I really want to agree, but there are some situations where it does need to be that one doctor. The below anecdote notwithstanding, I do agree that any patient who demands your personal number is the last patient you should be giving it to.

My aunt had a condition that causes fluid build up in her brain. She has a slightly unusual shunt arrangement, and over Christmas (we now know) it got blocked up. She started developing neurological symptoms, and the only person who knew enough about her treatment to be able to sort it out was her doctor.

The actually had his home landline number, but he was away, and it was only due to luck of a call coinciding with the neighbour feeding the cat that they were able to get the number of where he was for Christmas. By that point, my aunt with unconscious in hospital, and might well have died if treatment had been delayed any more.

Thanks for sharing that story.

It's scary that sheer happenstance saved your aunt's life. I wonder how medical record keeping could be improved to help with that scenario.

What's scary to me is that after 10 attempts at the landline over a period of time, I would have (correctly but unhelpfully) concluded that he was away for Christmas and abandoned that approach. My Uncle was more persistent.

In this case I think it was less knowledge of the particular case, and more the expertise in that specialised situation. Skillset rather than records.

Well, here's to hoping we'll all be seeing an all-knowing Dr. Google in 50 years.

A lot of offices and insurance companies have a nurse's hotline available in the off hours too to handle these sorts of requests. Though I'm not really sure what kind of advice they can offer other than "go to the ER."

Yes. My father-in-law's staff relay a high proportion of calls to him. The staff triage the requests, answer questions when they can, and forward questions they can't. The staff know how to use the doctors' time wisely. They ask the right questions, provide updates, no chit chat. It has to be that way.

There are a few special patients he'll give his cell number to. Pregnant moms especially I think. He's a country doc and the only good baby doctor within a hundred miles, so if there's an OB patient who he thinks is higher risk, and who he knows won't abuse his cell number, he'll give it to them no problem.