What does a solo practitioner do for patient care when he is out of the office, sick?
I’ve often heard the question asked, “How do you know the difference between a cold and the flu?” I’ve often heard the answer, “If you have the flu, you’ll know it! You will feel like you have to die to get better.”
There is no doubt.
I have the flu.
Monday I had a heavy load of appointments in the morning, but a light afternoon. None of the afternoon appointments were critical, so we were able to move them.
Tuesday I had a fairly full morning and was able to take the afternoon off again.
Our capable and dedicated staff is working in my absence to take care of clients who need refills of medications, who call in to make appointments or have emergencies.
We are fortunate to have colleagues close by who can handle acute illnesses if the patient is too sick to wait until I return.
Such cooperation goes both ways, of course, and through the magic of faxes and email we can keep each other informed on physical examination findings and laboratory test results.
And our patients get excellent care, even when your pet’s doctor is too ill to provide it.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
