Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 551, Scheduling a Medical Appointment.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 551.
Transcription by CastingWords.
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This episode is about how to make an appointment with your doctor or some medical professional by calling them on the phone.
It's going to give a lot of vocabulary related to hospitals and doctors and medical appointments.
Let's get started.
Before I could schedule my appointment, I had to listen to several recorded messages to be routed to the right medical office.
The recording said to stay on the line for assistance.
Hello, Western Medical Group.
Hello.
I'd like to make an appointment with Dr. Gupta.
Are you a new patient or returning patient?
I'm a new patient.
Who referred you to Dr. Gupta?
No one.
One of the health benefits of my plan is that I can self-refer to some specialists.
What is the name of your plan and your medical record number?
It's Wiser, and my medical record number is 23456789.
It looks like Dr. Gupta is booked up for the next three weeks.
She has an opening on March 2nd at 4.30 p.m.
I was hoping to get an early morning appointment.
The next morning appointment won't be until March 18th at 11 o'clock.
You'll need to check in at 10.45 to fill out paperwork.
Should I put you down for that?
Is it possible to get an even earlier appointment?
10.30?
Isn't that pretty late?
Why do you think I want an early morning appointment?
Doesn't she know that some of her patients prefer late morning golf?
Our story begins with Damien saying I needed to make an appointment with a doctor, so I called my health plan's phone number for new patients.
An appointment is a scheduled meeting, a specific day and time when you are going to do something.
Damien called his health plan's phone number for new patients.
A health plan is an insurance plan, a medical insurance plan that helps pay for your medical expenses if you are sick.
Patients are people who receive medical treatment or medical advice from a doctor or a hospital.
If you're a patient, that means that some doctor is looking after you, is taking care of you.
Damien needed a medical appointment, so he called his health plan, his insurance plan.
Before I could schedule an appointment, he says I had to listen to several recorded messages to be routed to the right medical office.
To be routed means to be sent to the right person or in the right direction.
In this case, if you're calling a large company, you want to talk to the correct department.
The recording said to stay on the line for assistance.
To stay on the line means not to hang up the phone, to wait on the phone until someone answers.
We also say to hold.
If you call a company, the person answering the phone, if they're busy, may say please hold meaning.
I'm going to put the phone down, but don't hang up, don't go away.
Finally, the clerk answers the phone by saying, Hello, Western Medical Group.
A medical group is a group of doctors who work together in the same building, usually not a hospital.
It could be a medical office building or it could be a clinic, which is sort of like a small hospital.
Damien says, hello, I'd like to make an appointment with Dr. Gupta.
The clerk says, are you a new patient or a returning patient?
Is this the first time you've seen or are going to see Dr. Gupta or have you seen Dr. Gupta before?
Returning here means you've already used the services of this doctor.
You've already seen this doctor before.
Damien says, I'm a new patient.
And the clerk says, who referred you to Dr. Gupta?
To refer R-E-F-E-R means to recommend that someone see a particular person or a particular company.
In this case, a particular or specific doctor.
Someone says, oh, my neck really hurts.
And somebody else says, oh, you should go see Dr. McQuillan.
He is a very good neck doctor.
I'm not sure if there are neck doctors.
It's just an example.
So Damien says no one, meaning no one referred me to Dr Gupta.
One of the health benefits of my plan is that I can self-refer to some specialists.
A benefit is a good thing.
A health benefit is something that you get from your health insurance.
It's Damien says.
One of the health benefits of my plan, meaning my insurance, is that I can self-refer to some specialists.
To self-refer means to be able to request to see certain doctors or, without having another doctor refer you or another doctor approve that you can go see this particular doctor.
Usually, this has to do with doctors who are specialists.
A specialist is an expert in a specific area of medicine.
So if you are a hand surgeon, you work on people's hands, You are a specialist.
In many insurance plans in the United States, you can't just go see any doctor you want to.
First you have to go see what's called your general practitioner or the doctor who's a general doctor.
And if you have a specific problem, that doctor will refer you to a specialist.
There are some health plans where you can self-refer to certain specialists.
The Your medical record number, sometimes called your patient number, is a number that the insurance plan gives you so that they can identify you.
It's a number that only you have.
I don't know what my medical record number is.
It's about eight or nine digits long, eight or nine numbers long.
Damien says that the name of his plan, his health plan, his insurance, is Wiser and his medical record number is 23456789.
Boy, that's amazing how his medical record number are consecutive numbers between 2 and 9.
Anyway, the clerk says...
It looks like Dr. Gupta is booked up for the next three weeks.
To be booked up means to have a very busy, full schedule.
You don't have any time to see anyone for any appointments.
The word book has a number of different meanings, however.
Take a look at our learning guide for some additional explanations.
The clerk says that Dr. Gupta has an opening on March 2nd at 4.30 p.m.
When we say you have an opening, we mean you have a period of time when you are available, when you can see someone.
In this case, it's a time that Dr. Gupta can see a new patient, such as Damien.
Damien says, I was hoping to get an early morning appointment.
The clerk says the next morning appointment won't be until March 18th at 11 o'clock.
You'll need to check in at 1045 to fill out paperwork.
To check in means to come to the office early and talk to someone and let them know that you are here.
So basically it means you have to show up at 1045.
You have to be in the office at 1045.
Why so early if the appointment is not until 11?
Because the clerk says Damien has to fill out or complete some paperwork.
That Paperwork are usually forms that you have to fill out things, that you need to write down information on a sheet of paper.
We often use this term to indicate not very interesting but necessary information.
The clerk asks, should I put you down for that?
To put someone down in this case means to schedule someone for something by writing his or her name on a calendar or an appointment book.
To sign or register someone for something means to put someone down.
If the clerk says, I'll put you down for 11 o'clock, She means I will schedule you for 11 o'clock.
I will write your name down for 11 o'clock.
Damien says, is it possible to get an even earlier appointment earlier in the day?
The clerk says Dr. Gupta doesn't begin seeing patients until 1030, 1030 in the morning.
Damien says, 10.30?
Isn't that pretty late?
Isn't that very late?
The clerk says, Dr. Gupta likes to play golf in the mornings.
Damien says, why do you think I want an early morning appointment?
Doesn't she know that some of her patients prefer late morning golf?
In other words, the joke here is that Dr Gupta likes to play golf in the morning, so she cannot be there before 1030.
Damien is saying he likes to play golf in the late morning, say 1030, 11 o'clock, and that's why he wants an early appointment.
The expression to put down also has a very different meaning.
Take a look at the learning guide for that other meaning.
There's a standard joke that doctors have a lot of free time, a lot of extra time that they can use to do things like play golf, which is, of course, a little bit expensive.
This is just a joke, however.
Most doctors, I don't think, have very much time, at least the majority of them.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I needed to make an appointment with a doctor, so I called my health plan's phone number for new patients.
Before I could schedule my appointment, I had to listen to several recorded messages to be routed to the right medical office.
The recording said to stay on the line for assistance.
Hello, Western Medical Group.
Hello, I'd like to make an appointment with Dr. Gupta.
Are you a new patient or a returning patient?
I'm a new patient.
Who referred you to Dr. Gupta?
No one.
One of the health benefits of my plan is that I can self-refer to some specialists.
What is the name of your plan and your medical record number?
It's Wiser, and my medical record number is 23456789.
It looks like Dr. Gupta is booked up for the next three weeks.
She has an opening on March 2nd at 4.30 p.m.
I was hoping to get an early morning appointment.
The next morning appointment won't be until March 18th at 11 o'clock.
You'll need to check in at 1045 to fill out paperwork.
Should I put you down for that?
Is it possible to get an even earlier appointment?
Dr. Gupta doesn't begin seeing patients until 1030.
1030?
Isn't that pretty late?
Dr. Gupta likes to play golf in the mornings.
Why do you think I want an early morning appointment?
Doesn't she know that some of her patients prefer late morning golf?
Today's story was written by our script specialist, Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2010 by the Center for Educational Development.
