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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,328
Registered: ‎08-20-2012

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait


@catter70 wrote:

It happens to me all the time. They over book. Even getting the first appointment of the day is no guarantee that there won't be a wait time. They wonder why my blood pressure is high.

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      Exactly!!!  I wait at all my docs...at least 30 minutes!  It is exasperating and annoying, but that is the way their offices are run!  And yes  the longer I wait the more anxious/upset I become, so Bp does jump!!!  

      I once heard a doc say that your bp should be taken at the end of an apt.  After the long waiting period, then they rush you in for temp and weight check....most people's bp will react!!


 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,538
Registered: ‎04-28-2010

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

I usually don’t have to wait long, usually the gyne was the worst.  One time the dr asked what could they do better.  I said don’t let me sit in there naked for an hour.  He has never been late since.  I understand emergencies.  But they have the nerve to have a sign if you don’t cancel within 24 hours, they want to charge you.  One friend billed her gyne 2 hours of “her hourly rate”.  

 

One funny story.  A relative of a friend, waited and waited.  Finally got dressed, walked to the front, the entire office was closed, and they forgot about her.  She had called the police to get her out of the locked office.  She was locked in and the office staff had all gone home.  So I know that incident had to be the worst.  

Honored Contributor
Posts: 23,835
Registered: ‎03-10-2010

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

Having to wait in the waiting room I can deal with....it is when I go into the small room and have to sit in that room  with my clothes off and a gown on with nothing to look at or do for 45 minutes before the Doctor comes in that tics me off.  

Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 5,040
Registered: ‎09-12-2010

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

Yes, it bothers me a lot. My PCP is always on time, or within 5 minutes. My cardiologist is not prompt at all. I had an appointment with him in July and I waited for 25 minutes in the waiting room and then a full hour in the exam room. It's the second time this has happened with him, and this time I got up and left. The crazy thing is that there are 5 other cariologists in the practice, yet the waiting room was almost empty.

 

Not one person, nurse or assistant, came in to let me know that he was running late. And not person from his office called me to reschedule or find out what happened. I received an online survey and I completed it.....I wasn't nasty, but I did not give them high marks either.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 9,592
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait


@SeaMaiden wrote:

Having to wait in the waiting room I can deal with....it is when I go into the small room and have to sit in that room  with my clothes off and a gown on with nothing to look at or do for 45 minutes before the Doctor comes in that tics me off.  


In a case like this, I have my book, Kindle, phone, or iPad to keep me occupied and not checking the time every few minutes 

Honored Contributor
Posts: 21,733
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

We've been with Kaiser for years, and I'm astounded that we never have to wait more than 20 minutes (usually less) in the waiting room and almost always no more than ten minutes once in a room.

 

 


~Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle~ Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,322
Registered: ‎02-22-2015

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

[ Edited ]

@Jordan2  Doubt this has ever happened to me, but there isn't a physician on this planet worth waiting 1 to 3 hours in a cold examing room in a thin paper (or cotton) gown without any excuses from his/her nurse.

After 30 minutes, I would put my clothes back on and return to the front desk to reschedule my appointment for an appointment first thing in a morning or immediately after lunch so the likelihood of it happening again would not occur. Or if it was a new physician, I'd never return!

They would make sure my chart reflected: "Ms. XXXXXX's time is as important as Dr. XXXXXX's. Please do not keep her waiting without letting her know how long and why. She will decide whether to reschedule or wait."

Money screams; wealth whispers.
Super Contributor
Posts: 433
Registered: ‎02-21-2012

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

Thirty three years ago I changed my Primary (wasn't called that then) because of this very issue.  I went a few times and the last time I waited 3+ hours to see him.  I was feeling awful and my husband took off from work so he could stay with our little daughter so I could see the dr.  The next time I needed to see a dr. I tried someone new.  He asked why I was changing my dr., I told him exactly why and he said he would never do that to his patients.  After 33 years of going to him, except for an occasional emergency, I never wait long to be seen.  I am dreading the day he will retire.

Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,179
Registered: ‎09-07-2014

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

Yes, it bothers me at times to wait, but at this point, I expect it. I have noticed that since COVID, practices have to keep patients physically separated in the waiting room, which means they are not overbooking people. I have been getting in the exam room sooner and seeing the doctor sooner.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,875
Registered: ‎04-27-2015

Re: Does It Bother You When Doctors Make You Wait

I call ahead to see if they are running on time.