So, we see this thread every month or so. For me it was the dentist, not the doctor. It’s my first appointment with them, scheduled for 10am. I took a wrong turn, so i show up at 9:58 instead of the planned 10 minutes early. Oops, but hey, still early right?
It wouldn’t have mattered at my old dentist, a small operation with fairly minimal paperwork. Here, however, it takes them 10 minutes to even get me the paperwork. I’m fast, done with it in 5. And then the waiting begins…
It’s a large clinic. many people are in the waiting room and i get the sense they’ve been there awhile. It’s not until a bit after 11 that my name gets called. Then they take xrays, then there is more waiting, then the dentist shows up. He pokes and prods and tells me that my teeth are perfectly fine. Total elapsed time, about a minute. Then i get sent to a hygienist (i was in for a cleaning). she scraps, brushes, etc. total elapsed time, about 20 minutes. I’m finally out of there at about 11:35.
I talked to some of the staff while I was waiting. They overbook. They do it intentionally. Inconsiderate *@#$s.
Oh, and talk shows: Tyra Banks was on in the waiting room. I spent an hour listening to psychics use automatic writing to give relationship advice. Bah. Who willingly watches those shows? And who goes on them?
So it’s okay for you to be late but the doctor damn well better be on time? I work in a doctor’s office, and when patient after patient is 10, 15 or more minutes late, and they all think, “oh, hey, no big deal”, well, it adds up, and the doctor will get behind, or you may have to wait because the next patient after you came in on time and was seen first. And a surprising amount of people just don’t show up for their appointments. The doctors have contracts with the insurance companies and need to see a certain number of patients each day, not to mention overhead and insurance to pay for. If you don’t like the system, lobby your representatives for changes in the medical system, or voice your complaints directly to the doctor. I and the other staff have nothing to do with it- we just work there.
I can’t defend their choice of entertainment. I wouldn’t be able to take that and I don’t even work in the reception area.
No, he came in two minutes before his appointment time, instead of the required 10 minutes before. My office needs 15. It takes time to do your paperwork and things- so you’re actually missing your appointment time, which in the op’s case was 10:00.
Waiting at doctor’s offices is just a fact of life, people. I don’t like it either, but I don’t have that many doctor’s appointments and I just take a morning or afternoon off and plan to wait a long time. If I don’t have to, then it’s a bonus.
I imagine your office also tells patients to be X minutes early; this one mentioned no such policy. Also I did try to show up ten minutes in advance and shit happened. More importantly, 5 minutes with of paperwork doesn’t justify an hour’s delay. Especially when the staff confirms that they are always behind and deliberately overbook; the problem on their side is not accident but policy.
Yes, but it’s not their policy- it’s the doctors or whoever owns the practice. I’m not saying you were bitchy to the staff, but if you were, stop doing that. It’s not their fault- speak to the doctor about it. We get sick of being abused because of your waits. I can’t help how fast the doctor moves, and some problems take longer than others. I can assure you that if you’re ever the long-problem patient, the doctor will stay with you as long as he needs to. I often wait an hour or two for my own doctor, and like I said, I don’t like it, but it does seem, from all the offices I’ve visited and worked in, that long waits happen. Meh.
And then there are the days where the doctor has a light schedule and half the people don’t show up because there’s a little snow coming down or something. (This is Chicago, people.) Then some of them call up to reschedule and whine about how they have serious problems that need to be seen within days, not the typical weeks, and the doctor caves in on some of them - especially because they don’t want to guess wrong and actually have a patient have something go terribly awry.
Tell the doctor if you don’t like their booking policy, preferably that very day. I see way too many people who abuse the staff for things that aren’t their fault or decision, and then act just fine with the doctor.
This is crap. The appointment time is the time to show up. If he shows up before the appointment time, he’s early. If he needs to be there “10 minutes early” to fill out paperwork then the appointment is at 9:50, not 10.
Idiots who can’t figure out how to build the paperwork into the scheduled appointment are the problem.
I’ve booked appoints to be the first patient of the day and still cooled my heels in the waiting room for half an hour.
And I’ve been in the waiting room when someone else comes in half an hour late for their appointment and heard the receptionist tell them they would have to wait until they could be worked in or reschedule. I really hated moving away from that one.
My dentist is the only medical professional I’ve ever had that keeps his appointments within 2-3 minutes of schedule. However, he actually forbids certain programs from being shown on his individual dentist chair TVs. In particular, Oprah is not allowed. I found that rather amusing.
I must say you are working and visiting very inconsiderate and non professional medical offices.
I’ve been in medical administration and consulting for 20 years and the optimal wait time goal is 15 minutes from waiting room to being seen by the first clinician (MA, Nurse, PA etc). Sometimes there are emergencies but to have the attitude that this is the way it is, deal with it… isn’t going to make it any better.
The most consistant mistake I have seen is that many offices tend to overbook to allow for no shows. When everyone shows up…chaos. The provider prefers that over sitting around but guess what? In a customer service industry (and yes, medicine is customer service based), the customers needs and wants should be the priority.
It is unfortunate that you have this attitude because I like to see my staff treat our patients like they would want to be treated and it seems you have no problem waiting for an hour or two.
I personally, leave after 30 minutes unless I have been specifically told of an emergency and the exact wait time. The provider’s insurance negotiation skills regarding contracts are not the patients’ problem. The patient is paying for a service and is expecting it in a reasonable amount of time.
I agree that it is the administrator’s or provider’s fault if they are the one that sets the schedule but it is the obligation of the staff to inform those people if patients are unhappy with the services they are receiving.
Then something weird is going on. I can understand the whole appointment taking an hour, but the hygenic portion should be 15-25 minutes. More is just plain weird.
Our dearly beloved Eve once posted advice on here I’ve never forgotten: If there is excessive wait time, check in with the receptionist saying, “I’m sorry I can’t wait any longer” and leave.
Obviously if you are desperate to be seen for some acute condition this wouldn’t apply… you are at their mercy, and the wait time is a small price to pay. But for routine appts and checkups and the like, I simply don’t see the point of waiting and waiting and waiting.
That said, I’ve been in a situation where I’ve used it only once: I was at a dentist for a surgical “follow-up” (there were no complications or pain or anything), and I waited in the chair for 45 minutes past appt. time. I took off the bib, told the receptionist I couldn’t wait anymore and left-- I just did not want to sit there in-fucking-definitely. Personally, I think I’d be justified after 30 minutes; less than that I can handle a bit of a wait. I’m not rude or anything; it’s all business, and that’s cool.