I was Late for Doctor's Appointment

[jaye614]

by 7 minutes and had to make another appointment - does this mean if I have to wait that long for the doctor next time, I could just leave and come back another time?

 

[Pooh93]

Wow....did you ask them that? I haven't heard of having to make another appointment if you are late. Sorry.

 

[swanmom]

As I checked in for one doctor's appointment, his new and overly officious receptionist loudly and fairly rudely stated (in front of a waiting room full of people so I know he wasn't 'running on time' or waiting for me) that I was late. I loudly and much more politely said to her ... "Well, that's OK. Last time, I waited 50 minutes for the doctor. So now, he only owes me 44 minutes!" The entire waiting room broke up laughing and I was seen almost immediately (probably to get me away from the other 'waiters.')
LOL!

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

Good for you. Doctors always leave patients waiting, I amglad you open your mouth in that manner, seems like they have the right with that big degree to take there time whne they want to.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would have fired them on the spot!

 

[bumcat]

Seven minutes? You've got to be kidding. I wonder if the dr. knows they are making you make another appt. I have found that sometimes drs. are clueless on what the receptionist does.

 

[Baboo]

Maybe the DR. was running so late, she figured that this would be a good way to find him some extra time.

 

[AMClvsMKY]

As late as doctor's usually run, I surprised they would know you were late. Unless you were the first appt of the day or the first after his/her lunch break

 

[Katie]

I work in a hosptial in a deparment when people have appointment times.

People show up hours later than their appointments...anything over 45 minutes..we make them reschedule! We can give the 45 minute window..because accidents do happend...but anything over 45 mintues..and bye bye

 

[disneygals]

Ugh! Same thing happened to me yesterday...15 mins late for my daughter's cavity filling. They were nice about it and I know it was my fault, just couldn't get the kids out of school and in the car fast enough. He said he didn't want to rush her, but he sure was standing around a lot and probably could have fit her in, just chose not to.

Luckily my other daughter was there to see the hygenist, so it wasn't a total waste.

7 mins for an already full waiting room is totally wrong, though!

Vivienne

 

[piratesmate]

45 minutes seems generous to me, but 7 minutes is ridiculous!

About 5 yrs ago I was 3 min late for a dentist appt. How they even knew, I'll never know! I was scheduled for a 15 min appt to simply permanently cement a crown. Evidently the next patient had arrived an hour early, so they took her while "waiting" for me. Hers was the last appt of the day & was for an hour! (I was coming from work & got stuck on a limited access highway,which is why I was late at all.) Long story - too complicated - but when I asked to reschedule for a Saturday as I'd had to leave work early to get there I was told "No, we save those appts for people who really need them."

I changed dentists. I wrote & told him that I was fed up with the garbage I'd been getting from the receptionist. He kept her for another 4 /12 yrs before firing her - for similar & other more serious offenses.

I left another doctor who regularly quadruple booked patients (he was well aware of it - not a reception problem) & would make you wait 2 to 2.5 hours every time. A friend went to interpret for a client & they had to wait nearly 3 hours. (This was an endocrinolgoist - NOT a surgeon.) She sent him a bill for the time. He didn't pay.

 

[mamajoan]

I do NOT complain if I have to wait for my doc.
She is a good doctor who takes the time to listen to her patients.
I figure that sometimes she takes more than the allotted 10-15 minutes per patient (HMO) with me to attend to my medical problems. Therefore I understand that other people also deserve the same attention. This will sometimes cause her to be running behind.

As for rescheduling patients who are late: Most medical offices have a reschedule policy for patients who are late or miss their appointments. 7 minutes is a bit harsh. When working in private practice Therapy clinics we tried to keep our schedule efficient. However it seemed that ALWAYS on FRIDAY AFTERNOON... people were late, very late. Did I reduce their treatment time?-nope. Did I scold them for being late?-yup. Hec, I liked going home on time too.

 

[swanmom]

Mamajoan,
Not being an instigator here but .... no one here is complaining about waiting for the doctor (except piratesmate who 'voted with her feet' and got a new doctor.) In fact, I agree with you that the time a doctor expects an appointment to take can be thrown off for any number of reasons. What started this thread was arrogant or rude behavior on the part of office staff towards patients who are a 'few minutes' late for an appointment. No one is arguing that patients should be seen whenever they manage to show up. In my case, I said nothing to the doctor about a very long wait ... until I was 'reprimanded' the next time for being about 5 minutes late.

 

[browneyes]

7 minutes late? I would be mad.

I had to reschedule my ds's cast removal last week. The receptionist told me she could try to fit me in 1 day, but he was already 22 patients OVERBOOKED. No wonder I was waiting in the waiting room some days for over 2 hours! Luckily I rescheduled on a non-hectic day and only had to wait an hour in the waiting room (I was a few minutes early for my appointment, too ).

 

[Deb in IA]

Oh, DOCTOR BASHING is soooooooo much fun, isn't it?


I work at a major medical center with a state-supported hospital. We are VERY family friendly. For all of you who are ticked off at being sent away for being 3 minutes, 7 minutes, or 15 minutes late? Come on over to Iowa! We'll see you!!


I personally have seen patients who were 3 HOURS late. Better yet, I have seen patients who CAME ON THE WRONG DAY .

Doctors are extremely tightly scheduled these days. Just ask anyone in CA, where (mis)managed care reigns supreme. Also, patients frequently check-in EARLY (wow, what a concept!). So, how would you feel if you checked in 15 minutes EARLY for your appointment, and then someone who came 5 minutes LATE for theirs went ahead of you????? How should the office staff/physician handle that?

And yes, mamajoan, sometimes doctors DO run over with certain patients. Sometimes there are actually EMERGENCIES (imagine that!) that doctors have to address, and will take more time to manage. I'm sure if any of YOU have a true emergency, YOU would want YOUR doctor to spend as much time as needed to take care of you, instead of saying, "Well, sorry you are bleeding all over the floor, but my 3:15 is here, and I've got to go . . ."

Speaking of which, my next patient is here . . .

 

[RitaZ.]

It's possible that the doctor doesn't know that this happened. I would bring it up to his attention at the next appointment. If it's still bothering you call the office and ask to speak to the office manager and explain what happened.

When I go to my doctor, if there is a delay the receptionist tells me when I sign in. I really don't mind waiting because my doctor takes his time with me (he does the same with the other patients). For my kids' pediatrician, the longest I ever waited was 25 minutes due to an emergency (a child had to be admitted to the hospital). When the pediatrician came in he apologized for the delay, which I didn't feel was necessary. I have been going to this practice since my first child was born. I love them!

 

[TheLionKing]

Deb, did someone strike a nerve?

I tend to agree that 7 minutes late is not that bad. With a room full of patients, I agree that the receptionist was looking for an excuse to make you reschedule so that the day would flow a little easier.

There are many reasons why doctors can run late. For me, it happened yesterday. A procedure which normally takes 90 minutes took 165 minutes. The hospital room was running late so rather than an 11 AM start time, I got a 12 noon start time. The appointment was for 2 PM originally. When I started, I thought I was safe until the procedure time went beyond the average. I rushed over to the office 35 minutes late, and the patient left 5 minutes before I got there. I felt bad for the patient.

Physicians with only office practices book their office like the airlines. There is an average number of people who will not make their appointments. Sometimes they guess right but other times everyone shows up and the office is full.

This does not excuse the receptionist for being rude to you.

This is my personal opinion, but I think part of the reason that offices are full is that physician reimbursment rates are lower so doctors need to see more patients to cover their expenses and maintain their "lifestyle". Granted, there are people out there who think the "lifestyle" they lead is unwarranted. But we can always discuss this on the debate board.

 

[mamajoan]

Sorry swanmom, I did notice on this thread people were bothered if they had to wait for the doc. That is why I stated my reason for not complaining when the doc was running behind schedule. I do not like being treated rudely either. The only way to combat that situation is to speak with the office manager. Hopefully that will clear up any problems.

Dr. Deb.. girl you cracked me up.. I was thinking the same thing!
If I am ever in Iowa I will hobble over to see you!

 

[Talking Hands]

Originally posted by piratesmate
A friend went to interpret for a client & they had to wait nearly 3 hours. (This was an endocrinolgoist - NOT a surgeon.) She sent him a bill for the time. He didn't pay. [/B]

That would be the last time I would interpret for that doctor. Around here we have a 2 hour minimum for interpreters. Doctors are notorius for not respecting the time of other professionals. I bet it gets around the interpreting circles that that doctor is a deadbeat. And yes I know about confidentiality but no pay is another issue.

 

[GEM]

Yesterday I had an appointment to see my doctor at 10:15a.m. As I sat there waiting, I found out that five other people in the waiting room also had 10:15a.m. appointments - with the same doctor! Well, it was 10:40a.m. before they finally called my name and almost another half an hour before the doctor actually came in to see me. She spent about three minutes with me and was gone. That's the way it always seems to work. Maybe if they didn't schedule so many people for the same time slot, we wouldn't get stuck waiting so long.

I'd absolutely flip out if the receptionist said I had to come back another day because I was a few minutes late. I've probably spent 12 hours just sitting and waiting in my doctor's waiting room - and that's just this month. If I can wait an hour for her, she can certainly wait a few minutes for me.