient does not answer the phone. Well, if you have no indication of the approximate time when you can expect a call, what are you meant to do? You could be in the bathroom, in your garden, driving, in a noisy place where you wouldn't be able to hear the phone, whatever.
I had an appointment to see the Dr just after lockdown started and had heard that they were calling instead. So she rang me about an hour before my allotted original appointment time which was OK. When I later needed a phone appointment the app didn't give a time, just a day, so of course, then began the problem of trying to get a phone signal at my house as I've described above. Plus it turned out not to be my usual Dr, and she spoke at 100mph and so I struggled a bit. It does put me off trying to do all this over the phone so I'll end up going into the clinic which I don't think they want. Plus, how busy will the lines now be if everyone has to phone? It seems a backwards step to me.

markwilding
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7777
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:02 am
Location: Bilbao Spain

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby markwilding » Thu Jun 11, 2020 11:47 am

Manchesteral wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 2:36 pm Si Senor, cual es su problema ? estoy teniendo un jodido corazon attaaaaaaaaaaaah !! Joder me estoy muriendo !!
I would image not many people would contact their GP surgery for an appointment if they are having a heart attack. My advice would be to phone emergency services for an ambulance or get to the hospital as quickly as possible

User avatar
gerryh
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 8046
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Cajiz, Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby gerryh » Thu Jun 11, 2020 7:38 pm

Wicksey wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 10:50 am ..... When I later needed a phone appointment the app didn't give a time, just a day....
Yesterday I used the app to book a telephone appointment for my wife.
As you say, you just select a day and it says you have an appointment but no time shown.
If you then look, on your PC, at your appointments it shows the date and time of the appointment.
Hers was for today at 11:26, she got a phone call at 11:00.
Previously I have had phone calls around the time, shown on the appointment on my PC system.
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Wicksey » Thu Jun 11, 2020 7:58 pm

What are you looking at on your PC Gerry? I only have ever used the app on my phone.

User avatar
gerryh
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 8046
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Cajiz, Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby gerryh » Thu Jun 11, 2020 8:33 pm

https://www.sspa.juntadeandalucia.es/se ... clicsalud/
Far more information on here than on the app but, in my opinion, the app is easier to use for booking an appointment.
You can view your medical reports, view what medicines have been prescribed for you and when does the prescription end, what vaccinations you have had and when etc.
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

Pamela1
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2542
Joined: Wed Jan 08, 2014 3:30 am
Location: Co Durham/ Granada Province

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Pamela1 » Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:08 pm

Free at Last wrote: Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:00 am Another permanent change being brought about under the pretext of the Corona virus. Now the Andalucian Health Service have announced that they will be continuing to require patients wanting to see their GP to phone for an appointment (rather than making the appointment online or via the app) and there will then be a filtering process to decide whether a face to face consultation is needed or not. I imagine this will be more problematic for those patients who don't speak Spanish.

https://www.diariosur.es/malaga-capital ... 52-nt.html
Yes i can imagine it will be very problematic...not just for those who don't speak Spanish well but for those who are Spanish and elderly..This made me think about my 93yr old FIL in Andalucia, he lives alone, doesn't have a phone and wouldn't have a clue what to do with one if he had, :lolno: His eldest son lives near so he can do things on his behalf but there must be many people like him and i hope those who are alone and elderly can still go along to their local doctors surgery to make an appointment if that is their only means of doing so... Everything in this day and age is all based around technology however there is still a huge amount of people over the age of 60 who are not computer literate so app's and online appointments are just jargon to them, i wonder if that has been considered, i do hope that people still will have a choice after this virus is over. I have a feeling these past few months will change many things permanently and not always for the better.

brimsham
Andalucia.com Amigo
Posts: 127
Joined: Sat Sep 21, 2013 9:25 pm
Location: Almeria

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby brimsham » Thu Jun 11, 2020 9:11 pm

gerryh wrote: Thu Jun 11, 2020 8:33 pm https://www.sspa.juntadeandalucia.es/se ... clicsalud/
Far more information on here than on the app but, in my opinion, the app is easier to use for booking an appointment.
You can view your medical reports, view what medicines have been prescribed for you and when does the prescription end, what vaccinations you have had and when etc.
Cheers
Gerry
The App on my phone no longer gives the option to book an appointmnet with my doctor.
Ray
Ignore my last the option now appears on the App.

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Wicksey » Fri Jun 12, 2020 9:12 am

Thanks Gerry, that is very interesting, I didn't know about that website. Still doesn't allow me to make anything other than a phone call appointment, so I think I'll call by the clinic today and see if I can make an appointment to see her.

Free at Last
Resident
Posts: 1911
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:32 pm
Location: Velez-Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby Free at Last » Fri Jun 12, 2020 10:25 am

Please let us know how you get on. I only live around the corner from the health centre so it could well be easier for me to call in an request an appointment if they allow that.

User avatar
gerryh
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 8046
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Cajiz, Malaga

Re: Telephone Filtering before being able to see your doctor

Postby gerryh » Fri Jun 12, 2020 11:42 am

Before a made an appointment, via the app, for my wife she decided to go to our local health centre, in Torre del Mar, to try to make an appointment.
She was told to go away and make an appointment via the app or phone.
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 32 guests