I charged my orthodontist for being late!

[vhoffman]

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[vhoffman]

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[vhoffman]

I think first appt of the day with an orthodontist and going to a pediatrician are two different things. I think the OP was right to demand respect for her time as well. My DH, DS, and I all go to the same family practitioner. She doesn't over book and we've never had to wait more than 20 minutes for an appt. However, we do understand that if she has a baby to deliver or other emergency come up that we will be waiting and we feel she's worth that risk. I feel that situation is different than what the OP was describing.

Thanks!

 

[LISAVWL]

I started reading this thread last night and thought how lucky I was to have a good orhto for my DS -- WRONG! We had an appt toady at 9:10AM, rescheduled from last week. We were hit by a snow, ice & sleet storm and most of everything is closed in this area today. OK -- ortho office calls at 7:30am to let us know all appt will be cancelled and someone will call us back to reschedule, no problem.

At 9:30AM ortho office calls to let us know we are late -- ??? -- and there will be a fee added to our bill for missing a visit! WHAT??!! I informed them that they called me to cancel, they have no record of the call. We go back and forth for a while and finally they give me the opportunity to reschedule for later today, fine, w/o the missed appt fee. I tell them we can't be in until 2pm, they say OK but if you can get in sooner please do.

Around 12 they call to confirm we are still coming, I say yes but looks like we won't be able to come any earlier than 2pm, they say fine again.

At 1:45 as my DH & DS are walking out the door they call again to say, sorry we can't wait any longer you have to reschedule! WHAT??!! I tell them about all the phone calls today, the rescheduling and all the problems and they say, sorry we have to leave. I say sorry DH & DS are on their way and will be there for the 2PM rescheduled appt! Again, we go back and forth and finally they say, this time we'll wait but we'll make a note in your file that we cannot wait again for late appointments! What late appt??!!

This receptionist has always been rude and very unaccomodating when making appts or when I have to reschedule. I'm sorry, I have 4 kids and sometimes things come up and I have to reschedule. I've never skipped an appt or called at the last minute. As soon as I know there's a conflict, I call to work things out. There is no reason for attitude or rudeness and I'm quite sick of it! At least DS will be sone in a few months and then we're outta there!

(thanks for letting me vent -- I feel better now)

 

[vhoffman]

I started reading this thread last night and thought how lucky I was to have a good orhto for my DS -- WRONG! We had an appt toady at 9:10AM, rescheduled from last week. We were hit by a snow, ice & sleet storm and most of everything is closed in this area today. OK -- ortho office calls at 7:30am to let us know all appt will be cancelled and someone will call us back to reschedule, no problem.

At 9:30AM ortho office calls to let us know we are late -- ??? -- and there will be a fee added to our bill for missing a visit! WHAT??!! I informed them that they called me to cancel, they have no record of the call. We go back and forth for a while and finally they give me the opportunity to reschedule for later today, fine, w/o the missed appt fee. I tell them we can't be in until 2pm, they say OK but if you can get in sooner please do.

Around 12 they call to confirm we are still coming, I say yes but looks like we won't be able to come any earlier than 2pm, they say fine again.

At 1:45 as my DH & DS are walking out the door they call again to say, sorry we can't wait any longer you have to reschedule! WHAT??!! I tell them about all the phone calls today, the rescheduling and all the problems and they say, sorry we have to leave. I say sorry DH & DS are on their way and will be there for the 2PM rescheduled appt! Again, we go back and forth and finally they say, this time we'll wait but we'll make a note in your file that we cannot wait again for late appointments! What late appt??!!

This receptionist has always been rude and very unaccomodating when making appts or when I have to reschedule. I'm sorry, I have 4 kids and sometimes things come up and I have to reschedule. I've never skipped an appt or called at the last minute. As soon as I know there's a conflict, I call to work things out. There is no reason for attitude or rudeness and I'm quite sick of it! At least DS will be sone in a few months and then we're outta there!

(thanks for letting me vent -- I feel better now)

Does your orthodontist have a large office staff? I would make sure to get the name of the person who called you th reschedule. Funny, when you start using a person's name, they become more accountable. "Yes, Mary, I understand you are calling me to reschedule our appointment" sometimes helps to have a trail in case of a dispute. Also, try confirming any reschedules via email. Ask them to email you with the rescheduled time, even if they won't, send an email anyways documenting the change " at 10 am today I received a call from Mary asking me to reschedule my dd appointment to 2 pm this afternoon". At least there's some sort of paper trail in case of a dispute.

 

[vhoffman]

Hahaha!

I've always thought about doing that but have never gotten up the nerve! Good for you!

I wish I had another ortho to take my daughter to. Ours is the only one within an hour of here. The only time we've been seen on time was for the free consultation. Every time since then has been well over an hours wait. Ugh.

Don't even get me started about our pediatrician.

I***

 

[vhoffman]

Playing devil's advocate here (which is always fun on the DIS b/c ya never know which direction it will take)
But consider that Dr. C WAS actually in an emergency. Now he has to head back to the office but he needs a bite to eat to make it through his afternoon.

Although, I'll admit, if I was your friend, I'd have probably been livid too, but there may have been a perfect explanation for it.

After all, if the bagel shop WAS his "emergency" wouldn't he have been in the line over an hour before that?

(dh keeps slimfasts in his desk for these types of situations. while he'd love to sit down and have the hour lunch he's supposed to have, sometimes that's just not possible. heck, this time of year when every other kid has strep, the flu, or strep AND flu, it's not even likely!)

You know, I sorta agree with you on this one. If the guy had missed lunch due to a schedule conflict, emergency, whatever, he might have just dropped in for a quick bite. Gotta eat sometime!But what about the patients backed up in his waiting room --they get hungry, too. They can't even duck out for a bite because they have no idea when they'll be called back. That's why I like the doctor I had who would just tell you he couldn't see you until that afternoon, you could do something, like eat, not just sit there until your butt fell asleep.

 

[nettii]

Way to go Im proud of you for sticking to your guns! We all need to be treated with more respect from the medical offices we deal with!

Maybe they will be a lil more prompt the next time around!

 

[vhoffman]

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[TheDizMom]

You go girl! That is absolutely insane! You had several forms of proof and they still said YOU were wrong? If I was you I would stay on top of them from here on out and every time you wait charge
them. I'm impressed you kept your cool cuz I am sure I would have been ranting by the time I got out of there.

 

[delilah]

It's not just emergencies that back up offices. Dh is a pediatrician and oftentimes parents come in with one kid and while they are there they ask if the other child can be seen for some other reason. Then the kids have to have their chart pulled, weighed, temp taken, etc etc and it puts the docs behind.

Speaking as a famly physician, this is oh so true. We call them "twofers" in our office. Happens all the time, every day. Some patients even think that if they sneak in as a "twofer", they won't get a bill (wrong) or pay a copay (wrong again). And a person who is denied a "twofer" appointment can be as self-rightously indignant as a person who is made to wait beyond their appointment time, so it is not a simple matter of telling mom to reschedule for sis to be seen. Here's a head's up on how our schedule is done. We need to see 5 patients an hour. We schedule 2 on the hour and then one every 15 minutes. People sign in as they arrive in the lobby. A person who arrives early will be placed in the room as long as the person who is scheduled for that time is either already in a room, or has not yet signed in. Generally, people are seen in the order in which they are scheduled. A person who is 15 minutes late is given the option of rescheduling or being "worked in", which means waiting until somebody else is late. Also, in the fine print on most appointment cards, you are supposed to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. That is why our office opens at 8:15, and the first appointment is at 8:30. So, if you arrive 15 minutes beyond your appointment, you are really 30 minutes late.

The most common reason we run behind is the "Twofers", closely followed by people not arriving 15 minutes ahead of time, and lastly, by people needing extra time because of complex issues.

 

[Chris]

Applauding from here!!! Way to go.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

I'm glad we are not the only ones who gets harrassed by our kids dentist, I swear I was beginning to take it personal. I hate all the phone calls, postcards, and reminders. This last time they even called my emergency contact person a few times to have her remind us of our appt. Great idea, charging them for being late, I'm gonna do the same from now on. I can't believe how dentist are treating people lately, I think they scare off a lot of good patients.

 

[TheDizMom]

Speaking as a famly physician, this is oh so true. We call them "twofers" in our office. Happens all the time, every day. Some patients even think that if they sneak in as a "twofer", they won't get a bill (wrong) or pay a copay (wrong again). And a person who is denied a "twofer" appointment can be as self-rightously indignant as a person who is made to wait beyond their appointment time, so it is not a simple matter of telling mom to reschedule for sis to be seen. Here's a head's up on how our schedule is done. We need to see 5 patients an hour. We schedule 2 on the hour and then one every 15 minutes. People sign in as they arrive in the lobby. A person who arrives early will be placed in the room as long as the person who is scheduled for that time is either already in a room, or has not yet signed in. Generally, people are seen in the order in which they are scheduled. A person who is 15 minutes late is given the option of rescheduling or being "worked in", which means waiting until somebody else is late. Also, in the fine print on most appointment cards, you are supposed to arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. That is why our office opens at 8:15, and the first appointment is at 8:30. So, if you arrive 15 minutes beyond your appointment, you are really 30 minutes late.

The most common reason we run behind is the "Twofers", closely followed by people not arriving 15 minutes ahead of time, and lastly, by people needing extra time because of complex issues.

I totally get this, and though I have never actually tried to make one appointment for both kids I am guilty of asking a question about my other child. For example my DD went in for an ear infection and her brother had had a cough for 11/2 weeks. He wasn't with me but I did ask if the doctor felt he should be seen or if I should just keep on going as I was for a bit longer. I don't know if I really slowed him down much, but I will think more carefully about doing this in the future. I have also been kept waiting an hour before to see this pediatrician, which is a royal pain when my child is really sick. But at the same time I am so confident in his abilities and like him so much I would rather wait an hour then see someone else.

However I think the difference here is her Orthodontist charges their patients if they are late, so I think turnabout is fair play.