Patients are entitled to receive medical advice 24 hours a day. If you call your doctor at 3 a.m., you will reach a physician who will advise you. Of course, it may not be your own personal physician as this individual cannot be expected to be available 365 days a year until he retires. Physicians partner with colleagues who share on-call responsibility for evenings, holidays and weekends. For example, my gastroenterology group has 3 physicians who take turns during the off ours to be available for our patients. Here are some tips for patients who are seeking advice after hours from the on-call physician. When possible, call your doctor before sundown. I advise against calling the doctor after hours for a question that only your own physician can answer, unless an emergent situation is suspected. For example, the on-call physician will not know what the next step will be if next week’s colonoscopy is negative. If you call after hours for advice on a medical is
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