# How to see a Dr faster **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 21, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345 "2022-07-21T21:19:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/1 "2022-07-21T21:19:11Z")
If you have been waiting for 20+ minutes tell them you want to reschedule For me this moves me to the top of the list. I’ve only done it around 4 times but it worked for all 4. They don’t want to reschedule. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/2 "2022-07-21T21:41:37Z")
Well, I’m going to disagree. I am on the other side of that equation and we’ll re-schedule your ass in a heartbeat. mmm ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/3 "2022-07-21T21:41:45Z")
I’ve never had to wait long for a scheduled doctor’s appointment, but if I were kept waiting more than 15 minutes or so I’d go up and tell the receptionist they were losing me as a patient, then I’d follow through. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/4 "2022-07-21T21:42:38Z")
The receptionist does not care, trust me. mmm ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/5 "2022-07-21T21:44:44Z")
Fine, but my time has value. If I make an appointment for 2 pm, I expect to be seen at 2 pm unless there’s one helluva excuse. ETA: I’m telling her to be polite, instead of just walking out. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/6 "2022-07-21T21:46:15Z")
My Dr’s office has a sign instructing patients to speak to the receptionist if they’ve waited more than 15minutes. I’ve never had to, and I’ve never seen anyone else do so either. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/7 "2022-07-21T21:48:26Z")
I understand. Also, the lateness is often due to overbooking rather than some emergency going on. When they overbook they count on some folks not showing up. When everyone does come, everyone waits. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/8 "2022-07-21T21:58:23Z")
By “waiting,” do you mean waiting in the reception area, until they escort you to an exam room? Or, including the extra waiting in the exam room? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/9 "2022-07-21T22:01:26Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > Or, including the extra waiting in the exam room? They learned this trick from Disneyland. ---
**Author:** ![Twoflower](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/twoflower/32/22_2.png) [@Twoflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twoflower)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/10 "2022-07-21T22:02:15Z")
So, you want the doc to work on a strict, inflexible, pre-determined schedule? And if the next patient’s appointment time arrives while you’re still discussing something, it’s ok with you if the doc just gets up and walks out? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/11 "2022-07-21T22:04:13Z")
For any medical appointment of procedure, I always ask for the first appointment in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/12 "2022-07-21T22:22:48Z")
I’ve a doctor who is frequently late to appointments because the practice tends to schedule one every 15 minutes; but this doctor genuinely listens and asks questions to figure out what is going on, so it usually takes more than 15 minutes. They also don’t gaslight patients, which is a lovely thing. (Friend of a friend is currently dying, quickly, of stage 4 cancer of some sort. Had been to see a doctor multiple times only to be told it was just indigestion or something equally innocuous. By the time they did real tests, it was too late.) Anyway, I will _wait_ for this doctor because having a doctor who cares enough to take as much time as necessary to figure out what’s going on is worth a _whole lot_ to me. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/13 "2022-07-21T22:33:33Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > For any medical appointment of procedure, I always ask for the first appointment in the day. Ditto. That was going to be my advice, too. It’s like getting stuck in traffic. A little delay here, a little delay there, and pretty soon you are stuck in the back of the pack. Even if a doctor is just going a few minutes over for each patient it might mean that a person being seen in the late afternoon has a significant wait. Get ahead of that by being at the front of the queue! ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/14 "2022-07-21T22:41:15Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Anyway, I will _wait_ for this doctor because having a doctor who cares enough to take as much time as necessary to figure out what’s going on is worth a _whole lot_ to me. This. I will wait for my ob/gyn because she listens, is an excellent doc and often schedules her surgery for morning and appts in the afternoon. I have been one of the patients who’s unexpectedly-complicated surgeries made her late to afternoon appointments. I will wait over an hour for her if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/15 "2022-07-21T22:41:49Z")
First appointment after lunch is also a pretty good time. > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If you have been waiting for 20+ minutes tell them you want to reschedule This would get you rescheduled in our office, too. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/16 "2022-07-21T23:32:41Z")
I select doctors who spend as much time with each patient as the patient wants. So if there’s nothing much, my appointment is quick, but if I have weird uncomfortable whatever, the doctor takes the time to listen to me and answer my questions. My doctors always run late. I assume the two are related. I just plan for my appointment with my GP will take longer than booked. I’m always pleasantly surprised when I see an eye doctor or something and they are running on-time. (And yes, if my schedule is tight, I try for the first appointment of the morning.) ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/17 "2022-07-21T23:50:49Z")
My doctor’s assistant or nurse will escort me immediately into the examination room. Then I often wait 15-20 minutes for the doctor. I’d rather wait in the waiting room, it’s warmer there. This happens when I am the first appointment, or the first one after lunch, or at any other time. I’ve never complained, and I have no idea what he’s doing or why it takes so long to get him into the room with me. I have apparently accepted this as normal. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/18 "2022-07-21T23:54:23Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Fine, but my time has value. If I make an appointment for 2 pm, I expect to be seen at 2 pm unless there’s one helluva excuse. My brother once, after waiting in reception a very long time for a very late appointment, responded when called to see the doctor, “Sorry, I just started reading a really interesting article in this magazine. You go back to your room and wait and I’ll come and see you when I’m finished.” Some of the other patients applauded. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/19 "2022-07-21T23:58:47Z")
> [@Twoflower](#): > > So, you want the doc to work on a strict, inflexible, pre-determined schedule? And if the next patient’s appointment time arrives while you’re still discussing something, it’s ok with you if the doc just gets up and walks out? So you won’t mind sitting in the exam room for an extra half hour or more because the doctor overbooked? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345/20 "2022-07-21T23:59:37Z")
If you’re in the emergency room you’ll get in faster if you’re bleeding. So take a knife with you in case it’s crowded. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-see-a-dr-faster/968345.md?page=2)