How long does it take...

For you to get a call back from your dr? My pcp usually calls back in less than an hour. It seems if I call my gi it usually takes 24 hours or more if they can't answer my question when I call. I am wondering what others experience. Thanks!

I've always got a same day call back from my GI. Usually within a couple hours.

My pcp is also a friend, I suppose that makes a difference. However our pediatrician also usually calls back in an hour or two. I guess my experience with them is outside the norm.

We've only spoken directly to the doctor on the phone once, including a successful and a lost pregnancy. My old GI just happened to be the doctor on call when we left a message with the answering service one Friday night. She got me a Prednisone prescription and saved me a trip to the ER.

Otherwise it is only relayed messages through nurses.

My IBD Specialist has clinics and procedure days. Since she's at a university, everything is scheduled and she never has emergency duties to cover.

I agree, you are very lucky to have a PCP that calls back so quickly. That's great! Whenever I would call my GI doc, I would have to leave a message for the nurse, who would call me back later that day (usually), and he would make treatment decisions, etc. Found out recently that he almost never even talked to the doc about whatever was going on. Doc has NO clue what's going on, and doesn't care to either. Thankfully, I am going to see a new GI doc tomorrow. Hopefully the new one will know more than how to collect payment for doing nothing. Sorry for rambling, I'm just a bit bitter about the whole thing.

I think it is fairly common to deal with the nurse or assistant over the phone, and 99% of the time they consult with the doc to address your concerns. (That's how many of my other specialists handle it too.) Maybe you could call the GI clinic and ask them what to expect or how they generally handle phone calls. It would probably ease your mind a bit to understand how things work there.

I never talk to my PCP on the phone, but her assistant is good about answering and/or relaying questions and calling back same day.

For my GI, I can call anytime when the office is open (8-4) and I will get a call back from my GI after hours, usually around 5:30. I really like her; she must work crazy hours. But she has a lot of empathy for me and is really invested in figuring out all the oddities going on with me (I am a *special* case...yay?).

Other doctors are not nearly as great. For my neurologist, for example, if I have a question about something and want to speak to her, I have to schedule an appointment. My old rheumy's office assistant never answered the phone and rarely returned calls. So quite a bit of variance to say the least.

If I call and leave a message before a certain time (I think 3:00pm during regular business hours? ) This is true for my GI/primary/ and surgeon. I get a call back from a nurse or assistant that day depending on the type of question they ask. Sometimes I'll do a back and forth a couple of times in a day. The doc does hear about what I'm asking about, the assistant just acts like a relay service. It's easier for them to do bulk phone answers that way.

I can email my PCP through their online system and get a response in a day or two. He responds himself. Typically these aren't pressing questions.

My surgeon's office also has an "on-call" number. He works at a large teaching hospital, so some poor surgical resident is always on call. I've used them any time when I wasn't sure if something needed immediate attention. You call, they page, you wait a few minutes, and they pick up a phone.