Dear Patient,

[akcire]

I only take the first appointment if the morning unless it is a sick visit.

When your standing outside at 7:45 and the office opens at 8 you know when the doc had/has a real emergency and when it's contrived.

My husband will call before he leaves for an appointment to get a "realistic" time to be seen.

 

[lynxstch]

In my world that doctor DOESN'T EXIST.

Okay, I know I don't know much about smaller towns but everywhere I've lived the wait time is unbelievable. I always make sure I have something to entertain myself because after the lobby wait, there's the sit in the office wait, then the wait for the nurse who's gonna take your vitals wait... I practically have to take a day off just to see a doctor about something small.

ITA with this one..small town..NOT a lot of Drs..especially good cardiologists! I understand emergencies come up, but when there are sometimes only 4 people in the waiting room, there's no sense to me as to why we sit there and wait and wait and wait..and yes I do lose my cool and go to the desk and ask, and that's usually followed by hubby being escorted right back, lol!

 

[Jillpie]

To the OP, clearly you work in a doctor's office and are frustrated. I can appreciate that. But please, can you tell us, if we do have a ridiculous amount of time to wait, why doesn't the office call us and acknowledge it before we show up? And if the answer is the doc had an emergency or a delivery, we understand. But why can't someone come out and let us know we can go and run errands, go home and wait etc? Why do we have to waste our time like that?

 

[JanaDee]

Dear Doctor, your time is not more important than mine. Stop thinking it is.

 

[OceanAnnie]

I don't know. I can understand when a doctor is running late. Emergencies and so forth happen. I've waited more times than not to see a doctor. You invest the time, what do you do? Come back another day, start over and hope for the best? Might as well wait it out.

I'm actually surprised when I'm called back right away for my appointments.

On the flip side, I've had an emergency come up on my end and graciously our doctor has worked us in. I would call first and ask, wouldn't assume.

 

[TLSnell1981]

So, some folks will wait in line at WDW, longer they will for their Doctor? Oh, if you show up late for FP, you will be turned away too.

 

[sam_gordon]

Do that many people really NOT bring anything to "entertain" themselves while waiting? I bring my Kindle. Before I had my Kindle, I'd bring whatever book I was reading.

I also try to get the first appointment in the morning or the first one after lunch. However, when I'm doing a "sick" visit to the pediatrician, I still bring something for me AND for my child so we're not reading 3 month old magazines.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Do that many people really NOT bring anything to "entertain" themselves while waiting? I bring my Kindle. Before I had my Kindle, I'd bring whatever book I was reading.

I also try to get the first appointment in the morning or the first one after lunch. However, when I'm doing a "sick" visit to the pediatrician, I still bring something for me AND for my child so we're not reading 3 month old magazines.

You can do all those things and more. Doesn't matter when you know what time your appointment is and you have other things to do that day. Sure you are occupied, but the time is still lost.

 

[Micca]

This won't work for everybody, but I make doc appts. for first thing in the morning(Mondays and the days following holidays are usually easy to get--nobody wants to go to the doc on those days). Understandably, schedules can get backed up as the day goes along, but if you're the first patient of the day, you don't suffer those consequences. Using this tactic, I haven't waited for more than five minutes in years. I realize this isn't always possible and sometimes you take what you can get.

Also, my primary care doc has a sign in the lobby that says "Please notify the front desk if you've been waiting longer than 15 minutes." Not sure what happens if you complain, I've never waited that long.

 

[LSmith]

Do that many people really NOT bring anything to "entertain" themselves while waiting? I bring my Kindle. Before I had my Kindle, I'd bring whatever book I was reading.

I also try to get the first appointment in the morning or the first one after lunch. However, when I'm doing a "sick" visit to the pediatrician, I still bring something for me AND for my child so we're not reading 3 month old magazines.

It must be nice when you can spend a leisurely 2 or 3 hours waiting in at the doctor's office but most people have other plans for the day - like work and stuff.

 

[TLSnell1981]

My rheumatoid appointments usually involve a long wait, but my doctor isn't in the back playing tiddlywinks. There are numerous reasons why, you may have a longer than expected wait...all legitimate.

 

[sam_gordon]

You can do all those things and more. Doesn't matter when you know what time your appointment is and you have other things to do that day. Sure you are occupied, but the time is still lost.

It must be nice when you can spend a leisurely 2 or 3 hours waiting in at the doctor's office but most people have other plans for the day - like work and stuff.

Good gravy. I was referring to those complaining about "3 year old magazine" and "toe nail fungus brochures" being available.

If I've been waiting in the lobby for 45+ minutes, I'd be asking if I was going to be seen soon or leaving. If they tried to charge me for the office visit, I'd fight it and find another doctor.

FWIW, my last two doctor's appts (knee pain)... checked in at 8:25, walking out at 9. And checked in at 8:45, walking out at 9:15.

 

[LiveYourLife]

Dear Doctor, your time is not more important than mine. Stop thinking it is.

Co-sign!!!

 

[mommasita]

My rheumatoid appointments usually involve a long wait, but my doctor isn't in the back playing tiddlywinks. There are numerous reasons why, you may have a longer than expected wait...all legitimate.

Same here, and same Dr. NOBODY complains..

We can check in on the phone with a rough estimate, and know to bring a book.. It isn't always possible to get the first appointment.

 

[LSmith]

My rheumatoid appointments usually involve a long wait, but my doctor isn't in the back playing tiddlywinks. There are numerous reasons why, you may have a longer than expected wait...all legitimate.

But in the rest of the professional world, this would not fly. Dentists, orthodontists, anesthesiologists, lawyers, judges, etc. are also not twiddling their thumbs but they know they have to manage their time well and they do.

With medical doctors, more times than not it seems like they don't answer to anyone, when it comes to appointment waits and I'm not talking about emergencies. I believe this is because they know it's not easy to just find a new doctor and that the patients will have to suck it up.

 

[LSmith]

Good gravy. I was referring to those complaining about "3 year old magazine" and "toe nail fungus brochures" being available.

If I've been waiting in the lobby for 45+ minutes, I'd be asking if I was going to be seen soon or leaving. If they tried to charge me for the office visit, I'd fight it and find another doctor.

FWIW, my last two doctor's appts (knee pain)... checked in at 8:25, walking out at 9. And checked in at 8:45, walking out at 9:15.

Mmm, gravy.

I don't give a crap how old the magazines in the waiting room are. It just irks me to spend 1 and a half hours waiting for my doctor for an appointment that I made a year ago.

 

[wallawallakids]

But in the rest of the professional world, this would not fly. Dentists, orthodontists, anesthesiologists, lawyers, judges, etc. are also not twiddling their thumbs but they know they have to manage their time well and they do.

With medical doctors, more times than not it seems like they don't answer to anyone, when it comes to appointment waits and I'm not talking about emergencies. I believe this is because they know it's not easy to just find a new doctor and that the patients will have to suck it up.

My son has Coats Disease. There is ONE doctor that can manage him in our area. (Not many deal with pediatric retina issues). He is a 2 hour drive away and we always have a 6 hour Dr. apt. Without fail. We wait about an hour before being called. Then it is a wait for the dilating, wait for the machine and tech, wait for the resident, then the student, and the fellow. It is a great hospital, but it is a teaching hospital and EVERYTHING TAKES FOREVER!!! But he is an amazing surgeon. He did a great job with my son, and continues to do so.

I don't think the wait is because he can't manage his time. I think it has to do with the shear numbers of patients he has to see in a day. Add that to a surgical case load in the morning and students following him around in the afternoon, and there you go…..6 hour apt. Would I LOVE for it to be faster? YEP. Keeping a 6 year old busy for 6 hours every 6 weeks is HARD. But I also know it is part of life and part of having a rare disease that only certain medical professionals understand and can manage. His whole life will be spent in appointments like this. Unfortunate but true.

I do have an issue waiting forever for a regular pediatric visit or something like that. That seems more straight forward. Eye doctors have taught me patience.

 

[scrapquitler]

If you check in at 10 am for your 8:45 am appointment, please do not expect your doctor to see you.

Thank you.

At my doctors office, if you haven't' checked in within 20 minutes of your appointment time, they automatically cancel your appointment for you. Now if only they could be that prompt and efficient for those patients who DO arrive on time...

 

[nugov2]

Time to find a new doctor.

Never! It is my OB/GYN and while I do get antsy waiting he is one of the top drs. Hard to even get in as his patient. He spends a lot of time with you. Talks with you, cares about you as a person not just a patient. When him or his partner deliver your baby they are with you the entire time you are ready to deliver. They don't just walk in for the last couple of pushes, cut the cord and hand you your baby(which I was shocked when so many of my friends told me this was how their delivery was). It isn't always a long wait, but it can be b/c they are talkers and spend time with each patient. I just learned to bring a book and enjoy it as some me time...especially after the first one was born.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Dear Doctor. Seeing as how I usually check in at 8:45 for my 9:00 and you don't see me until 11:00 anyway, I just decided to run some errands today instead of checking in at 8:45 instead of reading 3 year old magazines to pass the time and checked in at 10:00. That's still an hour before 11.

Our DD14 has a monthly dr's appointment for medication. Every month we waited over an hour, sometimes 2, for the dr.

Finally started calling the office before we left to ask how far behind she was running, and then told them we'd be in later.

She's since opened another practice and seems to be managing her time better.