It has been four years since my wife and I moved from Washington County, Pa., to my apartment in Antis Township. Since we are both elderly, I had to replace many physicians my wife and I had used to receive health care while living in Washington County. That was a daunting task. For the most part. I must say the health care we have both received in the Altoona area has been good to excellent.

However, let me make some suggestions on how practitioners in this area can improve their services to this community.

1. Always follow up with call-backs when patients leave messages recorded on voice mails.

2. Provide for same-day treatment of urgent health care issues to avoid the need for patients to go to expensive hospital emergency rooms or urgent care providers.

3. If it is virtually impossible to arrange for same-day care, receptionists should respond by saying they will call back as soon as a cancellation is available.

4. As a last resort, receptionists should suggest seeking treatment at a hospital emergency room or urgent care facility.

5. Practitioners or office managers should periodically counsel their receptionists to ensure they are being courteous, understanding, respectful, pleasant. compassionate, friendly, and concerned. (As with any business endeavor, the “front office” can make or break a health care service.)

As a patient, I expect no less than excellent service when calling a practitioner’s office to obtain an appointment for an office visit.

Donn C. Drummond

Altoona