Oh, those doctors, with their smug, self-important tendency to keep you stuck in waiting rooms while they play Tetris and check their Facebook. The New York Times has a remedy for what ails you, providing advice on how to get back at doctors who keep you waiting:
*If your doc makes a habit of tardiness, dump him.
*Hunt for a physicians group like this that guarantees appointment times.
*Ask for a discount if you’re kept waiting.
*Complain directly to your doctor and/or whine about the wait times online.
What have you done to minimize medical wait times? I opt to just accept them as a fact of life and rely on my DSi to keep me distracted.
Punishing Doctors Who Make You Wait [The New York Times]
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Years ago, I had a comic strip from the newspaper hanging up on a bulletin board. It showed a woman on the phone making an appointment with the receptionist at her doctor’s office and the receptionist is saying, “Yes, he has some time around 3:00 – why don’t you come in at 10:00?â€
Honestly, I think that’s how it works.
99.98% of the time it is because they over book.
Book early in the morning
Ask to be called when the doctor falls more than x minutes behind schedule because there is nothing worse than cutting something else short to get to a dr just to wait and wait.
If your dr does surgery call in to make sure the office is running on time.
Make it clear you expect to be called when the dr is running late.
Get your annual check up and semi annual dental appointment in your birth month. That makes it easier to remember the last time you had an appointment.
get a copy of test results and keep them. if your dr dies or you move you have a record to show your new dr so the labs they run have a meaning and aren’t just new levels to start from.
If you don’t like your dr for whatever reason get another one. it does not matter how highly regarded they by their peers, if their bedside or office manner is crap they will treat you like crap. what other doctors think of your doctor doesn’t mean sh*t. How they treat you the patient is what matters.
Get a dr that gets things done and has a reputation as a fighter not a milquetoast especially if you have a cronic condition.
Get a dr that uses email especially if you ask questions that do not require immediate response.
Most doctor’s offices have to book patients with only 5 or 10 minutes between appointments for one of two reasons: (1) The no-show rate can be very high. You book 6 patients to be seen 10 minutes apart. If 3 of the 6 don’t show, then you can reasonably see 3 in one hour. The flip side of that is if ALL 6 show up. Then you’re trying to see 6 in one hour and that doesn’t give you much wiggle room when you have more than one patient with complications or questions. (2) Most private practice physicians are paid based on the volume of patients seen in a day. More appointments=more patients=more money. If you only see two patients an hour, you will make less than if you try to see 4 or 5. At the clinic my resident hubby trained at they booked 6 patients an hour. Sometimes everybody showed up and sometimes they didn’t. At this clinic, however, the wait times could be directly laid at the feet of the front desk staff. For some reason, patients would show up on time and it would take 30-60 minutes to check them in, gets vitals, etc. All the while, my hubby and his fellow residents were waiting in the back. Even after multiple complaints from the residents and patients, the front desk staff couldn’t seem to step it up.
Make your appointment as early in the morning as possible, before they get backed up.
Waiting rooms are why god invented the podcast.
Maybe it’s because I have a great doctor, but most of you seem kind of like entitle jerks. Your time is more important than anyone else’s. Now, I agree with the front desk not lying about how long it’s going to take. They should be honest.
But I’ve had a doctor who kept to the schedule. They guaranteed not to be more than 15 minutes behind. So you got exactly 15 minute with her, no matter you problem. And actually, if there was a complicated case before you that took 25, you got 5 so she could stay on schedule. She walked in, stood with her hand on the door the entire time, and barely listened.
I’m happy to wait, and when my doctor gets to me, she always apologizes if they’re a little behind. It’s usually because of an emergency (the practice delivers a lot of babies). And I always tell her that I don’t mind, because she spends as much time with me as I need, and I’m glad she does the same with her other patients.
And I almost never am in there more than 2 hours, total. I have a job. I schedule so that I can be away more than exactly 45 minute. And I don’t sit in the waiting room fuming about how my time is important. These people are dealing with peoples’ health, including yours, and I for one don’t want them to have to rush. I’ve seen that side of medicine. And by the way, I have no feeling in half of my right leg because of a doctor who guaranteed on-time appointments and never listened to symptoms.
Make that “entitled”. Probably a bunch of typos in that long-winded comment.
All patients think they are entitled to everything they want.The ones that actually are very thankful for whatever help they get are the ones that Dr’s bend over backwards for.
And doctors wonder where the jokes about huge egos come from.
This is exactly why I’ve always just seen the nurse practitioner at the practices that I’ve gone too. Many people refuse to see them because “they’re not real doctors.” I have had far better experiences with them then the “doctors” with the mighty M.D. behind their name. I’ve never waited more than 10 minutes, and have always been treated much better by them. I rarely go to the doctor, and when I do 90% of the time, I already know what I have and just need meds.
*to
I’ve asked my Doctor for a discount on my next visit co-pay, he even had it waived last time. You’ve got to ask. Many offices charge you for being late, or make you reschedule; well…it’s a two way street, if they are late serving me, they need to pay up as well.
One time I told the dentist that I thought he was great, but his staff was incompetent and I told him “You’re fired” Karma has a funny way of working because he’s no longer in business.
While this is a consumer web site, lets be careful to make the distinction between a patient and a customer. The standard of care required for patients (both legally and ethically) is much higher than it needs to be for a customer.
If you would like your doctor to treat you like a patient rather than a consumer, understand that all of the other folks in the waiting room deserve the same. If someone needs more time and attention in my office, they get it. That requires me to run behind sometimes – always with explanation.
If you don’t want to be kept waiting, find a doctor who cares more about the “customer service” aspects of his or her practice than the “patient care” issues. Be careful what you wish for.
+ 100.
Sorry, but the two are not mutually exclusive. If you know you’re going to be spending more time on “patient care” – then ALLOCATE MORE TIME TO THE APPOINTMENTS. If you can only handle an average of two per hr – allocate that. Don’t squeeze in 4 or 6.
And don’t you dare get uppidy when I value MY time as much as you value yours. Be ON TIME moron.
What really gets me is, when Doctors charge fees for being late, or for not cancelling an appointment sufficiently-far in advance … and then can’t live up to their own rules.
We changed PCP clinics two years ago. Our old clinic you expected to wait an hour in the waiting room past your appointment time, they were always overbooked or running behind. Our new PCP clinic is using some new scheduling methods and they work great. Anyone with a semi-emergency that needs to get squeezed in has to see the “on call” doctor. The on call doctor is assigned to do all the urgent, short notice or walk in patients that day so the other doctors can stay on schedule.
Some specialists I can understand. My pain management doctor also handles people in late stage cancer or recovering from major accidents. Sometimes they have to squeeze in someone having a problem. Since I usually just need prescription renewals I don’t get annoyed if I end up waiting. I try to take the first appointment in the afternoon or plan on allowing extra time.
The hour plus delay that really made me mad was when I was left waiting while a doctor saw a drug rep.
Not every delay is stupidity though. I had the pediatrician come in 45 minutes late. She apologized for her being late and explained that someone had brought in a small child that had been in a car accident and not in a car seat. He died in their office before an ambulance could get there. Ugh.
Reading some of these stories… I think I had it easy – except one time. I’m pretty sure this doctor had a hand in my Met Life Disability claims being repeatedly denied.
I was on a LOA from my job for my back. My doctor, at the time, never filled out or faxed the paperwork sent to her by Met Life…. I would call up every day – even go there, to get the information. Eventually I got a letter that she refused to be my doctor – she recommended another one – but said I was too much of a burden on her and her staff.
I was kept waiting by my specialist for about 3 hours once; I made it into the waiting room, but at that point I had a train to catch. Unless the doc was going to show up in the next 5 minutes and only see me for 5 minutes, I was screwed. So I walked out, got my copay back and rescheduled.
Next time? I waited an hour, but the doc and every other member of the staff was profusely apologetic about any delay and about my experience the previous time. Obvs they made a note in my chart and it didn’t negatively impact my care because I was seen as “difficult.” I just want to be treated with respect, and I’m a paying customer who will get their money back if I don’t get the service I expect.
Last time I went to the doctor he kept me waiting over a half an hour. The first time was over an hour. When I complained this time, he told me they do a volume business and if I didn’t like it, I could find a different doctor. So, I called my network and filed a HUGE complaint and got the names of other doctors to choose from. The gall of the doctor to say that to a patient still floors me.
I know exactly why I have to wait 30 minutes + past my appointment time at my PCA: Pharmaceutical Reps pushing their drugs. My PCA is a 2 doctor practice and my most recent visit I arrived a little early and sat through FIVE Pharm Reps going in an out meeting with each doctor in between the patient’s appt times. Absolutely ridiculous. I was really angry but I didn’t complain because my appointment wasn’t exactly an emergency.
I would dump my doctor but I like him, he likes to throw pills at everything (hence the popularity with the reps) and he’s close to my house.
PCA = PCP der.
I not only stopped going to him after that visit, but I have routinely (at least a half dozen times) cautioned locals against visiting his office, hopefully costing him money.
I belong to a listserv for locals looking for service recommendations and there’s a post about this particular type of specialist at least once a month. And every time I tell the people not to visit his office and offer an alternative.
That’s why I love my doctor’s office. The nurses are friendly, and they’ll let you know if the doctor is running behind when you check in with them. The waiting room is huge, but usually only a couple of people waiting at the most, TV and magazines and newspapers aplenty. Rarely have I had to wait more than 15 minutes before going in.
DAmm , this is a big problem as the doctors bill our insurance for the time spent in the Office waiting room. If you review your bills . They may charge for an extended visit about 45 60min when the face time is only 15min. I have complained to the insure providers and the let the doctor office know I check the billing time . I also sign out on the sign sheet or at least put the time left. I have caught many doctor offices over billing and incorrectly and made them change my bill . as they do not want to be reported.
I typically will set a time limit, unless I HAVE to see him (to get certain meds refilled requires a doctor’s visit, even though it only takes 5 minutes of “how are you doing”)–usually about 1 hour. At the end of the hour, I get up, tell the staff we’ll reschedule and then I leave.
I finally had it out with my doc after he blew my lunchtime appointment by keeping me waiting over an hour. He tried to weasel out of taking responsibility by saying that “all doctors run behind” (why isn’t time-management a required course in med school?) “Fine,” I said, “How long do you typically run over?” He told me about 40 minutes.
So now when I make my appointments, I book it in my calendar for 35 minutes *after* the appointed time. If my appointment is at 3:00pm, then my calendar says 3:35pm. I arrive on time and after a short wait, I get to see him.
Oh, always bring something to read! It keeps the blood pressure down.
I have decided if they can impose a fee for me being late or not showing up without any agreement on my part I will do the same in the future.
I have noticed over the years doctors seem to overbook like airlines & expect you to just live with it.
YOUR ICON IS AWESOME
I was married to the doctor for 30 years. Come to find out, he was always late for your appointment because he was banging his nurse at the Notell Motel. I got my std test. You probably should get yours, too.
He wasn’t just banging his nurse. Teehee…(covers mouth sheepishly)
Giggle.
First, no one gets more than 24 hours to a day, thus, MY time , and yours, is exactly as valuable. There is NO excuse for repeated delays of more than 30 minutes, for any appointment. If a Doctor, or his staff, is unable to handle the flow of patients then I sure would not, and DO not trust them with my health care, nor should you.
I am, intimately, familiar with the nature of the emergencies that occur in a health practice. If emergencies occur to the point that patients wait for more than 20 minutes on a regular basis, there is a problem needs attention far more urgently than I need to let incompetent people touch my fair form!
I can, and have, fired a Dr. for repeated scheduling problems.
This does not make me a difficult patient, it makes the Doctor who treats patients with disrespect unacceptable, even to other Docs, you think that word does not get around?
I am appalled and disheartened that any Dr. would expect people to wait two hours and even more appalled and disheartened that anyone would put up with such horrible treatment in the first place!
How on earth can even the dimmest bulb think that being insulted and treated like crap in the waiting room is going to result in competent health care?
It is morally offensive to see a Doctor abuse medical privilege and it is equally offensive to see patients tolerate such abuse.
This makes me (and probably most doctors) upset.
We’re not a beauty salon…
We’re not a body shop…
We are HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS.
As a surgical subspecialist, I often will have between 30-40 patients in the office; at the same time, I am on call for the ER and OR, and will often have cases scheduled in the late afternoon. I then get to round at the hospital, often seeing patients who have no insurance (and usually don’t pay me for my time or services.)
I am then usually allowed to go home, where patients often call in the middle of the night, waking up my entire family, asking questions that usually could have waited a few more hours (and unlike an attorney or another professional, I don’t get paid for telephone counsel.)
With all of this, and “medical reform”, I’m barely covering my bills.
If a patient comes in, and he has a new diagnosis of cancer, I WILL spend more time with him than the 10 minutes the insurance companies want me to. That means that, yes, you WILL have to wait a bit longer.
If someone has a surgical emergency and I have to leave the office to run and do surgery, that means you can reschedule, or you can wait.
If a patient books an appointment for something simple, and it turns out that he has a complex problem, I will need to address that, and, yes, your appointment may be delayed. I cannot control for that.
People who aren’t in the medical/surgical profession really have no idea of what is involved.
If you want someone who will see you for your 10-15 minutes at the allotted time, then:
1) find a doctor who will cut corners
2) Practice exactly what you will say, keep it to 2-3 minutes, or even better, make a printed paragraph to hand to the doctor/medical assistant
3) do NOT have more than one thing wrong with you that day.
4) do NOT have a new diagnosis that requires extra care
5) do NOT have a complex medical history.
Most of my patients do not have any problem with me if it turns out that their appointment is delayed. If they do, they can see my physicians assistant, who often has fewer complex patients for the day, or they can see the next subspecialist 70 miles up the road.
Here in Australia they’re trying to bring in penalty fees if you’re as little as ten minutes getting to the doctors. However if they’re running late, the Health Minister says too bad, you’ll jus thave to wait…
I have to wait at least 30 minutes past my scheduled appointment time whenever I go in to see my doctor. It’s currently not a terrible issue, since I’m a college student and tend to only schedule doctor’s appointments on days where there’s nothing else for me to do. However, the next time I’m in there for 45 minutes +, I’m going to force myself to say something. It’s not fair to me or everyone else in the waiting room if the doctor/nurses are taking ages to get anything done.
I put nasty comments in the Notes section of my checks. I know it doesn’t solve the problem but I know someone is reading it. Now every time I leave, the counter chick looks for any comments and then smiles. Often times, I write, “waiting room is balmy or has a fly.”
True story, only it was not my Doctor I was called in to work on one of their systems. I get paid two ways. This way was by the hour plus drive time (I get the 1st hour when I want in the door and start billing at the sametime). I told the lady who I was and what and why I was there. I had her sign my time sheet. There had to be over 50 people there (about 8:30am). After about 10 mins I went again and told her who I was and why I was there. She told me in a rude voice I do not care take a sit. I had my laptop and just play a game. Every 30 mins or so i would tell her again. Again she told me I do not care who you are take a seat. This went on for a very long time. No one was being seen. It was 5pm and the OM (someone I asked time and time again to be see) came out and said they where waiting for the Tech to fix their computers so they could type in their files. She was sending all these people home, by now there was way more then 50 poeple (I never counted there really was no room left) She also went on to say that he is running very late and could not get a hold of him(me). Remember this was a time when Cells phones where new.
This guy tells her “Bullshit” every 30 mins he went up to the desk and told the lady who he was and why he was here. He even ask to see you and you where to busy to see him. At that point she look around and I said I have been here since 8:30 (they called me at 7:30am).
I go back she never said a word to me. I fix the computer in about 20 mins. Handed her a bill and she said it should be for 1 hour and 1 hour driving time. I told her no, I was here at 8:30 talk to the lady that had told me she does not care who I am and why I was there.
You guess it, I had to sue them (Yes I did go to law school). Yes I won. The Judge in a nutshell said I was on time. They own me for 9 hours plus 1 for driving time.
Some of these comments are ridiculous!
I’m an interventional cardiologist. I have a busy clinic and I perform complex procedures. Not infrequently, procedures run longer than expected or emergencies arise that require immediate attention (i.e. emergent angioplasty/stenting for acute heart attacks). And sometimes, despite the best scheduling, clinic will be delayed.
I always make time for my patients as well and if they have questions, I will answer them without checking the clock. Unfortunately, this can spiral down stream. Often some patients, will arrive late and we will still try to accomodate them due to the nature of their illness (you can’t tell patients with unstable cardiovascular disease to reschedule). Also, we often have to overbook to squeeze in patients that need to be seen as soon as possible. Despite these problems, we rarely run more than 30-45 minutes behind schedule.
I wish I had time to take a breath and play Tetris or surf the web. Who in this climate of declining CMS reimbursement can afford to do so?
Have any of you ever worked for a Dr’s Office.
I am currently working for a psych office and there is a lot going on behind the scenes.So lots of the complainers should shut up.
1.New patients usually come in exactly at there appointment time,even though instructed to come in early for New Patient paperwork,so thats more time for them to fill it out,us to check eligibilty/authorization.Prep the chart,get the copay.Which all slows down the time and throws off the schedule. And then you got the stupid ass parent that doesnt speak english so they have to have their 8 year old explain the paperwork for them.
2.Lots of loser ass patients who no show their appointments then call a day later freaking out cause they are out of their adderall prescription and will surely die if they go off of it cause they have “adult ADD” or they need their xanax asap because their cat accidently dropped all of it in the sink,So we have to schedule them as emergency patients cause they would STFU and wont stop calling us over and over.
3. The dr has to make follow up calls with patients who forgot how to take their meds or have another complaint they forgot to mention in their session,Dr has to review lab tests, go thru the next patients charts. They also have to finish compliant paperwork for the patient they previously saw.
4. I have a hit list of all the patients that do complain and bitch to me.We hate them.I think basically all the front staff hate you.the complainers.There are patients that actually know the deal and appreciate the best we can do to fill your drug abusing asses and we normally bend over backwards for.You nice to us we are cool with you.When you act like a fool in the office we remember and you cannot make it up by any apology. Just cause you have a condition doesn’t make it right for you to yell at another human being
5. If you dont like the office,you are free to leave and find another dr.No insurance just has one place to send you.I tell patients all the time,You can call your insurance and not have to come here. They give this funny look like Omg how can you say that. And I simply go,well its the truth why torture yourself to this if you are unhappy with a place.I hate the dr running late as much as you cause I have to explain each time to each patient some stupid excuse on why you are waiting an extra 15 mins.
I can go on and on…but no one will never understand.
I think you’ve proven that a lot of patients’ problems are probably not the doctors’ fault, rather issues with their spiteful, angry office staffers.
Isn’t there a DMV somewhere hiring? You’d fit right in.
I recently “dumped” a doctor that kept me waiting for up to an hour each time I showed up ON TIME for my appointments.
It’s not like he had a huge emergency like surgery or a baby to deliver. He was a dermatologist. My OB/GYN, on the other hand, has only missed one appointment due to a delivery.
I’ve had good luck by making it very clear that I expect the appointment be kept. If the Doctor is too busy, or late, I let the staff know:
1) I’m busy too
2) Not keeping appointments is rude
3) I let them know I’m leaving
If they try to charge me for missing/canceling the appointment I point out, I kept the appointment, they are the ones who failed. I then proceed to tell them I’d be happy to charge them for the missed appointment. It is amazing how turning their policy around on them gets their attention.
I’ve had good luck by making it very clear that I expect the appointment be kept. If the Doctor is too busy, or late, I let the staff know:
1) I’m busy too
2) Not keeping appointments is rude
3) I let them know I’m leaving
If they try to charge me for missing/canceling the appointment I point out, I kept the appointment, they are the ones who failed. I then proceed to tell them I’d be happy to charge them for the missed appointment. It is amazing how turning their policy around on them gets their attention.
Nice for people who live in NY or SF. The rest of us are SOL.
File a complaint with your state’s Board of Registration in Medicine (as it’s called here in MA). Doctors are required by law to address all written complaints, and they will likely spend more time composing their response than you spent in the waiting room.
I did this once after a really egregious incident. You can’t get that time back, but filing a complaint surely gets their attention.
I can be understanding if, you know, I’m told something is going on. But I’ve NEVER had that happen when a doctor is late. EVER.
And I’m generally more understanding of those who have practices where you can have a medical emergency that screws up the schedule, or if it happens rarely…but there’s no reason for a dermatologist or a foot doctor to keep you waiting. My dermatologist(who I LOVE) was apologizing profusely for making me wait for not even five minutes! Now I wonder how the heck my old skin doctors managed to keep me waiting for a half hour or more. He’s open and willing to explain just about everything and still manages to be exceedingly prompt.