<p>I’ve waited through a few emergencies. I don’t mind that much. With my last obgyn, it was a norm to wait an hour on a regular scheduled visit. Last time I was there, after keeping us wait for an hour, he had to cancel everyone because of an emergency. I asked for a refund of co-pay and left for good. He also cut other patients if his colleague’s wife comes in for a check up.</p>
<p>mommaj… it isnt a lack of regard for patients as human beings…it s not as though they are running off to go play golf or something…they are treating patients who unfortunately dont always have problems that fit a time slot. we have patients call ahead and we can tell them right now we are on schedule…but who knows what happens i that next 30 minutes…that in fact happened on monday… I have known my H to spend 2 hours with one patient</p>
<p>^That is true, but I think that some docs also schedule several people for the same time slot when they know that they can’t possibly see them all at the same time. I do believe this is done to make them “look busy” to create patient confidence in that doctor, and to just line up everyone so if a few patients should be “no shows” the doctor is not kept waiting either. JMO. Of course not all doctors do this, but some do.</p>
<p>I had an ob gyn for 20+ years, he delivered both of my kids. He never took insurance because he didn´t want the hassle. He never had more than one other patient in the waiting room whenever I was there, and I never had to wait for more than few minutes. His office called me once or twice because of emergency delivery. HIs claim to fame was he delivered all of his babies, never used a back up. He said his record was to come back from Fire Island to NYC 3 times in one weekend due to a pregnant woman´s false alarm.</p>
<p>I think most patients understand that emergencies happen and that sometimes a doctor’s schedule gets knocked a-kilter through no fault of his/her own. But my W has had surgery at a group practice (one of the largest in suburban Chicago) where they post on an overhead screen exactly where each doctor is on the schedule. So if your doc is running an hour behind, you know it as soon as you walk in. If you give the desk a cell phone number, you can go to the cafeteria, and they will call you a few minutes before the doctor is ready to see you.</p>
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<p>Yes, things happen. The key is - does the front desk staff proactively communicate to the patients what the wait times are? Or is the front desk staff attitude that “they’ll come see me if they are tired of waiting or want to know what the status is”? If I go to a doctor, I will make sure I assert myself if it’s been a wait, and repeat several times if need be to ensure they know that I’ve been here since 10 am and it’s now 10:430, etc. I treat it as though I’m sure they find the delay just as unacceptable as I do.</p>
<p>Northeastmom, “The docs” in the vast majority of practices are not in charge of their schedules. The HMO, or whoever owns the practice is in charge. And yes, there are double bookings because that is the most efficient way to run the business, as determined by the business administrators. I doubt that you will find any doctors who feel that this is the best way to run a practice, but someone has determined that it is the best way to run a business.</p>
<p>By the way, the other end of this “how long do you wait” thread, is “how long should the doctor wait” for the patient who “got caught in traffic”, “had a family emergency”, “couldn’t get a sitter”, or any number of the thousand excuses that any physician’s front office has heard through the years?</p>
<p>Major back up in schedules occur in trying to accomodate those patients. And I know, I know. no CCer would dream of showing up 30 or 40 minutes late without calling to let the doctor’s office know, but a lot of people do it every day.</p>
<p>Silly me…everytime I look at this thread I think it’s going to be talking about how long to wait before leaving when dropping a college student off!</p>
<p>^ Me, too.</p>
<p>Thumper, I thought so too!</p>
<h1>16: I have NO PROBLEM with unique stuff that comes up in medicine. Doctor behind for whatever important medical situation that unexpectedly arises. Stuff happens. So tell me when I come in or better yet, have your staff call to tell us s/he’s running way behind (that is what my old OBGYN used to do).</h1>
<p>There is a gigantic difference between the doctor who runs into unexpected time glitches <em>on occasion</em> and communicates that to patients when it happens, and the doctors who as routine of every single day, just seem to not give a darn. It is just how they disrespectfully operate: everyone always waits, and they are completely indifferent to the fact that many in the waiting room also have professions (or kids or whatever) to get back to. If you are a doctor and that is your day EVERY DAY you need to reduce your patient load or spread them out to account for the fact that yes, everyday by 9am you are ‘running late’. </p>
<p>Fortunately I have a doctor that is almost aways on schedule yet seems to always make time. I know if she were running late, I’d adjust my day accordingly.</p>
<p>Or expand your hours. H’s office is open til 9 pm four nights a week (he takes 2 of those nights and his partner takes the other 2), plus Saturdays. That just seems like common sense - working women can’t just take off the afternoon for appointments. I am amazed how many doctors don’t work those kinds of hours, and just keep a 9 - 5 routine. Poor customer service, IMO.</p>
<p>I go to a physician practice affiliated with a large teaching hospital. They have a diverse clientele, many of which are low-income. I am always amazed at the excellent service I receive from every employee, from clerks to physicians. I never wait more than five or ten minutes for an appointment. They also have weekend and evening hours. Every person is extremely cheerful and pleasant, and the doctors know their business.</p>
<p>Now, dentists I could say some things about. Like, please explain to me why my son’s orthodontist was open almost exclusively during the hours that kids were in school? And snotty about it when I asked if they had evening hours. All the staff seemed to have fake smiles and fake personalities. I was certainly glad when I didn’t have to deal with those bossy (w)itches anymore. (Lol, I didn’t realize I felt this way until I typed it. But I feel better now.)</p>
<p>When the kids were little, the pediatrician’s receptionist clued me in… pick the first morning appt or first appt after lunch if scheduling is critical. They often ran late.</p>
<p>^^ I’ve been doing that for years. It saves a lot of frustration.</p>
<p>Most of my doctors are specialists out if state 90 minutes away. Usually they run on time or close to it. </p>
<p>Recently, I showed up early for my 11:00 appointment. I checked in at reception, and sat down to wait. At 11:30 I asked if they remembered I was there, and was told the doctor was running “a little behind”. At noon, I went to check again, and was taken to an exam room. At 12:30, I was in tears and went to check again, only to be told by the folks at the desk that “my” doctors staff had gone for the day and they didn’t know if my doctor was even still in the building. I totally lost it!</p>
<p>I guess my doctor heard me and came out to see what was going on. It turns out she had been told I had a 2:00 appointment, and was staying late to see ME! She had no idea I was in the room waiting for her!</p>
<p>She kept apologizing to me, and things went well after that. I kept the doctor, and the doctor didn’t keep the receptionist. </p>
<p>I’ve found in many cases, it’s the staff that makes the difference. Years ago at one practice where we loved the doctor but not the waiting, we let him know that we routinely waited 30 minutes or more. They changed their procedures, and now we almost never wait (and the waiting room is never packed anymore)</p>
<p>So I agree that communication is key. Some busy doctors don’t gave any idea how long patients wait. They just keep going to the “next” patient.</p>
<p>I agree with the communication being the key. I’ve seen the same ob/gyn for 20 years. When I was having problem scheduling appts, I mentioned to his nurse who let the office mgr know. Like any business, sometimes the right hand is not aware of the left hand. If you don’t see any improvement after letting them know the issues, then there IS a problem.</p>
<p>BTW, I called to see my GP last year to see about getting a B12 shot and found out that I had been “let go” as a patient because I had not been to see him in 4 years. Didn’t need to, had not been sick. They said that I could petition him as a new patient if I wanted. That is not an option for me.</p>
<p>Like, please explain to me why my son’s orthodontist was open almost exclusively during the hours that kids were in school?"</p>
<p>Laziness. That’s why. Lack of customer service orientation.</p>
<p>I think communication helps up to a point. If they say Doc is running late every time you go, it doesn’t help. When I left my last doctor, they communicated. For three years, at every checkup they said Doc is running late. It would be hours before I get to see him for five minutes to be told all is well.</p>
<p>What a coinky-dink! – There was an article linked to on my MSN homepage this morning about this very topic, which I read before coming to CC:
[Why</a> are doctors always late? - 1 - Health Topics - MSN Health & Fitness](<a href=“MSN”>MSN)</p>
<p>How hard is it for the receptionist to tell you the doctor is running half an hour late when you sign in so that you can run errands? I had one doctor who actually called me at home and asked if I could come in later. </p>
<p>My dermatologist OTOH never makes me wait, but she barely answers my questions now either. She used to be chattier and make small talk. You can tell they are under a lot of pressure.</p>
<p>I had a great experience yesterday. I’d gone to have the initial consulting for some minor surgery and they said, “Actually this shouldn’t take long and we aren’t busy, do you want us to do it now?” I was happy to oblige particularly since I’ve had this surgery before (but with a different doctor) and know the routine.</p>