Consult
OPD Timings & How Consultations Work
Registration, tokens, walk-in versus booked appointments, what a consultation fee covers and how review visits work — so that a day at the outpatient department is spent seeing the doctor rather than working out the system.
How the outpatient department is organised
The outpatient department is where most patients meet the hospital for the first time. It handles new consultations, review visits after admission or surgery, pre-operative assessment, antenatal check-ups, immunisation and follow-up for long-term conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, epilepsy and kidney disease.
Consultants run clinics on fixed days and sessions by speciality. Some specialities hold clinics daily; others, particularly super-specialities and visiting consultant sessions, run on specific days of the week. This is the single most useful thing to confirm before travelling — a family from Kadiri or Rayadurg should not make a two-hour journey to discover that the clinic they need runs on a different day.
Emergency care is separate and continuous. If the problem cannot wait for a clinic session, go to the emergency department, which is open at all hours and does not require an appointment.
What happens on the day
- Register at the front desk
New patients are registered with name, age, address, contact number and identity proof, and are issued a hospital registration number. Keep that number — every visit, report and admission is linked to it, and quoting it saves the whole process being repeated.
- Pay the consultation fee and collect a token
The consultation is billed at registration and a token is issued for the consultant's clinic. Booked appointments and walk-ins are managed within the same session, so arriving with a booking reduces waiting but does not eliminate it.
- Vital signs are recorded
Nursing staff record height, weight, temperature, pulse, blood pressure and, where relevant, blood sugar and oxygen saturation before you see the doctor. These go into the record the consultant reads.
- Consultation with the specialist
History, examination, review of your previous reports and a plan. Ask your questions here — what the diagnosis is, what the treatment does, what happens if you do nothing, and when you should come back.
- Investigations, if advised
Blood tests, imaging or cardiac tests are done in the same building. Many routine results are available the same day, so the consultant may ask you to return with them in the same session rather than on another day.
- Pharmacy and next appointment
Collect medicines from the hospital pharmacy, where the pharmacist checks the prescription and explains how each is to be taken. Fix the review date before leaving, and note it on the prescription.
Clinic pattern by department group
An indicative guide to how clinics are grouped, not a fixed timetable. Consultant availability changes with leave, surgery lists, emergencies and visiting schedules. Always confirm the day and session for your specific consultant with the appointment desk before travelling.
| Department group | Departments included | Typical clinic pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency & critical care | Emergency Medicine, Critical Care | Continuous, 24 hours a day, every day — no appointment required |
| Centres of Excellence | Cardiology, Neurology, Orthopaedics, Medical Gastroenterology | Regular clinic sessions on most days, with procedure and cath lab lists on scheduled days |
| Medical specialities | General Medicine, Nephrology, Pulmonology, Dermatology, Psychiatry | General Medicine runs daily; other medical specialities on fixed days and sessions |
| Surgical specialities | General Surgery, Surgical Gastroenterology, Urology, Neurosurgery, Surgical Oncology, Plastic Surgery, ENT, Ophthalmology | Consulting sessions on non-operating days; theatre lists occupy other days |
| Women & child | Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics | Antenatal and paediatric clinics on most days, with immunisation sessions on scheduled days |
| Diagnostic & support | Radiology, Pathology, Anaesthesiology, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation | Investigations and therapy sessions by appointment; emergency imaging and laboratory work round the clock |
New consultation, review consultation, and what the fee covers
A new consultation is your first visit to a particular consultant for a particular problem. It is longer, because it involves taking a full history, examining you, reading whatever records you have brought and forming a plan. A review consultation is a follow-up on the same problem with the same consultant, usually to discuss test results or assess the response to treatment.
The consultation fee covers the doctor's time and the clinical assessment: history, examination, interpretation of the reports you bring, the prescription, and the explanation of the plan. It does not cover investigations, procedures, dressings, injections, medicines or a second consultant's opinion — these are billed separately, and you should ask for the cost before agreeing to any of them.
Hospitals commonly allow a review within a defined period after the first visit at a reduced fee or without a further consultation charge. The exact window and the terms differ, so confirm at the registration counter on the day of your first visit rather than assuming — and keep the original prescription and receipt, since the concession is normally linked to them.
Getting more out of the visit
- Book in advance where you can, and confirm on the morning of travel that the consultant is available
- Carry all previous prescriptions, discharge summaries, reports and scan films, sorted by date — not loose in a bag
- Bring the actual medicine strips rather than trying to recall names; strengths matter and similar names are easy to confuse
- Write your questions down before you go in, and ask the most important one first
- Bring one relative who can listen and remember, particularly for elderly patients, but avoid crowding the consultation room
- For a fasting blood test, come early and fasting so it can be done in the same visit rather than requiring a second journey
- Ask the consultant to write the follow-up date and the warning signs that should bring you back sooner
- Keep your hospital registration number saved on your phone
Common questions
Do I need an appointment, or can I walk in?
Walk-in patients are seen in outpatient clinics, and a booking is not compulsory. However, a booked appointment usually means a shorter wait and a confirmed slot, and it protects you from travelling on a day when the consultant is in theatre or on leave. For a long journey from outside Anantapur town, booking is strongly advised.
I do not know which department I need. What should I do?
Describe the symptom to the appointment desk or the front office and they will route you appropriately. Where the problem is unclear or involves several systems — fatigue, unexplained fever, giddiness, weight loss — General Medicine is the correct starting point, and the physician will involve a specialist if one is needed. Starting with the right generalist is usually cheaper and faster than guessing at a speciality.
Why is there still a wait when I have a booked appointment?
Consultations do not all take the same time, and a consultant may be called to an emergency, a delivery or a deteriorating inpatient during a clinic session. That interruption is the same one that would protect you if you were the emergency. The desk can usually tell you the expected delay if you ask.
Can a relative collect a report or see the doctor on the patient's behalf?
Reports can generally be collected by a relative carrying the receipt and the patient's registration number. A consultation about a patient who is not present is limited by definition — the doctor cannot examine anyone — and is appropriate mainly for discussing results or an ongoing plan for a patient who genuinely cannot travel.
Not sure which department you need?
Share your symptoms and the appointment desk will route you to the right consultant. For anything sudden or severe, do not wait for a callback — come to the emergency department.