So, How Do OTR Truckers Go To Dr. Appointments?

For some reason, this crossed my mind today because I need to make an appointment for my son. It's always based on the doctor's schedule, not mine. If I have a day off, it doesn't matter if the doctor doesn't have time available that day.

So how does an OTR trucker schedule time with his doctor? If the doctor's available on a certain time/day, the trucker can't guarantee that he/she is available at that time/day. You could try to schedule it during your home time, but it sounds like even home time is subject to change.

A lot of the big companies have doctors on site. No idea how scheduling works but its a bit more accessible than going home. My guess would be to schedule it when you have home time and hope that the company gets you home in time.

That's a good question, I'd like to hear the experienced drivers knowledge on this.

Unfortunately there is no good answer for that beyond what you two have already mentioned. All you can do is schedule the doctor's appointment when you're eligible for home time and hope they get you there.

I think what I would do is try scheduling it for what you expect to be the end of your home time. If you have 3 days coming, tell them you want to be home by Saturday and have the doctor's appointment scheduled for say Monday afternoon. That way even if you're considerably late getting home, you don't miss the appointment. And since you've told the company when the appointment is, if they happen to get you home an extra day early then you might just have to take an extra day off

Having had to do the "doctor juggle", I can give you our experience on the subject. Being on hypertension medications, both TSB and I needed to see the doc every 3 months. We had our prescriptions made out for 3 months at a time. Then we set our doctor appointment 3 months out. That way, we had plenty of time to plan. Its about the only way that worked for us. Now if we knew we were going to be home earlier than expected, we would call the Doctor's office and see if we could get in earlier.

Then we set our doctor appointment 3 months out. That way, we had plenty of time to plan. Its about the only way that worked for us.

So how did that work out? Did your carrier do a pretty good job getting you home in time?

I know with my doctor I am labeled as a "walk-in" due to my job. Almost everyone knows at least the day before going home so I call and tell them I will be in the next day.

I know some doctor offices are super busy and can't handle walk-ins but I can bet you there is another doctor office close by that can work with you. And in this age of people not paying thier bills including doctor bills some doctors would love to have people on a "walk-in" status if they knew they were going to get paid.

I can do the walk-ins for me...but TSB goes to the VA clinic, and they don't do the walk in thing. Since we are O/O's we just pick loads that will get him back at the proper date,etc. I'm not sure how each company handles their drivers doctor appointments. I would hope that given a 3 month heads up, they could work it.....

I have kept very good records of my weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, mood, sickness/illness, food intake/diet and even sleep patterns and have done phone appointments or conversations with my doctors to discuss my health, using these logs I keep, and in order to get prescription refills, etc. Could this be an option? There is also urgent care, walk in care, (or similar), in case you have immediate medical issues like a cold or the like, which I've used before. They just wrote out a prescription and forwarded the records to my primary doctor.

Bobby, theres medical professionals at some of the truck stops...we call them "Doc in a box". They are handy for DOT physicals, and injuries. But I'm not sure they will do your prescriptions. I know they will write a script for a condition that presents when you walk thru the door. Its always safe to have your primary physician in the know that you are a long haul trucker. Then the office won't be surprised when a pharmacy from another state calls to have a script faxed to them. As a rule, WalMart is all over, so if you get your scripts filled there, they can fill them at any Walmart. I personally don't like them....but its a necessary evil, at times.