Dear Patient,

[DopeyDame]

I also have a scheduling question:

Scenario 1:
Person A has an 11:00 apt and shows up at 10:50. Person B has a 10:30 apt. and shows up at 10:45. Doc is ready for his next patient at 11:00. Who will be seen first?

My expectation as Person A is that I will be seen first, as I was on time for my apt. My expectation as Person B is that Person A will be seen first, and I will be squeezed in whenever possible since I was significanly late.
Is that how most offices work?

Scenario 2:
Person A has an 11:00 apt and shows up at 10:50. Person B has 11:15 apt and shows up at 10:45. Doc is ready for his next patient at 11:00. Who will eb seen first?
Again, my expectation is Person A will be seen first, as they are there in time for their apt. As Person B, I'd expect to wait until 11:15 (although I'd be thrilled to be seen early).

How does it actually work?

 

[dakcp2001]

Dopey dame, I can only answer for my dept.
1.
Person a would be seen first. Person b missed their appointment and would need to wait for the next opening.

2.
Person a would be seen first. Person b would be seen next.

These scenarios are exactly why it's frustrating when people say " why is he being called first, I got here before them". People do not seem to understand how appointments work in my area. People always seem so surprised that we want you to come on time. We recommend checking in 15 minutes before your scheduled time. Sometimes you might get seen early, in my office, that happens a lot due to no shows.or some reason everyone shows up between 1-4, we joke that it's like a bus pulls up and all the late people get off. Then they all moan and groan about waiting, when they are the ones who missed their appointment.

 

[cjbcam]

I also have a scheduling question:

Scenario 1:
Person A has an 11:00 apt and shows up at 10:50. Person B has a 10:30 apt. and shows up at 10:45. Doc is ready for his next patient at 11:00. Who will be seen first?

My expectation as Person A is that I will be seen first, as I was on time for my apt. My expectation as Person B is that Person A will be seen first, and I will be squeezed in whenever possible since I was significanly late.
Is that how most offices work?

Scenario 2:
Person A has an 11:00 apt and shows up at 10:50. Person B has 11:15 apt and shows up at 10:45. Doc is ready for his next patient at 11:00. Who will eb seen first?
Again, my expectation is Person A will be seen first, as they are there in time for their apt. As Person B, I'd expect to wait until 11:15 (although I'd be thrilled to be seen early).

How does it actually work?

Scenario1 this is the problem the person that showed up at 10:45 for their 10:30 appt would not have been seen until 11:00. Why does the doctor expect them to be early or on time when they won't be seen till late? In this scenario the doctor is late but expects the patient not be essentially saying their time is more important. Also this patient would not have made the doctor any later than he already was by showing up late the patient would have just been sitting in the waiting room longer.

 

[Burnedout]

Because the Doctor is hiding in his/her office. Or on the golf range.

If the patient needs chronic caregiving it isn't the office's issue. The care is needed whether at the dr ofc or wherever

 

[cristen72]

Working in a doctors office the "no show, no call" is a huge problem, despite reminder calls the day before. Being reasonably new to office nursing I was shocked at how many patients just don't show, some over and over again. Due to this we do some double booking, especially a "known no show". We don't make patients wait for long, but then there are those days that all heck breaks loose.

I've had to put policies in place that if someone is 15 minutes late, they have to reschedule(which ticks patients off too), it's only fair to those who show up on time.

Something to keep in mind is that most offices are down to a skeleton staff, due to insurance reimbursement decreasing every year. The electronic medical record requirements would blow your mind, I know it did mine(to say nothing of the cost). The are SO time consuming it's ridiculous.
Add that all together and sadly, sometimes one has to wait.

Believe me, most offices are not purposely trying to aggravate you,and they are just getting by financially. The "closed for lunch" is necessary, or no one gets to eat, including the doctor.

I could have written this myself. Everything you said is exactly the same for the office I work in.

Another thing I will add is that you never know what's going on in the exam room next to you. (And you never should ) But the next time you sit in the exam room waiting on your late doctor, it may be because the other patient is having a miscarriage, being told devastating news regarding their health or their loved ones health, or even has passed out from a painful procedure.

I have worked in OB/GYN for 20 years. Yes your yeast infection is important. Yes we know your time is valuable and we really regret that you are waiting. We know you need to get back to work or go pick up your children. But the reason your doctor isn't in here yet is because he's holding the hand of a crying patient.

I'm certainly not saying that is every case. Nor am I saying you are expected to know what other patients problems are. But take a moment to think about it. Your doctor may not be standing around drinking coffee and BSing with the staff. They just might be a compassionate doctor that simply can't walk out on their patient.

 

[lsyorke]

I would very much appreciate a text message from the office if the physician is running late: it can be generic, something like, "due to an unforeseen number of complex cases, Dr. X is running behind today; your wait time in our office may exceed 30 minutes. If your schedule today is inflexible, please call us ASAP to ask about rescheduling your appt. for another day."

Do you realize how long it would take to have a staff member text every patient? AND...many of our patients are elderly and don't text, heck, they don't even have voicemail, LOL!

 

[booger73]

I almost hate to enter this fray, but..
As an attempt to try to explain some things... because honestly, I think there's lots of misconceptions and some pretty almost bordering on hurtful things have been said on both sides, imho..

Anyways:

1) Supply <> Demand. Things, wait times depend on lots, including where you live, what insurance you have, what specialist you're seeing.. only one specialist + lots of patients = long wait. Just like economics of all other things - simple as that. (like plumbers, lawyers, dentists, etc)
See as example: https://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1857092
See as example: http://www.merritthawkins.com/uploadedFiles/MerrittHawkings/Surveys/mha2014waitsurvPDF.pdf

2) Primary care isn't what other specialists are like.. and are among the "worst" in job satisfaction, pay, hrs wrk, vacation, pay/hr,

See informal simple poll: http://blog.sermo.com/2014/03/10/physicians-would-choose-their-specialty-all-over-again/
See Washington post article from last week: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-growing-number-of-primary-care-doctors-are-burning-out-how-does-this-affect-patients/2014/03/31/2e8bce24-a951-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html
See collection of source that are not trying to sugar coat anything: i.e. worse hours than pcp in other nations, less vacation, less $/hr, and most debt.. http://blog.sermo.com/2014/03/14/infographic-how-much-do-doctors-really-earn/
Primary care shortage is nothing new (see 2009) and imbalance in pay is nothing new.. PCP 30 minutes = $89. One Colo, 30 minutes = $422. You decide http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061903583.html

If you really wanna see fireworks and discussion about what doctors make or don't make - see here.. lots of more crazy info and discussion.. makes this conversation actually look tame I think... http://benbrownmd.wordpress.com/

3) As mentioned in previous posts, you could have a combination of any of the following: (nurses, PA, NP's, EMT's, whomever probably would agree with this)
a) High stress
b) Draining environment (i.e. having to deal with sickness)
c) poor work/life balance
d) The doctor is always the 'rate limiting step' - systems may be in place, but still the doctor has to get things going/moving - that is lots of pressure
e) Financial reimbursement is usually a 3rd party player (and doctors usually aren't trained about this in med school.. the focus is clinical care, not running a business)
f) Just a 'lawsuit waiting to happen' in the back of the mind
g) Politics (how can this not play into things anyways)
h) Electronic medical record and documentation
i) emergent patient - doesn't matter when/how/where/what - something is going to happen.. and if it happens to be you, or your family member loved one.. (you or your loved one) will be the one wanting that attention at that moment and to heck with what everyone else thinks/needs/wants
j) messages (phone calls, e.mails)
k) tasks and forms (insurance form, FMLA form, fill out medication over-ride/justification, prior auth form, disability form, return to work/school form, reimbursement for home health form, authorization for medial equipment form...)

(joking now)
4) And of course, for people who think we are really goofing off a lot, you caught us and you're right.. we are actually:
a) On the DIS, surfing and reading posts so we an plan our next Disney vacation
b) ...trying to get one more level playing candy crush, or one a higher score on 'duet' for ios
c) ...at our son's baseball game at 10am this weekend (but only because I started my day at 4am)
d) ...purposely schmoozing the drug rep for a pen (since I can't get free trips to Hawaii anymore)
e) ...trying to figure out why we really aren't doing #a-d

(serious now)
So honestly, just like any "wait" - we wait at the DMV office (we all hate that, and that's so inefficient).. we wait in the ER (another whole story about how our health care system is messed up and people use the ER for non-emergencies).. we wait at Disney World in line... there's going to be some amount of wait for a doctor

Sometimes you get lucky, some are more efficient, some are great, some are not.. it's a free country so you an do whatever you want - so if you're happy, thanks for understanding and we're trying our best.. if you're not, then you can make another choice too...

Not all doctors are 'arrogant' and feel like 'their time is more important than yours". Some might, but certainly not "all".. Similarly, not all patients show up late "on purpose" -- just as every patient is different, so is every situation, every response, every way that doctors deal with things.. it is not fair to imply that either patient or doctor is at fault, and the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Doctors for the most part go in to the profession to help people (there are tons of other ways to make more money these days)... we seriously do not sit around thinking about how to aggravate our patients by making them wait longer.

I'll add one last comment: everyone wants a great doctor, with bedside manner, spend a lot of time, listen to them, be correct about therapy and suggestions, and be available, etc (no brainer...) I would think there should be an inherent understanding that the more people who want "that" (for their visit) in a certain constrained "time limit" (in whatever system of care or otherwise), is easily inherently impossible, right?

my $.02 and hope that helps you understand a few things - thanks for reading

 

[mnrose]

Scenario1 this is the problem the person that showed up at 10:45 for their 10:30 appt would not have been seen until 11:00. Why does the doctor expect them to be early or on time when they won't be seen till late? In this scenario the doctor is late but expects the patient not be essentially saying their time is more important. Also this patient would not have made the doctor any later than he already was by showing up late the patient would have just been sitting in the waiting room longer.

I assumed that the doctor WAS available at 10:30, and the patient wasn't there. When patient A arrived, the doctor was seeing the 10:45 patient, as would be appropriate.

 

[booger73]

I also have a scheduling question:

Scenario 1:
Person A has an 11:00 apt and shows up at 10:50. Person B has a 10:30 apt. and shows up at 10:45. Doc is ready for his next patient at 11:00. Who will be seen first?

My expectation as Person A is that I will be seen first, as I was on time for my apt. My expectation as Person B is that Person A will be seen first, and I will be squeezed in whenever possible since I was significanly late.
Is that how most offices work?

Scenario 2:
Person A has an 11:00 apt and shows up at 10:50. Person B has 11:15 apt and shows up at 10:45. Doc is ready for his next patient at 11:00. Who will eb seen first?
Again, my expectation is Person A will be seen first, as they are there in time for their apt. As Person B, I'd expect to wait until 11:15 (although I'd be thrilled to be seen early).

How does it actually work?

I love these scenarios, by the way.. because it seems like it happens a lot
Unfortunately in Scenario 1, the doctor is running behind... most of our expectations (as probably a patient) would be A before B (as B was late) - but it's hard to say if both patient A or patient B know if there were really 'first' or 'on time'.. obviously they would know they were 'late' but patient B's expectation might still be 'my appt was first time wise'. The doctor may have no knowledge of who came when (to tell you the truth) if they're running behind, and may just continue on the way at 10:30 pt then 11:00 pt. Nursing triage may have made this decision out of their hands sometimes. Is anyone in this case right, wrong, or to blame? I think anyone could be at fault.
Now.. however, if the doctor is ready at 10:45-10:50, (i.e. waiting on the 10:30, but the 11:00 is slightly there early), pretty much whoever is ready/gets there first/is triaged first might be seen first

Scenario 2: Both patients early on time/doctor on time (one person might even be earlier than the other).. Expectation would be to see A>B because of 'earlier appt' than B. However, if B gets triaged first (paperwork, in the room, what not), yes there's even a (slight) chance B gets seen before A.. might the doctor know, or not know? yes, might be triage nurse/lpn whoever's 'fault/decision/etc'

Best bets? 1st or 2nd am (earliest) and 1st or 2nd (right after lunch appts).. if doctor's running on time as well, and you're early, you might be seen. Running late? sorry (in as sincere as way possible) - will try to go where the least amount of wait for everyone (and at times, the doctor might not be aware who checked in first/last/whatever)..

I work at an indigent (read: free) clinic every week.. there are people who sometimes are there from 12pm, to 5-6pm because of the massive # of people who need to be seen.. no it's not totally ideal, but we try.. and the patients know that and appreciate it.. so, we have what we have, and we try to deal and work within the constraints of what we have

 

[DarthKTrava]

I think doctors are under a lot of pressure due to insurance. In order to participate with these insurance companies and adhere to their rates, a doctor has to see XXX amount of patients a day just to make it worth their while. There was an article in the Washington Post just last week about primary care doctors having burnout. Many who take "all" the insurances are forced to see 25-28 patients per day. They book 15 minute appointments. Realistically, with human beings and various problems, what's the chance that they can stick to that schedule. I think it's appalling, really.

One of my doctors decided to drop all insurance plans. Of course, he lost a lot of patients because of it because if you want to see him you must self-pay and file yourself. However, he said that prior to doing that, he was feeling like he was giving horrible care, he had to hire this huge staff to manage all the paperwork and he felt like he wasn't making any money either. After getting out of that, his staff went down to one administrative assistant. I still go to him and self pay and it's great. No waits, leisurely appointments, non-stressed out doctor!

My eye doctor is like this. He doesn't take insurance at all. All there is in his office is himself and a receptionist/tech. He does spend time with you. When I first went to him, I could walk in and see him that day. Now he's so busy I have to make an appointment. I don't usually have to wait very long when I show up for the appt.


I think it's crazy they schedule 15 minute appointment gaps when they end up with a huge backlog in no time flat.

 

[Mkrop]

Do you realize how long it would take to have a staff member text every patient? AND...many of our patients are elderly and don't text, heck, they don't even have voicemail, LOL!

If they have the staff to call me, send me a text, and email BEFORE the appt, then they have the staff to text me when they are running behind. No many elderly patiens do not have texting or voicemail, but for those us who do use it, maybe it will free up some time during the day for another patient if you tell me I am going to have to wait over an hour, that interferes with picking up my kids, so I reschedule.

I also asked at the Drs office once if they had a waiting list, since it would be 6mos until I could get a physical. Say Jane cancels, they could call me and I could come in, well it makes sense now, they are probably double booking, so if Jane doesnt come in for whatever reason no big deal bc John wil be there in that same time slot.

 

[CaliBear]

This is very true. Now lets talk about how patients don't want to wait, or they think that Dr's over schedule, yet these are the same people who cant understand why it can take a month to get an appointment with a Dr. YOu can't have it both ways.. No one wants to wait, but if you need a Dr, you better believe that you want to get in as soon as possible. Don't even get me started on those that call on a Friday saying they have been sick all week and just to come in right now. SCREAM.

There is no real good answer. Patients are demanding, they don't want to wait, they don't want Drs to over schedule, yet these same patients will flip out of they have to wait for 3-4 week for an appointment. The public, this is why I don't work for them.
And yes, insurance companies can and do put the pressure on. It will only get worse.

Or maybe clinics need to consider being open 24 hours/7 days for basic services instead of patients from several clinics all converging on one medical walk-in after 5 or 6 pm. A month wait for a specialist is one thing, but your patient who has a cold on Friday should be able to go get that treated any time of day with little wait, and that would be possible if clinics offered 24 hour services. It's absurd that parents have to take time off work and take kids out of school, but the office can't be open past 5.

 

[CaliBear]

I almost hate to enter this fray, but..
As an attempt to try to explain some things... because honestly, I think there's lots of misconceptions and some pretty almost bordering on hurtful things have been said on both sides, imho..

Anyways:

1) Supply <> Demand. Things, wait times depend on lots, including where you live, what insurance you have, what specialist you're seeing.. only one specialist + lots of patients = long wait. Just like economics of all other things - simple as that. (like plumbers, lawyers, dentists, etc)
See as example: https://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1857092
See as example: http://www.merritthawkins.com/uploadedFiles/MerrittHawkings/Surveys/mha2014waitsurvPDF.pdf

2) Primary care isn't what other specialists are like.. and are among the "worst" in job satisfaction, pay, hrs wrk, vacation, pay/hr,

See informal simple poll: http://blog.sermo.com/2014/03/10/physicians-would-choose-their-specialty-all-over-again/
See Washington post article from last week: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-growing-number-of-primary-care-doctors-are-burning-out-how-does-this-affect-patients/2014/03/31/2e8bce24-a951-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html
See collection of source that are not trying to sugar coat anything: i.e. worse hours than pcp in other nations, less vacation, less $/hr, and most debt.. http://blog.sermo.com/2014/03/14/infographic-how-much-do-doctors-really-earn/
Primary care shortage is nothing new (see 2009) and imbalance in pay is nothing new.. PCP 30 minutes = $89. One Colo, 30 minutes = $422. You decide http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/19/AR2009061903583.html

If you really wanna see fireworks and discussion about what doctors make or don't make - see here.. lots of more crazy info and discussion.. makes this conversation actually look tame I think... http://benbrownmd.wordpress.com/

3) As mentioned in previous posts, you could have a combination of any of the following: (nurses, PA, NP's, EMT's, whomever probably would agree with this)
a) High stress
b) Draining environment (i.e. having to deal with sickness)
c) poor work/life balance
d) The doctor is always the 'rate limiting step' - systems may be in place, but still the doctor has to get things going/moving - that is lots of pressure
e) Financial reimbursement is usually a 3rd party player (and doctors usually aren't trained about this in med school.. the focus is clinical care, not running a business)
f) Just a 'lawsuit waiting to happen' in the back of the mind
g) Politics (how can this not play into things anyways)
h) Electronic medical record and documentation
i) emergent patient - doesn't matter when/how/where/what - something is going to happen.. and if it happens to be you, or your family member loved one.. (you or your loved one) will be the one wanting that attention at that moment and to heck with what everyone else thinks/needs/wants
j) messages (phone calls, e.mails)
k) tasks and forms (insurance form, FMLA form, fill out medication over-ride/justification, prior auth form, disability form, return to work/school form, reimbursement for home health form, authorization for medial equipment form...)

(joking now)
4) And of course, for people who think we are really goofing off a lot, you caught us and you're right.. we are actually:
a) On the DIS, surfing and reading posts so we an plan our next Disney vacation
b) ...trying to get one more level playing candy crush, or one a higher score on 'duet' for ios
c) ...at our son's baseball game at 10am this weekend (but only because I started my day at 4am)
d) ...purposely schmoozing the drug rep for a pen (since I can't get free trips to Hawaii anymore)
e) ...trying to figure out why we really aren't doing #a-d

(serious now)
So honestly, just like any "wait" - we wait at the DMV office (we all hate that, and that's so inefficient).. we wait in the ER (another whole story about how our health care system is messed up and people use the ER for non-emergencies).. we wait at Disney World in line... there's going to be some amount of wait for a doctor

Sometimes you get lucky, some are more efficient, some are great, some are not.. it's a free country so you an do whatever you want - so if you're happy, thanks for understanding and we're trying our best.. if you're not, then you can make another choice too...

Not all doctors are 'arrogant' and feel like 'their time is more important than yours". Some might, but certainly not "all".. Similarly, not all patients show up late "on purpose" -- just as every patient is different, so is every situation, every response, every way that doctors deal with things.. it is not fair to imply that either patient or doctor is at fault, and the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Doctors for the most part go in to the profession to help people (there are tons of other ways to make more money these days)... we seriously do not sit around thinking about how to aggravate our patients by making them wait longer.

I'll add one last comment: everyone wants a great doctor, with bedside manner, spend a lot of time, listen to them, be correct about therapy and suggestions, and be available, etc (no brainer...) I would think there should be an inherent understanding that the more people who want "that" (for their visit) in a certain constrained "time limit" (in whatever system of care or otherwise), is easily inherently impossible, right?

my $.02 and hope that helps you understand a few things - thanks for reading

You and your Mr. Brown seem to think other professions don't also have a long list (#3) of stresses with the job, or at least that doctors have more. Most of what you listed is not unique to the medical profession btw. It's called having a job. Do you, like your Mr. Brown that you linked, also think teaching is a lessor profession that deserves lower pay than the exalted medical profession that is just so much harder than anything any of us normal humans have to endure? Or did you link that as a p/a way to throw salt?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Or maybe clinics need to consider being open 24 hours/7 days for basic services instead of patients from several clinics all converging on one medical walk-in after 5 or 6 pm. A month wait for a specialist is one thing, but your patient who has a cold on Friday should be able to go get that treated any time of day with little wait, and that would be possible if clinics offered 24 hour services. It's absurd that parents have to take time off work and take kids out of school, but the office can't be open past 5.

We go to the local urgent care more often than our doctor because they are never open at convenient times.

 

[Disney Doll]

Because nurses garner no respect. :/ mom was an rn and you would believe the stories.

Yes I would.

 

[booger73]

You and your Mr. Brown seem to think other professions don't also have a long list (#3) of stresses with the job, or at least that doctors have more. Most of what you listed is not unique to the medical profession btw. It's called having a job. Do you, like your Mr. Brown that you linked, also think teaching is a lessor profession that deserves lower pay than the exalted medical profession that is just so much harder than anything any of us normal humans have to endure? Or did you link that as a p/a way to throw salt?

You must have something against the medical profession or something, perhaps?

I take the time like some others have to explain the situation and things to consider, but all you can focus on is the fact that the 'exalted medical profession' feels it's on a high pedestal and is paid too much.. If that's how you feel even presented with just objective data then that's your opinion, fine with me... as teachers would say, you'd never understand it unless you were doing it.. so as medical professionals will say, you'll never understand it unless you're doing it.

However - I ask you, would you act or feel the same way (and say what you've said) if teachers complained about the same pressures they are under, and asked for your understanding about their grading, or homework, or paperwork, or students, or rules they have to follow? Or if nurses complained? Just as everyone has their right to an opinion, everyone has a right to complain as well... it's fascinating; however, that people seem to 'poo-poo' things when certain people complain.

 

[mnrose]

Or maybe clinics need to consider being open 24 hours/7 days for basic services instead of patients from several clinics all converging on one medical walk-in after 5 or 6 pm. A month wait for a specialist is one thing, but your patient who has a cold on Friday should be able to go get that treated any time of day with little wait, and that would be possible if clinics offered 24 hour services. It's absurd that parents have to take time off work and take kids out of school, but the office can't be open past 5.

And this, my friends, is one of the huge problems with the medical profession. Except in RARE, RARE, RARE circumstances, a cold is NOT a reason to see a doctor. I know you were giving an example of a "non-emergency" condition that might require a doctor's visit, but a cold is a poor example. Unfortunately, it's also a true example of the ridiculous things doctor's find in their waiting rooms. There is nothing a doctor can DO for a cold. A cold is a viral condition which (with or without treatment) gets better in 7-10 days. There is no drug to take which works for anything other than the symptoms, and all those drugs are available over the counter.

As for the office hours, is the post office open after 5? Nope. How about a carpenter? Can I go to the architect after 5? There are MANY businesses that operate (gasp) during business hours and for which I must take time from work if I wish to use them. Why complain about doctors?

There ARE physicians who operate after normal business hours at urgent care facilities and in hospital emergency rooms. (Ever try to get a postal worker at 2 am? Ever try to get a teacher to address a homework question at 2 am?). And, thank goodness for that. I've never believed that my pediatrician needs to operate at 7 at night to be "convenient" for me.

 

[lsyorke]

Or maybe clinics need to consider being open 24 hours/7 days for basic services instead of patients from several clinics all converging on one medical walk-in after 5 or 6 pm. A month wait for a specialist is one thing, but your patient who has a cold on Friday should be able to go get that treated any time of day with little wait, and that would be possible if clinics offered 24 hour services. It's absurd that parents have to take time off work and take kids out of school, but the office can't be open past 5.

So, you don't want to wait, but you also want an immediate appointment for a cold...and others can wait because you feel you are entitled to this? Doctors offices aren't magical places that provide instantaneous services at your convenience, and it's those who go to the doctor for a "cold" that help create the long waits.

 

[JanaDee]

So, you don't want to wait, but you also want an immediate appointment for a cold...and others can wait because you feel you are entitled to this? Doctors offices aren't magical places that provide instantaneous services at your convenience, and it's those who go to the doctor for a "cold" that help create the long waits.

I can only speak for my family, but when we go to the doctor, it is because it is something that needs to be taken care of that day, not in weeks.

No, we don't go to the doctor for colds. Other than physicals, out of the 4 of us, only 1 has been to the doctor in the last 9 months, because DS slammed his finger in the door and I thought it may possibly be broken. Thankfully, it wasn't, but he had to have a hole drilled in his fingernail to relieve the pressure from the blood pooling underneath. That is something that can't wait to be taken care of, and due to it being after hours (5:05pm), we had to go to Urgent Care.

 

[mom2rtk]

I can only speak for my family, but when we go to the doctor, it is because it is something that needs to be taken care of that day, not in weeks.

No, we don't go to the doctor for colds. Other than physicals, out of the 4 of us, only 1 has been to the doctor in the last 9 months, because DS slammed his finger in the door and I thought it may possibly be broken. Thankfully, it wasn't, but he had to have a hole drilled in his fingernail to relieve the pressure from the blood pooling underneath. That is something that can't wait to be taken care of, and due to it being after hours (5:05pm), we had to go to Urgent Care.

Hey, I saw them drill a hole in someone's head on Grey's Anatomy. I'm sure you could have handled a fingernail at home.

I hope he's doing better BTW.