# Why do doctor's appointments always start so late? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 9, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260 "2012-10-09T22:01:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/21 "2012-10-10T14:25:50Z")
I had an appointment to see a specialist once. It was a busy day at work, had to finish a presentation to a client, and I went on my lunch hour. I called before I left the office, to make sure there were no delays and the receptionist told me it was fine. When I arrived a few minutes before my appointment, a person who was sitting there, got up and went into the doctor’s office. I’d never been to this particular doctor before and I didn’t think anything of it. But I waited and waited and finally asked the receptionist what was the hold up and she said the doctor is behind schedule. That’s when I realised that the previous person had taken “my” appointment. I waited a full hour–my lunch hour–and when I finally got to see the doctor, I was really angry. I had specifically _telephoned_ to avoid this kind of situation. Needless to say, I had the minor procedure and never went back. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/22 "2012-10-10T14:34:41Z")
Mmm, toasted pakora. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/23 "2012-10-10T14:48:06Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > I got one of the most epic ass-chewings I have ever received as an NCO from a Lt. Colonel (the optometrist) for not arriving 15 minutes early for my appointment like I had been instructed to Ah, the military life. “On time” is defined 15 minutes early, and “hurry up and wait” is the way of life. However, I have had a few appointments in military health facilities where the doctor was running pretty late… even up to a 45-minute wait (i.e. 1/2 hour later than scheduled appointment time). But those were pretty rare, and may have been caused by the combination of urgent non-scheduled stuff, earlier appointments that had to run long (e.g. in-clinic treatments), and earlier patients showing up late and perforce running long. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/24 "2012-10-10T15:00:20Z")
> [@dstarfire](#): > > Doctors usually start out on time with their first few appointments, but get further and further behind as the day goes on. So your best bet is to get as early (in the day) an appointment as possible. One of the (several) reasons I quit seeing my previous doctor. Four appointments with this guy over 7 months. The last one was for 8:40am when the first appts they take are 8:30am. He wandered into the room at 9:15am without an apology. The one before that had been a 9:20am appt and he wandered in at 10:05am (though he did apologize). Quit seeing a chiropractor years ago. I went there primarily because it was 5 minutes from where I worked and I could go on my lunch hour. Then he started making me wait. I walked out the last time not having been seen in well over an hour and needing to go back to work, and told them I’d never be back because of it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/25 "2012-10-10T15:02:29Z")
Patients like me are probably part of the problem. My GP and I get along famously, and we always have a nice little conversation while we’re together. I ask him about his kids and vacation plans, he asks me how things are going at work. A former coworker actually had the same GP and used to complain that all he ever got from him was a hit & run. I just shrugged my shoulders and said, “Must be you. He’s great with me.” ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/26 "2012-10-10T15:33:35Z")
I try to be understanding when a doctor is running late. However, I’ll fire a doctor that runs consistently late. Either the front desk is overscheduling, or the doctor isn’t coming in on time, or the doctor is shmoozing the drug reps instead of working, or whatever combination. If I’m kept in the waiting room too long, I will go up to the desk and say “I need to know how late the doctor is running” and then decide whether or not I want to stick around. If it’s too long, I simply say “I need to cancel this appointment, then, as I have other things to do today”. Sometimes I’ll reschedule, sometimes I’ll just find another doctor, depends on how many times I’ve had problems with this particular doctor. I quit seeing one gastro-ent because not only did he keep his patients waiting for three hours before he even put in an appearance in the office, but he kept pushing bariatric surgery on me. I was losing weight, and my PC doc and my internal medicine doc were pleased. This guy, though, wanted me to get the surgery. Ummmm, did you see where the surgery was counterindicated for me? I concluded that this guy was trying to make some sort of surgery quota. That, plus his attitude of “I don’t care if my patients have 8 AM appointments, I’ll waltz in here at 11 AM” let me know where his priorities were. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/27 "2012-10-10T17:57:44Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Patients like me are probably part of the problem. > > My GP and I get along famously, and we always have a nice little conversation while we’re together. I ask him about his kids and vacation plans, he asks me how things are going at work. > > A former coworker actually had the same GP and used to complain that all he ever got from him was a hit & run. I just shrugged my shoulders and said, “Must be you. He’s great with me.” Then, may I suggest that you ask for the last appointment of the day? Then you can chat as long as you like and you’re only inconveniencing the staff, rather than all the patients on the schedule behind you. I get along really well with my massage therapist. He’s really cool and we like to hang out and chat. I try for his last appointment of the day, but if I’m not and I know someone is out there waiting for their miracle fingers treatment, I cut short the chit chat and get the fuck out of there. I don’t want to be \*that \*client who he has to herd out the door, while I’m obliviously and selfishly blathering on about indie rock with every step. Door opens, I see other client, and I’m all “See you next time!” Sometimes, I’ve been the other client and hurt myself rolling my eyes at the previous client who won’t. shut. up. and let him get on with his work. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/28 "2012-10-10T19:12:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If I’m kept in the waiting room too long, I will go up to the desk and say “I need to know how late the doctor is running” and then decide whether or not I want to stick around. If it’s too long, I simply say “I need to cancel this appointment, then, as I have other things to do today”. “If you leave, we’ll still bill you for the appointment” “No, I was here at the the proper time, but you folks didn’t keep the appointment, therefore you have nothing to bill for. If you bill me, I will dispute the charges with my insurance company and find another doctor.” ---
**Author:** ![supery00n](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@supery00n](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supery00n)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/29 "2012-10-10T19:26:52Z")
I think it’s probably because other patients are not as punctual as yourself. If a patient is late, and the doctor does not cancel the appointment, the appointment is likely to go a few minutes extra. From my experience, it’s common for a doctor to end an appointment not exactly when the clock strikes, but a minute or two longer. Kind of like a “tragedy of the commons” except that instead of property/land being poorly managed, it’s time(?) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/30 "2012-10-10T19:33:20Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > “If you leave, we’ll still bill you for the appointment” > “No, I was here at the the proper time, but you folks didn’t keep the appointment, therefore you have nothing to bill for. If you bill me, I will dispute the charges with my insurance company and find another doctor.” I’ve never had anyone threaten to bill me for an appointment that the doctor wasn’t able to keep. I have received assurances that the doctor will see me shortly, and I’ve been asked when I’d like to reschedule my appointment. To the first, I reply that I have other things that I need to get done today, and to the second, my reply will depend on whether I need to see THIS particular doctor, or whether I can find another doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/31 "2012-10-11T03:44:00Z")
Heh, (military again), on-base hospitals seem to typically require 24 hours notice before we cancel an appointment (so they can have a chance to schedule someone else in there). Failing to do so and then missing the appointment results in my chain of command being notified of my wrongdoing. Mind you, if I had a pressing need to miss the medical appointment (had to rush off to a mandatory appointment, had to go liberate Kuwait, whatever), then my leadership typically shrugged it off as long as I was making an honest attempt to reschedule the medical appointment. But yeah, it’s always a pain when I can’t get into an appointment on time because someone else ran late, but what REALLY grinds my gears is when I go somewhere that requires an appointment (like my base’s Personnel admin section), and I get to be seen late because they took a walk-in despite their no-walk-ins policy. ---
**Author:** ![Lips\_Obsession](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bbce88/32.png) [@Lips\_Obsession](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lips_Obsession)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/32 "2012-10-11T19:31:30Z")
I have a primary care doctor who usually gets behind schedule. But I’m willing to put up with that because I get extraordinary care. I had an appointment yesterday and wanted to discuss a number of matters with her. She came into the exam room about 10 min after the scheduled start of my appointment, but she was in the room working with me for 50 min! You can’t beat that kind of individualized care and attention. I’m willing to wait a bit to get that. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/33 "2012-10-12T11:24:12Z")
The health centre that I go to didn’t start using appointments until about 10 years ago, before that you went in, asked if you could see a doctor, were given a choice of who was on today, then sat down and waited for up to 4 hours. Then they brought in the appointment system and for the first few months the same thing happened - you went at your appointed time and ended up sitting there for a couple of hours. It did straighten out eventually and nowadays you usually don’t wait more than 10~15 minutes, sometimes things get hectic and you have to wait longer, like the other day. One doctor was off, and of the two who were on, one isn’t very popular and generally it’s only the old timers who go to see him, and the other one had been called out to a patient on an emergency and was running about an hour late as a result. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/34 "2012-10-12T13:39:30Z")
You forget-the first law of appointments is:“if you get there early, the doctor will be late” Second Law: “if you get there late,the doctor will be on time” ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/35 "2012-10-12T13:50:10Z")
Doctor’s offices are selling time with the doctor. Any time the doctor spends at the office when he is not seeing patients or working is product that is wasted. If a doctors median time with a patient is twenty minutes and they schedule a patient every twenty minutes then half the time the doctor will be waiting for a patient. In order to maximize time with patients it is better to overschedule and make people wait. They try their best to stick to the schedule but when it comes down to it, the choice is their money or your time and they choose to waste your time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/36 "2012-10-13T16:47:11Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Doctor’s offices are selling time with the doctor. Any time the doctor spends at the office when he is not seeing patients or working is product that is wasted. If a doctors median time with a patient is twenty minutes and they schedule a patient every twenty minutes then half the time the doctor will be waiting for a patient. In order to maximize time with patients it is better to overschedule and make people wait. They try their best to stick to the schedule but when it comes down to it, the choice is their money or your time and they choose to waste your time. But only because people wait for them, as if they were losing patients for this reason, the entire calculation changes. I do wonder how much I cost them by using the local fast clinic for easy stuff and only coming to them when it’s complicated. What I hate most are places that, if you run late, you don’t get in, even if they are running much later than you are. It’d alleviate at least some of the problem if they could have the receptionists call and tell you if they are running over a certain amount late. Few people have both an inflexible schedule and plenty of time to wait. Those that have the former will often just need to cancel, and those who have the latter generally don’t have the former. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/37 "2012-10-13T19:59:45Z")
My doctor loves to talk with me about everything from current events to her severely disabled daughter, I will have the first appointment of the day, walk in on time and not get out for 90 minutes, meanwhile she now has 6 people waiting. She peppers her conversation with self reassurance that her largely elderly patients enjoy having a chat together in the waiting room. It doesn’t look that way to me as I walk out but she believes it and hey, I am fascinating. I am seeing her at 8:45 tomorrow, the receptionist sighed when she made the appointment. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/38 "2012-10-13T20:11:37Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I used to have that problem with my doctors. But a few years ago I switched to a new medical group that is much more efficient, and now I rarely have to wait more than fifteen minutes for any appointment. I don’t know how they do it exactly, but they sure use a lot of technology – there’s a computer terminal in every exam room, and every doctor enters everything into your computer medical record right on the spot while he’s still talking to you. He can order tests, or look up the results of past tests, in seconds. I’m sure that saves time. Same here. My old Dr. had terrible time management skills. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/39 "2012-10-14T15:23:10Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Doubt there is a factual answer, as it doesn’t always happen. My current GP is almost always on time. The longest I have had to wait beyond my appointment time is about 10 minutes. > > Many doctors get behind regularly. I highly recommend that you make your appointments early in the morning so you are one of the physicians first appointments before he/she has a chance to get behind. Same here. ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260/40 "2012-10-14T17:13:46Z")
Like a couple of people have said, it is all about wasting your time rather than the physician’s time. Time is money, and maximizing profits is the name of the game. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-doctors-appointments-always-start-so-late/637260.md?page=1)