Not sure if my appointment was actually finished

[Jenisautistic]

On the 21st I had a medical appointment and I’m feeling pretty unsure about how it ended. First, I saw the nurse practitioner and had an examination. After that, they sent me down for x-rays. Once I finished the x-rays, I went back to the front desk and asked if I was done. The receptionist said yes, so I left and got into my medical cab to go home.

Later on, when I looked at my chart, I realized the nurse practitioner had put in some new referrals after I left. That’s where my confusion started. I can’t tell if the appointment was officially over when I left, or if I should have gone back to see the nurse practitioner after the x-rays. Now I feel weird, like maybe I walked out too soon or missed something important.

Because I’m autistic, things like this can throw me off more than they might for other people. I really depend on clear instructions and knowing step by step what’s happening. When it feels uncertain, it sticks in my mind and I worry I might have made a mistake.

I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when I was younger, and as I’ve gotten older I’m still trying to make sense of my symptoms and what they mean for me. Over the years I’ve had different doctors, tests, and evaluations, and sometimes the information hasn’t all lined up. That’s why when new referrals suddenly appear, it can feel confusing — like maybe I missed something important or I don’t fully understand what’s happening with my care.

I’m wondering if this is normal — like maybe the referrals are just part of the follow-up process, or if I should call the office to double-check. I don’t want to cause problems by calling if everything was already fine, but I also don’t want to ignore something I’m supposed to do.

Has anyone else had this happen? How do you usually handle it when you’re not sure if an appointment is finished? Any advice or reassurance would help me a lot.

 

[Tired]

You will not cause anyone any problems by calling them, it's their job to answer questions of the patients. You can call them and introduce yourself, say that you were there yesterday and tell how you did this and that, but when you came home you saw more referrals, so you are calling to ask what should you do now.

 

[JayCee]

yes indeed, as with the above, please follow up on your care,make the call, the xray person,most likely did not understand your question properly? It might have gone through their head, that you were asking if they were finishing xraying you, Not understanding that you were asking referring to your entire overall medical details, for appointments, as well ? I think??recently there have been some medical gains in treating symptoms of Parkys .
One of my incidents hobbies ,that I have is trying to follow up on recent research regarding things that affect my nervous system specifically. i do not remember where it was, but seems I had spotted along the way in my looking into things . Regarding demylating effects on nerve sheaths . That can create misfires in neural communication in the body . et.al

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Welcome to the club, this stuff happens to us. Either they will contact you or if have a significant other like I do they can help.

 

[Mary Terry]

@Jenisautistic - Does your medical provider have a "patient portal" internet system where you and the providers can communicate with each other and where you can review your medical records online? Most of my doctors have such an internet communication system for patients. If you don't know if you have one or don't know how to use it, then just call the doctor's office and ask what you're supposed to do next. They won't mind at all about your calling for clarification of what happens next.

 

[Rodafina]

@Jenisautistic
Medical appointments can be so confusing. I know for me, I’m usually so overwhelmed by everything that’s going on that is very hard for me to remember everything and feel like I really understood things.

My opinion is that it is always okay to call your doctor’s office for clarification.

 

[Masked Man]

More than likely, this is completely normal operations for them because this is how our clinic operates. The patient sees the provider, x-rays are done, and patient leaves. Once the results of the x-ray are available, the practitioner reviews them, then orders further tests/consults/etc. based upon the results.

You may have a message in your Mychart patient portal, or, as others have said, you can just call the office directly and talk to one of the clinic nurses and they can guide you.

 

[Aspychata]

I agree that medical offices can be confusing. Ask if you are getting referrals, you have choices, you may decide not to use them. Some offices are streamlined, while other offices are quite dismal in dealing with patients. Just ask questions.