# Cell Phones in Doctor's Offices

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-doctors-offices/502118>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 6, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-doctors-offices/502118 "2009-07-06T19:46:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-doctors-offices/502118/41 "2012-04-12T18:21:04Z")

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For causing me to learn the word “nugatory,” you’re forgiven for bumping an almost three-year-old thread.

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**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Cornholio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Cornholio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Cornholio)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-doctors-offices/502118/42 "2012-04-12T18:40:39Z")

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> [@Freudian\_Slit](#):
>
> I’ve also heard ushers tell people to put their cell phones off at Broadway shows–not on silent but off, because of special effects/stuff backstage. Is that similar? (To the medical equipment, not to the issue of talking.)

Some comms units are particularly susceptible to mobile phone interference. This is pretty annoying when you are listening to hushed instructions or cues from the show caller, and what’s coming from the stage, and all the while you can hear across the comms line the tones of mobile phones hunting for signal, all because some tosspot NEEDS to be looking at his text messages (even though his boss has specifically asked all phones to be OFF, not put into silent mode, the moment he walked onto the stage). Conferences - gotta love 'em.

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**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-doctors-offices/502118/43 "2012-04-12T18:46:21Z")

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I go weekly to get allergy shots, which have a 30 minute wait every time. Usually I bring my Kindle, but you can bet your ass if I forget it, I may pull out my cell phone and text someone. I never talk on it. Why not just limit it to “no talking on cell phones”, and address individual offenders? because we’re too scared as a society to say “I need your undivided attention, please.”

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [April 12, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-in-doctors-offices/502118/44 "2012-04-12T22:55:37Z")

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[QUOTE=Freudian Slit]  
I’ve also heard ushers tell people to put their cell phones off at Broadway shows–not on silent but off, because of special effects/stuff backstage.  
[/QUOTE]

I’ve witnessed it myself - I was as a performance of (IIRC) _Big River_ when out of nowhere, the distinctive tukka-tukka-tukka of a Nextel phone filled the auditorium, presumably belonging to someone in the front rows, where they’d be near the wireless microphone receivers.

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