How long will you wait for a dr. appointment?

[oxfordcircus]

I had an appointment yesterday for 11:30. I left at 12:45 having not been seen. Doctor was in his office. Just curious what's reasonable.

Later yesterday I tried to get an appointment with another doctor to replace the one that just failed to launch. Somehow, my earlier experience came up. The doc then refused to accept me as a new patient. I thought that was a bit curious.

 

[DVC Sadie]

I had an appointment time of 2:20 pm for my PCP and when I was still sitting in the waiting room at 5:00 pm I notified the receptionist that I would be sending a bill to them for any excess time over an hour. I finally saw the Dr. at 5:30 and I did bill them for 3 hours of my time.

Hope you find a PCP who is taking new patients.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

I once waited 5 hours to see our former pediatrician. I ended up being late for work that day. We switched peds shortly after that. Everytime we were there we waited at least an hour, usually more.
I think less than an hour is okay anything over an hour is crazy.

 

[lulugirl]

Wow, those are really long wait times!
I guess I'm lucky, my Dr and the children's pediatrician both get us in the exam room within 20 minutes of the appointment time.
I understand that an office may have an unusually busy day but to regularly have patients waiting an hour after his/her appointment time is absurd IMO.

 

[golfgal]

I would have left unless there was a good explanation why the dr was so far behind, like an emergency came in. I have to say I have NEVER waited that long to see a dr. except the one time at my OB's but she had an emergency C-Section and thought she would be done in time for my appointment but wasn't. Completely understandable in that case. I don't understand why the other dr wouldn't have taken you after waiting for over an hour?

 

[golfgal]

I had an appointment time of 2:20 pm for my PCP and when I was still sitting in the waiting room at 5:00 pm I notified the receptionist that I would be sending a bill to them for any excess time over an hour. I finally saw the Dr. at 5:30 and I did bill them for 3 hours of my time.

Hope you find a PCP who is taking new patients.

Did they pay you????

 

[kelleigh1]

Wow! I've never had to wait that long. I just had an appointment on Monday and I actually arrived 5 minutes late, which is very unusual for me and they took me almost right away. My doctor's office is always good about getting you asap. I don't think I've ever waited more than 15 minutes.

 

[SC Minnie]

Never more than 30 minutes. If I haven't been seen within 30 minutes of my appt time I am asking what is going on. If they keep saying it will be a few more minutes and an hour has passed I will ask to reschedule with someone else.

Even at the ob/gyn will they will tell you if the dr if running late due to an emerg. I have had them ask me if I want to wait or reschedule.

 

[canwegosoon]

I had an appointment yesterday for 11:30. I left at 12:45 having not been seen. Doctor was in his office. Just curious what's reasonable.

Later yesterday I tried to get an appointment with another doctor to replace the one that just failed to launch. Somehow, my earlier experience came up. The doc then refused to accept me as a new patient. I thought that was a bit curious.

I would think that you wouldn't want them with that behavior. I ask the schedulers..."when is a good time to book that the Dr. doesn't get backed up...after waiting once for 2 hours" We can all understand emergencies, but if a Dr. consistantly takes 20 minutes with a patient when the office schedules 15 minute appointments, it is not hard to get backed up.

 

[flortlebap]

My doctors are usually running within 10 minutes of schedule.

Past an hour though I would be pretty annoyed!!!

 

[Stitchfans]

I've only walked out of the drs office once cause I was waiting way too long. Now they charge you if you leave or if you miss an appointment. Their time is important, not yours.

 

[lindakmonty]

wow...the only time I was understanding for excessive waits was while I was expecting. The dr. can't help someone going into labor..and soon enough it might be me ...other than that... I think an hour is reasonable, after that...forget it. To me, it is like they have no respect for my time... our dr. usually takes 15-20 minutes.

 

[NMAmy]

These stories are why I adore my doctor. You are put in an examination room at your appointment time. She is usually in to see me within 10 minutes or less after that. She told me when I first started going to her that she valued my time as much as her own and if they were running late, they'd call to reschedule (which they've never done) and if I was running late, she'd appreciate the same treatment from me. She's also my mom's and dd's dr and was my dad's for many years until he passed away. We adore her.

This may be one reason why she won't accept any new patients unless they're related to a patient she already has. My mom got me in when I moved back from New Mexico.

 

[oxfordcircus]

I had an appointment time of 2:20 pm for my PCP and when I was still sitting in the waiting room at 5:00 pm I notified the receptionist that I would be sending a bill to them for any excess time over an hour. I finally saw the Dr. at 5:30 and I did bill them for 3 hours of my time.

Hope you find a PCP who is taking new patients.

Let me know when they pay up. I don't understand the level of over-scheduling that would have to occur for your situation to arise.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Our doctor is notoriously behind most days, so we've gotten in a habit of calling the office before going in for an appointment to ask how far behind he is and what time we should get there.

I don't mind, though, as typically the reason why he's behind his schedule is because he tends to take a little extra time with each patient. Well, that, and he's like family to us.

 

[oxfordcircus]

I would think that you wouldn't want them with that behavior. I ask the schedulers..."when is a good time to book that the Dr. doesn't get backed up...after waiting once for 2 hours" We can all understand emergencies, but if a Dr. consistantly takes 20 minutes with a patient when the office schedules 15 minute appointments, it is not hard to get backed up.

I tried to get on with a totally different practice, not another doctor in the same practice. I didn't make that clear.

 

[lclark0621]

Anything more then an hour & I make a scene.

My PCP is ALWAYS WAY behind. When we first started seeing him, it was rountine to wait 2 hours before getting into the exam room, and then at least an hour once we were in there before we saw him.

No reason other then he was overbooking & very popular.

When the office instituted an policy that if you were more then 15 minutes late they canceled your appointment & billed you the office fee, I THOUGHT things would get better.

That only made things WORSE. Turns out most knew this doctor was late, so would show up late & would actually HELP the doctor's turn around time. Since everyone was on time now, the doctor was MORE booked up.

I made a HUGE scene in the office one time after my son was born. He was a newborn & it was flu season. They had me wait in that office for 2 hours with a tiny baby & a ton of people with fevers & hacking & worse. It was awful.

After me losing it on the staff, I was sure they would "fire" me as a patient. But I demanded to speak with the doctor NOW. After I LOST it on him, he was all apologies & "talked to his staff". I dont know what happened. But he still always has a MAJOR back up, I have heard people complaining about sitting for 3+ hours. But I NEVER wait more then 20 minutes anymore. As soon as I walk in, it is "Oh yes Mrs. Lastname. Dr. Lastname will be right with you.". 20 minutes later I am in an exam room & the doctor is either already with me, or there with in a minute or a 2.

If they MAKE appointments they should KEEP appointments, unless there is a resonable emergency.

 

[DVC Sadie]

Did they pay you????

They did not pay what I earn per hour but they did waive my office fee. BTW, this wasn't the first doctor to receive a bill from me and probably won't be the last.

I felt real bad for the other patients that were still in his office waiting their turn when I left.

I do not think a PCP's time is worth more than my time and I just refuse to tolerate this type of behavior anymore. Of course if it was an emergency at a specialists office then I would be more than understanding.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

My DS's first Pediatrician had a sign in the waiting room, "if you have been waiting more than 30 minutes, please notify the front desk." I appreciated that, although we never waited more than 20 minutes to get in. Now in another city, and we have waited anywhere from 15 -45 minutes. I think that is still way too long for a pediatrician...My DS6's eye doctor appointment took 2-1/2 hours, with a 20 wait for a dialation to take. After waiting for the 20 minute dialation, which ended up being over an hour, I said something..."oh my, come right back" was the response.. I will now say something if I ever have to wait more than 1/2 hour for any appointment, and suggest a reschedule...maybe that will get me in...The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

We can all understand emergencies, but if a Dr. consistantly takes 20 minutes with a patient when the office schedules 15 minute appointments, it is not hard to get backed up.

Well that is basically the problem. I am good friends with the receptionist at my gyn. What usually happens is the patient will schedule a checkup, about 15 minutes in time. They know it won't be a checkup because it's easier to get an appointment for a checkup than for an examination which could take longer. So they come in and spend the entire time asking questions and instead of 15 minutes it takes like 30 minutes or longer. And of course there are the unexpected emergencies.

My GP never has a wait. I think the most I have waited was 10 minutes from when I walked in the door to when he saw me. My gyn can back up quickly. If they have an emergency, they will call and reshedule or call to say that they are running late. So at least you have warning. Anything over an hour wait though is starting to get ridiculous.