The importance of follow-up doctor consultations is underestimated by most of the patients. Once, the treatment is done, patients seldom take follow-up appointments seriously. However, follow-up appointments are crucial to ensure quick and complete healing of the patients. They are not just routine check-ups, rather patients are encouraged to follow up with the doctor to allow the doctor to monitor the recovery process. A missed follow-up appointment means incomplete medications which often leads to more complications and costs.
So, if you are someone who is thinking about whether to visit your doctor for a check-up or not, let us help you understand why follow-up doctor consultations in India are always advised to patients. We will also discover the common problems due to which patients tend to skip additional visits to doctors once they start to feel better after the treatment.
Reasons Why Patients Miss Scheduled Follow-Up Visits
Suppose you visited a specialist for treatment, and your doctor prepared a treatment plan. But once you got better with the medicines or did not notice any signs of improvement, you don’t visit the next appointment. But why? Here are the reasons.
- Perceived improvement in the disease: When the symptoms disappear, patients have the notion they have healed completely and do not require any further treatment.
- Time: In today’s busy schedule, some patients don’t prioritise their health. If the appointment is scheduled before one or two months and even a few weeks, they simply forget it or ignore it due to other commitments.
- Financial restraints: There is no denying the fact that healthcare services for certain diseases are expensive. Therefore, sometimes patients can’t afford additional health check-ups after initial treatment or surgery.
- Self-medications: Self-medications are widely prevalent among people. Studies reveal that two out of five people practice self-medication because the medicines simply worked for them and they don’t need to visit the physician anymore. Also, people fear that doctors might reprimand them for not taking the prescribed drugs as instructed.
Why is it Important to Follow Up With the Doctor?
Let us delve into the reasons why you must follow up with your doctor without any excuses.
- Monitoring the process of recovery: After any kind of diagnosis, surgery or new treatment plan, it is essential to visit your scheduled appointment to ensure whether you are responding to the medicines. This reduces the chance of misdiagnosis and leads to improved patient outcomes and experience.
- Adjustments in medications: Healthcare solutions are not the same for everyone even for the same disease. What worked for one patient may not work for you. At times, despite the initial treatment showing results, you still need to visit the follow-up appointments to manage your chronic conditions. In such cases, doctors change the medicines as required.
- Early detection of complications: Even after successful treatment or surgical interventions, complications may arise in the later stage. You might not feel the symptoms or they might be very subtle, but if left unchecked can lead to serious health challenges. For instance, after undergoing operations on the internal organs, you may experience bleeding or infections. A follow-up doctor visit will help to diagnose these complications early.
- Preventive care: Preventive care is a key component to preventing the disease and ensuring long-term well-being. During doctor visits for preventive care, your specialist will discuss lifestyle changes and diet modifications to prevent the recurrence of the disease.
- A good doctor-patient relationship: Follow-up doctor appointments are not merely for health check-ups. Rather it allows the doctors to thoroughly know your medical history, family history of complications and address any ongoing or new concerns.
