# Waiting for the doctor - how long is too long? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348 "2011-01-28T23:21:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/61 "2011-02-01T22:06:37Z")
I think “surgeries” means something different across the pond, **irishgirl**. Here it means invasive medical procedures, generally the kind you’d need an operating room for. Makes 10 minutes seem awfully rushed…and impressive! 😃 Wouldn’t it make more sense to put the open cases at the END of the day? I mean, what happens if you get so backed up with opens that you bump into your scheduled appointments? Won’t that throw all the appointments off schedule? Two pediatricians ago, they did the same thing: walk-ins (no appointment required) in the morning and scheduled appointments starting at 10. Ish. They were pretty good about starting the 10:00 at 10:10 or so, but it seemed to snowball in lateness throughout the day. I always wondered why they didn’t do walk-ins at, say, 3, and just lock the doors when they’d had enough. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/62 "2011-02-01T22:41:16Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It was a nasty winter in Seattle and I had a bad case of pneumonia…and I was homeless at the time. I stumbled into the Urgency Care ward at the city hospital, coughing up grey and red, and an hour later they brought me back and told me to strip and put the gown on, which I did. I sat on that bed and waited. And waited. And waited. > Four hours and twenty five minutes I waited in that cold cubby hole. No offense, but it’s not like you have an important appointment that you can’t be late for. Dude, you were homeless. So you had to sit in the waiting room for four and a half hours waiting for the medical care someone else paid for. Would it have been better if they zipped you thru so you could go convalesce in the park? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/63 "2011-02-01T22:43:55Z")
Surgery- Can mean a doctor’s surgery, as in the building in which you practice, or even the room within the building in which you see patients. Can mean the specialty in which one cuts people up. Can mean the period of time one sees patients- a “morning surgery” may run from 9am-11am, an “afternoon surgery” would be 3pm-5pm. Context is all. The reason you have open surgeries (umm, “un-booked consultation windows” does that sound American?) in the am is because walk-ins generally tend to be _sick_ people, who should really be seen and sorted out as soon in the working day as possible. If you can book an appointment in advance you are more likely to be coming to discuss a chronic issue (contraception, infertility, depression, high blood pressure) and the expectation is that you won’t need to be packed off to hospital or need to start a course of treatment immediately. The practice I am going to has 5000ish patients and 8 doctors. In two hours 8 doctors could see somewhere around 100 patients or about 2% of the practice population, given that the majority of open slots will be the “quick and easy” type, rather than the “long and complex”. The chances of 100 patients actually turning up on any given day…not high. Also, the booked appointments start at 3pm, so you’d have to be running REALLY late for the open surgery to delay your appointments. The NHS gives access targets to GPs here. One has to be able to see a GP within 48hrs (not necessarily your own named Dr, but a doctor within that practice), also one has to be available to see patients between 9am and 5pm- locking the doors isn’t an option, nor is refusing to see walk-ins. Open surgeries aim to confine the crazy to the morning, and allow you time to catch up before the booked appointments arrive. If you had opens in the evening you’d have sick people lying in bed all day who should be on treatment or in hospital, then turning up at 5pm and you having to arrange hospital admission or an ambulance outside of normal 9-5 working hours. There honestly is method to the madness. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/64 "2011-02-01T22:47:12Z")
> [@irishgirl](#): > > Open surgeries aim to confine the crazy to the morning, and allow you > time to catch up before the booked appointments arrive. If you had opens in the evening you’d have sick people lying in bed all day who should be on treatment or in hospital, then turning up at 5pm and you having to arrange hospital admission or an ambulance outside of normal 9-5 working hours. > > There honestly is method to the madness. That does make sense. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/65 "2011-02-02T00:37:45Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I’ve actually had \*shorter \*waits at health department clinics and offices servicing primarily Medicaid patients than private offices, on average. I have no idea why. this has definitely not been my experience. i don’t have medicaid, though(i was told i wouldn’t qualify unless i was disabled or had kids, neither of which apply) so maybe that’s why there’s a difference. it’s similar, as my office visits and prescriptions are covered, but the program is run by the county rather than the state. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/66 "2011-02-02T02:21:48Z")
I’ll make a lot of allowances for someone who is apt to see unexpected things that really can’t be put off. Things that really can’t be put off, however, are pretty rare–deliveries, uncontrolled bleeding, someone having to be put in the hospital _right now_ or coding. And I jolly well expect someone to give me the bare bones of what the holdup is so I know it’s a legitimate emergency. Or, you know, just tell me that you’re having one of those days where nothing quite goes as planned and you’re just plain running behind. I have those days myself, so I’m not to begrudge you having one as long as you’re honest with me about how far behind you are. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/67 "2011-02-02T03:26:51Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No offense, but it’s not like you have an important appointment that you can’t be late for. > > Dude, you were homeless. So you had to sit in the waiting room for four and a half hours waiting for the medical care someone else paid for. Would it have been better if they zipped you thru so you could go convalesce in the park? I wasn’t sitting in the warm waiting room with the magazines and television for four and a half hours-I was stuck in a cold closet/examination room with nothing on but a tissue-thin backwards gown, coughing my damn lungs out. At least I had clothes on before I entered that purgatory. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/68 "2011-02-02T12:57:14Z")
And you were eager to get back on the street. Why? Was it warmer there? Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/69 "2011-02-02T17:23:37Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > I’m incredibly particular about doctors and I sniff out incompetence quickly. In my immediate family there are 5, more in my extended family. If your doctor can see you for a regularly schedule appointment within the next week and is 1) not new to the area 2) not a recent graduate, your doctor is likely incompetent or has a terrible bedside manner. This only goes for physicians in the US, and I’m not familiar with Tricare. I don’t think you can make those generalities as you have not met every physician in the US. I’ve had (2) PCPs since I’ve lived in Phoenix. Both of them were/are 1) not new to the area, 2) not recent graduates, 3) not incompetent, and 4) had excellent bedside manners. The first was a little busier than my current, but at most I waited 30 minutes from signing in to seeing him, usually less than that. I could get an appointment same day/next day if I needed one and never made me feel like I was being rushed out of the room. I only switched because he moved back to Canada. My current PCP is even better than my first (and that was a tall order). I never wait more than 10 minutes before getting to a room, and never more than another 5-10 minutes before seeing the doctor. He is very detailed, warm, caring, knowledgeable, will take the time to explain why he is giving me medication X instead of medication Y. Given the amount of time he spends with me every visit, I have to assume he is like that with all his patients. I really have no idea how he manages to stay on schedule, but he does. I can get in to see him same day or next day for non-ER emergencies (and still am not left waiting any more than I am with a scheduled appointment), and within a week for my yearly physical. I would find another doctor if I had to wait 45-60 minutes every time and then only see my doctor for 2.6 minutes. Maybe I’m spoiled, but I know there are doctors out there that are competent, accessible, and have mastered time-management skills. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/70 "2011-02-02T18:33:09Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And you were eager to get back on the street. Why? Was it warmer there? It would have been warmer in the shelter. Unfortunately, by the time they finished treating me with as little dignity as possible the shelter had been closed for two hours. I spent the night walking through the city to keep from freezing to death. Any more cute comments? ---
**Author:** ![HeadNinja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b4bc9f/32.png) [@HeadNinja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeadNinja)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/71 "2011-02-03T21:18:06Z")
The first time we went to specialist for my wife we waited three hours. It was irritating. When we talked the the doctor he was willing to spend an hour and a half, from 5:30 to 7pm, talking to us. We were no longer irritated. The problem he runs into is that some number of his appointments are the “worst day in a person’s life”. And those people tend to ask a lot of questions (and cry a lot). Two or three of those back to back and the schedule goes to hell. Based on our experience I have no idea how he does his job, let alone does it so well. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/72 "2011-02-03T21:32:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It would have been warmer in the shelter. Unfortunately, by the time they finished treating me with as little dignity as possible the shelter had been closed for two hours. I spent the night walking through the city to keep from freezing to death. > Any more cute comments? It’s a splendid example of what they call compassionate conservatism. ---
**Author:** ![jimmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b782af/32.png) [@jimmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/73 "2016-02-05T15:33:51Z")
The average waiting time at the public health clinic where my primary care physician is located is about an hour _AFTER_ I am brought into the examining room from the waiting room. But I have frequently waited as long as an hour and a half, a few times as long as two hours, one day for three hours. I would, of course, happily switch to another physician, except when I tried that before was told that doctor would not prescribe the pain medication (methadone) upon which I rely and have been taking for over ten years now (by the way, with never an increase in dosage the entire time). The pain management clinic (where I had two rounds of physical and occupational therapies) that had been administering my medication ceased doing so for outpatients and transferred my pain management to my primary care physician several years ago now. So, it seems, I am stuck with my current situation unless I could find another physician willing to take over my pain management. Unfortunately, due to the increase of persons who have become dependent upon pain medications and others simply abusing them recreationally, this is a very controversial, almost politically-linked issue right now, making it more difficult for patients who, like myself, legitimately require pain medication. Any suggestions from anyone (including any physicians reading this), about how one may find a better-managed physician’s office that would also be able to administer my pain management, would be greatly appreciated? ---
**Author:** ![sweat209](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@sweat209](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweat209)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348/74 "2016-02-19T01:33:20Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I had an appointment for 2:30 today. I got there at 2:20. It was 3:35 when they put me in the other room and 4:00 when the doctor finally showed up. IMO, an hour and a half is waaaay too long. Could you imagine if the line at the grocery store was 1:30 long? Or if a restaurant waited 1:30 before giving you your food? Would you want to come back to those establishments? > > So please tell me I’m not crazy. Please tell me that 1:30 is absurd and I have a right to be pissed. And please tell me how long you normally wait for your doctor, and at what point you start getting pissed off. Healthcare is getting much worse now than it was in the past. I remember the 90’s I got broken ankle and other time cut yes a small cut!! I gone to the ER it was no more than one hour wait!! wow a one hour wait!! Now it like 6 to 8 hour wait!! I hear two theories going around. 1 More older people and more sick people now. 2 Not enough doctors. It also not uncommon to people to wait hour or two hours at family doctor’s office or a medical walk in center. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waiting-for-the-doctor-how-long-is-too-long/569348.md?page=3)