<snort> ivyglass is going through a career change.
She is now an orifice worker.
Well, the doctor is unavailable.
I left an “urgent” message with the office manager…I haven’t heard back yet, and that was about quarter after nine.
This is why I love my GP. Generally the time I spend with him is longer than my wait. I rarely wait more than 10 minutes from my appointment time to see him and he always spends at least 15 minutes talking to me. I think he’s great.
His office staff, on the other hand, are a bunch of rude, snotty little bitches.
I have no problem with complaining directly to the person who kept me waiting. It’s caused me to change doctors, dentists, vets, and other things too.
Why? Why do I invariably have to wait at the doctor’s office? The doctors and their staff are quite capable of arranging the workload to not keep the majority of their patients waiting every single day. There is no good reason for this to be the rule rather than the exception.
My most excellent dentist retired this year. Prior to his retirement, I did not have to wait for my appointments, or sit around waiting for the dentist after the hygenist did her work, or worry about not getting adequate time with the dentist. He took on a partner and then sold the practice to him and retired. The new dentist immediately fired all the staff and changed the way the practice worked, including overbooking patients, resulting in waits. There were other service issues due to getting rid of the excellent staff that had been there. It didn’t take long for mr.stretch and I to decide to change dentists. And I let the guy know exactly why he was losing me as a patient and why I would no longer be referring folks to the practice. I now have a new dentist. One of my requirements for medical practioners is that they understand the value of my time.
Occasional emergencies do mess up a doctor’s schedule. Happens to me too. But when I walk in the office on time for my appointment, that’s the time to let me know that things are running behind and I may have an extended wait. Then don’t be surprised if I decide that I would be better served to re-schedule in non-emergent situations. That’s to everyone’s benefit.
Oh, I could go on and on; crap service anywhere is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Oh, yes. 
Yeah, well, they do make the big bucks, and I sometimes take the “suck it up” attitude with them myself; but usually more so when they harsh on folks like my mom (who are in the same boat, and are working just as hard) in frustration. I guess I have a partisan attitude in that regard.
Suffuce to say, though, that, esp. in primary care these days, it sucks all around, and the frustration is warranted. It seems quite possible that nobody is having a particularly healthful experience some days, be they patients of practitioners. I lay the blame largely on the managed care system as it exists, but that’s just me.
Should have been “be they patients or practitioners”.
The office manager called me back.
Right off I told her I was not sure if she was the person I should talk to, then I explained the situation.
She said that what I was explaining to her was not correct.
:mad:
I responded that that was what my father experienced.
She said that what happened to my father was terrible, but there was a little more to the story.
Apparently, my father’s MRI results had not been received, so the doctor told the “girl” to reschedule for today (Tuesday). Which she did, but didn’t bother to tell my father or anyone else in the office. In fact, the office called Friday to remind my father about his appointment for Monday.
It was this same office manager who realized my father had been abandoned in the exam room, by seeing his card on the desk, and sent a nurse back to get him.
She said she would have no problem calling my father to apologize (she asked for the phone number) and said she would speak to the doctor about giving him his MRI results over the phone.
She said this should never have happened, she was most apologetic about it, and I assume steps will be taken to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
As long as my dad gets his MRI results without having to go back in, I shall be happy.
So, does this mean you aren’t fascinated by orifices anymore?
I am so grateful for my primary care doctor. I never wait longer than 10 minutes to be let into the examining room and she comes in immediately. I recently had a scare with a lump in my breast - I called the nurse and she said “I have an opening in two hours. Can you make it?” None of this waiting around, maybe we’ll see you, maybe we won’t business.
How is it that my current doctor can see me promptly, give me the answers I need, and give me excellent care when my previous doctor made me wait at least one hour and refused to even actually see some of his patients? He would send in a P.A. then the P.A. would run back to his office, get the OK, and come back to the patient. I never once laid eyes on the man.
I’m going to go bake cookies for my new, wonderful doctor.
No, what they did was eat the co-pay and not make me wait in the future.
No, I still am. In fact, I wish I had one. Instead, I’m stuck in this cubicle where anyone can bother me.