Doctors and receptionist

Here in the US everyone and anyone who handles any sort of medical information is bound by the laws of HIPAA. That means office staff and receptionists too.

As someone from the "other side of the table" so to speak I know that the person making the schedule for the doctors is asking what the reason I need to see the doctor for and I appreciate that. I don't embarrass easily so I have no problem telling her what my issue is. But I also understand that not everyone is like that. So if you are to embarrassed to point blank tell her exactly what the problem is then go around the exact topic. Lets say you think you have an STD but you don't want to say that. So you tell the receptionist that you have some painful symptoms that are new and you need to be examined. If she asks where the pain is, then you tell her it's not cardiac or anything life threatening. Which is why she is asking. She isn't trying to be a nosey nellie. Part of their job is to basically triage people. Most people don't know what a real emergency is and if they are having one or not.

You know if a woman calls up and says she is light headed and her jar hurts, she is probably thinking her sugar is low and she either had TMJ or she slept wrong. But the receptionist should, if she knows her job, depending on how much latitude she's given by the doctors in the office, either immediately go tell the doctor and ask him what he wants her to do, or she should tell the patient to go right to the ER.

We take HIPAA very seriously here. I don't think I have ever had a receptionist be rude to me or anyone else I have talked to either. Maybe we are lucky.

Mashie

That's sad. Do you think it may be because of the limited choices the average Brit has regarding his healthcare? Maybe NHS employees don't have to be polite since you're pretty much stuck with them. I don't know. Just asking.

I've never been treated rudely by a receptionist (or nurse or doctor) in the U.S.

Wino 69 - That is one view and I can understand you suggesting it from your side of the pond, but I can't really agree and I think this thread has highlighted another difference between the American and British healthcare systems.

In the USA, there are obvious commercial pressures that provide incentive for your reception and office staff to be polite. It may also be a part of American culture to treat patients better. Although the American healthcare system looks complicated and is perplexing to outsiders, I do understand that people can change their providers. In the UK we can change GP practices. I don't believe there is anything to stop that as long as you live within a certain distance of the practice. There is the option to pay to go private, as my wife has with a private gynaecologist, but private healthcare does not suit everyone.

I don't accept that the poor manner of GP receptionists in the UK is down to lack of choice. I believe it is more a cultural trait that has developed and been perpetuated through several generations, existing well before the British NHS was even created in 1948. It is something of a stereotype, but I think it is a fairly accurate one this time. In the UK, doctors receptionist jobs seemed to attract busybody types within local communities. A receptionist I remember from when I was growing up was known for believing herself to be above everyone else and thought she was entitled to know everyone's business. This was not unique, and was actually typical of the behaviour to be found within GP practices. Unfortunately the worst of these attitudes seem to have been passed on to new staff starting work in the practices; they become schooled in how to treat patients with no respect. It is deeply ingrained in the culture. Niknoks account below is an excellent example of what to expect. Also my wife, who wished to see her GP with a hand problem a few years ago, returned home incandescent with rage after being spoken to with contempt by her GP receptionist when - shock, horror - she dared ask for an appointment. This was in sharp contrast to her gynaecologist's reception, who were an exemplary model of courtesy.

Whether the patient is paying a bill or not, there is no excuse for receptionists to have poor manners. Treating people with respect costs nothing. I fully understand that some people are difficult and unreasonable, sometimes needing to be handled more robustly at times. I am not a medical professional, but I too have to be more than firm with people at times, so I understand this. Sometimes there is no other way, but if people are well mannered, polite and reasonable then they should be treated that way in return. Some UK GP receptionists treat everyone with contempt by default and believe all their patients are idiots, and I can't see it changing. Only if all GP receptionists were removed from their posts and the NHS started again from scratch on reception desks could it change.

On the point about receptionists asking patients about their medical conditions, such concerns are none of their business. They are not doctors, or nurses. I would have no problem discussing things with qualified and seasoned nurses like Mashie, RN1993 or Binky1266 but that does not include receptionists. They are only receptionists and are not qualified to make such decisions, so they should know their place. Not only that, but the layout of just about every UK GP practice I've seen makes it difficult to maintain confidentiality when talking to a receptionist either in person or over the phone. Patients should not be expected to discuss their problems in front of a packed waiting room full of gossips. That's what doctors' consulting rooms are for. Medical problems should not be discussed in public.

I totally agree with RN1993

I can relate to the OP situation. At my local GP surgery, it does indeed seem like its the "Spanish inquisition" when trying to get an appointment. You are under no obligation to inform them of your reasons for wanting to see your GP. I do bring them down a peg or two at times for being overly aggressive or intrusive with their questions or enquires.

Since in the UK they have no professional training, and as such they not bound by the rules of confidentiality, so you are quite within your rights to refuse to disclose anything of a very personal nature, and well within your rights to have their actions or behaviour redressed by the Practice Manager.

As is often the case when sitting in the waiting room , you can clearly hear their conversations between themselves, between them and the arriving patient or during a telephone conversation. Names, conditions , diagnosis can clearly be overheard.

When i was a boy in 1970s England, our family GP was three Doctors, a husband and wife in their late 40s, plus one other in his early 50s, with the surgery as part of the Doctors house, entered from the side, consisting of waiting room, consulting room, treatment room, and the receceptionists room, with a little hatch in the door, it was all very friendly and the receptionist always remembered my name even when i went after not visiting for several years, the Doctors knew you and the care was excellent,

It is all very different nowadays, the place has been extended into a medical centre of 12 consulting rooms, several receptionists, and a chemists shop, it is no longer a home, and is very impersonal, more akin to a factory, and getting an appointment is extremely difficult, to see a different Doctor each visit that has no idea who you are, and in my experience can't or won't help, extremely dissalusioning, and i'm sure a consequence of the changing demographic and overpopulation.

I'm asked almost every....Probably every time I call. It isn't often, as the wife usually calls for me as I get nervous and won't....Yea, laugh it up...Left to my own devices, I would probably never see a physician. Anyway, I'll call for her sometimes. Way more than I've ever called for myself anyway. Lest I feel it IS some sort of hurry/emergent situation, I politely tell them I will discuss that with the doctor. I've never gotten any grief over it either.

I'll add two ore things that kind of, no these really chap my hide. I remember it well as a child, but this was done a few visits back. Haven't seen the nurse since.....They come to the door and scream your first and last name. I told the nurse, soon as the door closed behind me "If you ever say my name in the waiting room like that again, it'll be your last day working here.".....She says something about not knowing me and yada, yada, yada and whats the big deal anyway. "Privacy"....."Mine"...."So don't do it."

The other....My PCP changed offices. Great big space now. Anyway, they want to check your weight and blood pressure out in the hall.....Just as you pass through the door from "Lobby" to "medical".......People all over, coming and going......I've got White Coat Syndrome, so I'm fidgety and nervous enough as it is....Just being there.....Other people being around, and the thought of a new nurse taking mine, then remarking aloud at the not so insignificant elevation??? Hell no. The nurse that grabbed me last time knows me and my condition well....And that I'm a bit of a pain in the ass if things don't go my way. She's got me pegged, knows my bark is much more than my bite(I never bite), so she plays with me....Toys with me....I told her "You know I'm not sitting down in that chair out here don't you?" Her: All coy and shit, like...Huh? Why not?. "Well why not?" Me: "Privacy for one"....Her: "I'm not gonna say it out loud....Nobody listening or care, anyway." (Thats true...She's right...Except me...I care.) Me: "You know it's a damned HIPPA via." Her: "Oh, hush....You know I'm ready for your picky ass in the room." She didn't say exactly that, but it is exactly what she meant😃 Tee Hee......One,she knows I prefer a manual(Always Lower) than the machine, and she knows I'm particular about some things. Very particular. Then her and my wife continue to berate me as we get to the room. My wife telling her what a pain in the ass I am, you should try living with him....Now that, friends, is a good damn nurse😃

Ask to speak with a nurse next time. Here they are required to screen calls to make sure it’s not a medical emergency or something that doesn’t need an office visit. If it’s unclear they then route your call to nurse who decides what to do or if they need to discuss with the doctor.

I work in healthcare and take calls like this all day, and the reason they ask is to know what type of appointment to schedule for, or how much time to schedule for you to see the doctor and so the nurses and doctors can be prepared for your appointment before you come in. Where I work, our doctor's have set times for certain types of appointments, whether it's routine or annual exam, a consult for a more serious issue, or for an emergency. They aren't asking to be rude, they're just doing their job.

We know sometimes it's embarrassing to tell someone who isn't the doctor what is going on, but that what HIPAA is for. We can't go around saying "hey this guy has this condition!"

However if you feel the receptionist is unprofessional, you can ask to speak to someone else or a manager.

Just wanted to shed some insight on it. 😃

It always seems that receptionists take great joy in telling patients that the doctor will have to examine them before signing a form or filling a prescription. I remember the receptionist at my pediatrician's office saying that the doctor is going to want to have a look at you no matter the situation. I knew that meant that I would soon be naked and my genitals would be examined. I recall another receptionist telling a female patient that the doctor would have to give her a complete physical before signing any paperwork. I still become aroused thinking about the look on the patient's face as she took a seat in the waiting room.

I don't much mind it, as they have a role and responsibilities to meet, and at some point, the process results in my being taken care of.

Way back in the day, the receptionist at my doctors once came at me shaking down a thermometer for the start of the triage. I was taken aback for sure.

It's all about insurance and copay!