I needed to make an appointment with a doctor so I called my health plan’s phone number for new patients. Before I could schedule my appointment, I had to listen to several recorded messages to be routed to the right medical office. The recording said to stay on the line for assistance.
Clerk: Hello, Western Medical Group.
Damien: Hello, I’d like to make an appointment with Dr. Gupta.
Clerk: Are you a new patient or a returning patient?
Damien: I’m a new patient.
Clerk: Who referred you to Dr. Gupta?
Damien: No one. One of the health benefits of my plan is that I can self-refer to some specialists.
Clerk: What is the name of your plan and your medical record number?
Damien: It’s Waiser and my medical record number is 23456789.
Clerk: It looks like Dr. Gupta is booked up for the next three weeks. She has an opening on March 2nd, at 4:30 p.m.
Damien: I was hoping to get an early morning appointment.
Clerk: The next morning appointment won’t be until March 18th, at 11:00. You’ll need to check in at 10:45 to fill out paperwork. Should I put you down for that?
Damien: Is it possible to get an even earlier appointment?
Clerk: Dr. Gupta doesn’t begin seeing patients until 10:30.
Damien: 10:30? Isn’t that pretty late?
Clerk: Dr. Gupta likes to play golf in the mornings.
Damien: Why do you think I want an early morning appointment? Doesn’t she know that some of her patients prefer late-morning golf?
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse
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