Preparing for an appointment at the outpatient clinic
It is important for you to properly prepare for your appointment at the outpatient clinic. On this page you will find information on such things as:
Preparation
Tips for the consultation
Thorough preparation can help you obtain the correct information. This applies to both you and the healthcare provider. The tips below can help you in this regard.
Changing an appointment
Want to postpone or cancel your appointment? If so, please notify the relevant outpatient clinic as soon as possible. This will enable us to offer the appointment to someone else. In consultation with you, we will make an appointment for you.
Guidance
If you like to receive guidance upon your arrival at the UMC Utrecht, please indicate this at the information desk at the main entrance. A volunteer will then come and pick you up. A desk staffed by volunteers can also be found at the entrance to the outpatient clinics. You might be able to get guidance here.
Infections
We do our utmost to prevent the spread of bacteria in our hospital.
Please get in touch with the outpatient clinic if you have answered YES to one or more of the following questions. It could be that you are carrying a bacterium undetected, and we need to take precautionary measures.
- Have you been found to carry a hospital bacterium (such as MRSA, VRE, Acinetobacter, MRGNS or ESBL)?
- Do you live with or care for someone who is carrying the MRSA bacterium?
- Were you admitted to another Dutch hospital in the past two months and was there an outbreak of a hospital bacterium on the relevant ward?
- Were you admitted to, treated or examined at a foreign hospital or healthcare institution in the past two months?
- Do you live or work somewhere where there are pigs, veal calves or poultry?
- Have you lived in a shelter or institute for asylum seekers in the past two months?
Outpatient clinic way of working
Waiting
We always endeavor to work on time. Nevertheless, it is possible that you have to wait a little bit longer than anticipated. Occasionally physicians are called away to handle an emergency case. Or a discussion with another patient may overrun. This generally occurs unexpectedly. The outpatient clinic staff will tell you if the consulting hours are overrunning.
You can help to keep waiting times down by always showing up on time at the outpatient clinic. Please allow for bad traffic and weather conditions and ensure you have sufficient time to find a parking space.
Sometimes confusion arises because patients who arrive later are nevertheless seen earlier. This may be due to:
- patients being seen in appointment order rather than in order of arrival.
- a patient having an appointment with a different physician to the one you are seeing.
Different physician?
In principle, you will be seeing the physician with whom you have an appointment. Occasionally, something unexpected may occur, leading to your physician having to leave. In such cases, another physician will take over the appointment. We will inform you of this when you report to the desk. In a number of outpatient clinics this will also be posted on a board at the desk. You will then see a different physician.
Examinations
The physician will examine you physically if this is necessary. Sometimes further investigation is warranted, such as a blood test or X-rays. We endeavor to ensure that such examinations are performed immediately after you have visited the outpatient clinic. Sometimes this is not possible, in which case we will make an appointment for another day.
Admission
Your physician will tell you if you need to be admitted to the hospital. If that is the case, then you will be given information on:
- the waiting time for your admission.
- how we schedule patient admissions.
Once we know a date for your admission, we will call you or send you a letter specifying that date.
Should you have any further questions about your treatment prior to your admission, please call the outpatient clinic.
Ziekenhuismedewerkers
De behandeling en verzorging in ons ziekenhuis gebeurt in teamverband: meerdere artsen en verpleegkundigen zijn bij uw behandeling betrokken.
