Dermatologist Visit

I grew up in Florida. And I LOVED sitting in the sun. Add some baby oil to that mix and you basically broiled in the ninety plus degree heat. As a result of my love for the sun, my skin is now paying the price. On top of that I have all sorts of skin issues that so far are harmless but look awful. And when two people tell me I need to have the lesion on my cheek checked out I should do it - even when my husband keeps telling me it’s nothing. He’s a retired surgeon and did a stint in pathology and is really good at diagnosing skin things - as well as anything else that bothers me. Last year I had a new skin problem diagnosed called granuloma annulare. It starts with a red dot and becomes a circle and the lesions are primarily on my hand around the knuckles but also on the inside of my left knee. Sometimes it hurts if I hit my hand on something, but it is just ugly. So I was given a prescription for fluocinonide cream. I’m not sure if it does anything because the lesions come and go. So at the last dermatology visit I brought my husband with me to see what the doc would say about the face lesion. As he had already diagnosed, she said it was another seboreheic keratosis - one of several I have in other places. There’s not much you can do about it except zap it - but it always returns. So I didn’t bother. Of course I was also encouraged to make an appointment for a full body review for any ominous skin problems. A long time ago I had a dark flat lesion removed from the back of my leg that I had had all of my life. It left quite a scar and it was a negative result. It’s just another thing to worry about as we age. I have a lot of annoying health issues but luckily none of them are life threatening. Having been in health care makes it worse sometimes. But having a doctor as a husband sure makes it so much easier. 

ZocDoc With Dr. Marjan Yousefi

Making appointments with physician offices can sometimes be painful. It wasn't always that way. I've been trying to make an annual appointment with my internist for the last three months. Every time I call they say I need to call back at the end of the month, the scheduling system has been updated, or some other nonsense. I wanted to switch physicians over this but decided that changing all the prescriptions is even more of a hassle. Recently I needed to schedule an appointment with a dermatologist and started looking on line and discovered ZocDoc. You enter your insurance and see who accepts it, read reviews, and office locations and select someone - in this case it was Dr. Marjan Yousefi. The rest is a piece of cake. Once the appointment is made, forms can be filled in on line so as not to deal with all that in the office. A confirmation email is sent, the physician office calls to verify, a reminder email about the appointment is sent a week in advance and then the day before. Following the visit, another email is sent to evaluate the visit, and a final notification is sent if a follow up appointment is required. I tried using this system with my internist, because she was also listed - but couldn't even get past step one. I notified ZocDoc to ask why it wasn't working, and they followed up right away and said there was an issue with her office - MedStar. All I can say is after working thirty years in health care and having a retired surgeon as a husband, it's simple to figure out which approach is more acceptable. One reminds me of Milwaukee, and the other reminds me of DC. Can you tell which one is which?!