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Waiting At Doctor's Offices - When Did a Half an Hour Become Standard, an Hour De Rigueur? (1 Viewer)

I have thought, for years, that if we appear on time for an appointment and have to wait in excess of 30 minutes, we should be able to charge the provider for our time. 

Hey, if WE are late, THEY charge us, right?

 
Spike said:
I have thought, for years, that if we appear on time for an appointment and have to wait in excess of 30 minutes, we should be able to charge the provider for our time. 

Hey, if WE are late, THEY charge us, right?
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Exactly, man. And I understand things get hectic, but some offices book that way. It's become a trend. It hurts especially if you bill honest time for your day and don't have the perks of being salaried, e.g., you get paid by completed on-site job.

 
rockaction said:
I'm waiting to hear how Van Halen's 1984 is new wave. That'll make go ahead and jump.

Oow oh not you who said that baby how've you been?
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coming soon over there ...

# 3 Jump - Van Halen (1984)

known primarily for Eddie's guitar god virtuosity/brilliance, and punctuated by "Diamond Dave" with his yowling vocals, "Jump" ushered in the "New Wave" era of VH -  note the copious use of the synth!  second bananas Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony playfully join in - sounding much like early Echo and the Bunnymen's rhythm section - and the result is nothing short of a Thomas Dolby-espue romp ... repleat with New Wave-ish garb for all in the accompanying vid! (looking much like Patty Smyth & Scandal!) 

as short lived as this era was, Roth recalls it fondly: " i always slagged Elvis Costello because i always actually wanted to be Elvis Costello".

 
I've been told I'm in the minority on this one, but I won't wait more than 15 minutes past scheduled time for appointments.  Anything over that and I'm debating if a permanent change should be made.  If the location/individuals do not respect your time or are incapable of managing their schedule I'm certainly not feeling great about the quality of care that will be dispensed.

I've gone to the desk and cancelled after 15 minutes before (and told them why).  If you're in an area with numerous options I don't see the point in keeping those type of 'professionals' around.  Lucky to have the family doctor, dentist, etc we now do, but it took going through a few of these situations to find the right people.

 
I will raise your "wait" with a "double booking". 

This morning, I took my Mom to the doc for an 8:30 appointment. At 8:45, I asked about a time estimate. 

Reply: "The doc is with the other 8:30 first." 

So, we got a regular wait, plus an added "DOUBLE-BOOK-FU" wait. 

F dem! 

 
Man of Constant Sorrow said:
I will raise your "wait" with a "double booking". 

This morning, I took my Mom to the doc for an 8:30 appointment. At 8:45, I asked about a time estimate. 

Reply: "The doc is with the other 8:30 first." 

So, we got a regular wait, plus an added "DOUBLE-BOOK-FU" wait. 

F dem! 
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i used to ply this schtick with my girlfriends ... great way to get the 3sum ball rolling  :popcorn:

 
trader jake said:
I've been told I'm in the minority on this one, but I won't wait more than 15 minutes past scheduled time for appointments.  Anything over that and I'm debating if a permanent change should be made.  If the location/individuals do not respect your time or are incapable of managing their schedule I'm certainly not feeling great about the quality of care that will be dispensed.

I've gone to the desk and cancelled after 15 minutes before (and told them why).  If you're in an area with numerous options I don't see the point in keeping those type of 'professionals' around.  Lucky to have the family doctor, dentist, etc we now do, but it took going through a few of these situations to find the right people.
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Do you ask them if they know who you are and that you will not stand for this?

 
I figured out that otb autocorrect to toby on my phone. 

Toby. Hey, toby, you goin' to da track?

Sounds right.

 
I'm not a programmer, but back in 2008, I said someone should come up with an app where you can check in to your appointment at home.  And the app will show you how far the doctor is running behind schedule and give you an updated time if necessary to show up to your appointment.  We all have smartphones.  I think it would help doctor's offices also be able to fill in any free slots easier, too.  Everyone wins. 

 
TheIronSheik said:
I'm not a programmer, but back in 2008, I said someone should come up with an app where you can check in to your appointment at home.  And the app will show you how far the doctor is running behind schedule and give you an updated time if necessary to show up to your appointment.  We all have smartphones.  I think it would help doctor's offices also be able to fill in a y free slots easier, too.  Everyone wins. 
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You thought of that so people don't have to get into their crossover any earlier than usual, didn't you?

 
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People ##### when doctors rush in and out and dont actually converse with them. People ##### when doctors are running late. Which way do you want it? (Not asking the OP per se)

Much like Trader Jake, I guess Ive been lucky as I dont typically have to sit around long. 

 
My allergist once gave me a $5 Starbucks gift card because I had to wait something like 5-10 past my appointment time. They apologized multiple times for the wait. 
 

 
trader jake said:
I've been told I'm in the minority on this one, but I won't wait more than 15 minutes past scheduled time for appointments.  Anything over that and I'm debating if a permanent change should be made.  If the location/individuals do not respect your time or are incapable of managing their schedule I'm certainly not feeling great about the quality of care that will be dispensed.

I've gone to the desk and cancelled after 15 minutes before (and told them why).  If you're in an area with numerous options I don't see the point in keeping those type of 'professionals' around.  Lucky to have the family doctor, dentist, etc we now do, but it took going through a few of these situations to find the right people.
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You are not alone.  The exception that I make is when the office says that the doctor or dentist is working on an emergency.  

 
Cjw_55106 said:
People ##### when doctors rush in and out and dont actually converse with them. People ##### when doctors are running late. Which way do you want it? (Not asking the OP per se)
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And this isn't an either/or.  My doctors leave enough time for a proper consult.

 
i just make it as uncomfortable as possible for all involved ... staff/other patients/doc - i can be a right PiTA when i need to be - cursing in Italian helps, as does farting quite a bit.  loud/prtracted imaginary phone convos, etc ... plenty of schtick to quell this particular annoyance. 

toby don't play that waiting game ####. 

do likewise, gents (and gals)

 
Just start coughing loudly and complaining about how bad you've been feeling since returning from China.  Should clear out the whole place pretty quick 

 
My wife is a doctor (look at me).  That also means I know a lot of doctors.  When the doctor is running late, it is usually due to one of two things.

1) Several other patients throughout the day were late and things backed up from there.

2) Someone in front of you got REALLY bad news in their appointment and thus their appointment required more time.

I spent most of my life as an office guy like most here.  I think we have a real misunderstanding of what a doctor's typical day is like.  For me an 8 hour work day means I work a little, take a snack break, go to the bathroom, work a little more, chat around the water cooler, take an hour for lunch, etc.  The doctors I know do none of that.  My wife scarfs down a sandwich while walking from one room to the next on many days, sometimes goes the whole day without using the bathroom, and if she takes 5 minutes to shoot the #### with some co-workers it's a huge story at the dinner table (if she made it home in time for dinner) because it happens so rarely.  And she still rarely gets home before 7.

So yeah, next time you're sitting around in the waiting room browsing FBG on your phone for an extra 30 minutes at your wife's pregnancy check-up consider that there is a decent chance the reason for it is that the person 3 appointments in front of you just found out their baby was dead.  Then the doctor that you're mad at just had to break that horrible news to them and go through all the details and is going to be scrambling the rest of the day in their shattered mental state to try and get home in time to kiss their kids goodnight before bed.

 
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FreeBaGeL said:
My wife is a doctor (look at me).  That also means I know a lot of doctors.  When the doctor is running late, it is usually due to one of two things.

1) Several other patients throughout the day were late and things backed up from there.

2) (most common) Someone in front of you got REALLY bad news in their appointment and thus their appointment required more time.

I spent most of my life as an office guy like most here.  I think we have a real misunderstanding of what a doctor's typical day is like.  For me an 8 hour work day means I work a little, take a snack break, go to the bathroom, work a little more, chat around the water cooler, take an hour for lunch, etc.  The doctors I know do none of that.  My wife scarfs down a sandwich while walking from one room to the next on many days, sometimes goes the whole day without using the bathroom, and if she takes 5 minutes to shoot the #### with some co-workers it's a huge story at the dinner table (if she made it home in time for dinner) because it happens so rarely.  And she still rarely gets home before 7.

So yeah, next time you're sitting around in the waiting room browsing FBG on your phone for an extra 30 minutes at your wife's pregnancy check-up consider that the reason for that is most likely that the person 3 appointments in front of you just found out their baby was dead, and the doctor that you're mad at just had to break that news to them and go through all the details and is going to be scrambling all day in their shattered mental state to try and get home in time to kiss their kids goodnight before bed.
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It's this but much more.

Patients don't even have to be late. Their slotted time can run over because something else was discovered during the visit or there's more than one issue that then involves taking more time to do an exam, review previous visits/labs/exams. Or a phone call to a pharmacy or an insurance company. Or a new visit to the hospital to see a patient that was just admitted overnight wasn't planned for and caused a late arrival to the office. 

There is no way to plan or predict much of what causes delays. It's unfortunate but that is just the nature of healthcare in most settings.  It only takes 5 minutes extra one visit, 10 minutes on a phone call, and then everything starts backing up. What isn't happening is someone sitting in the back munching on bon bons while you wait. 

 
FreeBaGeL said:
My wife is a doctor (look at me).  That also means I know a lot of doctors.  When the doctor is running late, it is usually due to one of two things.

1) Several other patients throughout the day were late and things backed up from there.

2) Someone in front of you got REALLY bad news in their appointment and thus their appointment required more time.

I spent most of my life as an office guy like most here.  I think we have a real misunderstanding of what a doctor's typical day is like.  For me an 8 hour work day means I work a little, take a snack break, go to the bathroom, work a little more, chat around the water cooler, take an hour for lunch, etc.  The doctors I know do none of that.  My wife scarfs down a sandwich while walking from one room to the next on many days, sometimes goes the whole day without using the bathroom, and if she takes 5 minutes to shoot the #### with some co-workers it's a huge story at the dinner table (if she made it home in time for dinner) because it happens so rarely.  And she still rarely gets home before 7.

So yeah, next time you're sitting around in the waiting room browsing FBG on your phone for an extra 30 minutes at your wife's pregnancy check-up consider that there is a decent chance the reason for it is that the person 3 appointments in front of you just found out their baby was dead.  Then the doctor that you're mad at just had to break that horrible news to them and go through all the details and is going to be scrambling the rest of the day in their shattered mental state to try and get home in time to kiss their kids goodnight before bed.
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This is a really good post for perspective. Thanks for this.This is why nine in the morning appt. and being late is especially egregious, hence my times above.

But I'm still going to say that I hadn't thought of a baby's death. I just got diagnosed with something potentially bad. It took them forever to deal with me. I have to go in at 8:30 before they open all this week. I'm sure that I backed up the day of people.

All over innocuous-seeming physical results.

 
gianmarco said:
What isn't happening is someone sitting in the back munching on bon bons while you wait. 
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Nobody is saying this, and that's a straw man argument for why people are late to be seen.

Also, booking and taking ten minute phone calls should be baked into the schedule cake.

World don't run on doctor time. 

 
rockaction said:
Nobody is saying this, and that's a straw man argument for why people are late to be seen.

Also, booking and taking ten minute phone calls should be baked into the schedule cake.

World don't run on doctor time. 
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First, sorry to hear about your visit.

As to the bolded, use your visit as an example. Your results or findings or concerns may necessitate a call to another physician to consult or discuss the findings. Or schedule an urgent visit.  That's not something that can wait.

Or, the phone call is another physician calling (maybe from an ER about a patient that is there or from a different specially that needs to refer them over). 

Those can't be planned for. But they happen all the time and can't just be put off. And it only takes one to push an entire schedule back. It can happen as early as the first visit too (or before).

 
rockaction said:
This is a really good post for perspective. Thanks for this.This is why nine in the morning appt. and being late is especially egregious, hence my times above.

But I'm still going to say that I hadn't thought of a baby's death. I just got diagnosed with something potentially bad. It took them forever to deal with me. I have to go in at 8:30 before they open all this week. I'm sure that I backed up the day of people.

All over innocuous-seeming physical results.
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Hope everything’s OK man.

 
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