I am so frikin pissed at the moment!~ I just might send a bill to my doctor for MY time

[demtenjeep]

because of this stupid disease, I have to go to the doctor often. I hate going and talking about the results of each and every BM but I go because I would be dead without this doctor. He knew he was running behind all the time so he hired a PA. She is even more frikin slow than he is.

Today I checked in at 3:09 for a 3:20 appointment. At 4:30 I walked out. Still not having seen the doctor OR the PA. I called and told them that my time was valuable as well and that they could reschedule around my time. The nurse called back 30 minutes later and apologized about not keeping them on schedule and said to call the desk in the morning and they would make a time for me during my spring break.

Now, it would be something if it were an emergency but it is that way every damn time. Even the nurse knows it. She says that she tells them all the time to not chat so much because others are waiting.


Okay...Rant off, I am calm now.

[elleng]

1. Glad you're calm now, and sorry about this,

but if its caused by doc 'chatting' with patients, can't be all bad, imo. Doing such in the past with my Doc was invaluable for me.

[Ed Suspicious]

2. Agreed. Because my doc gives

detailed explanations and doesn't leave until I'm completely understanding of what we talked about, I know that if he's running behind it's because he gives all his patients the kind of attention they would like. The problem is much more with scheduling and communication from the reception staff than a doctor who does his job well enough to send me away satisfied every time.

[demtenjeep]

3. would be great if that was the case, but he chats about his family ect...

I almost always leave with more questions than I came with.

Don't get me wrong, he is a fantastic GI Doc, but I think he is a LOT ADHD too. His mind goes a mile a minute which is good, but sometimes....

[spanone]

4. that is good, but doctors need to factor that time in and space the visits farther apart.

doctors would not tolerate a patient being an hour late to an appointment

[WCGreen]

18. My GP is the same so I don't mind as much...

Of course I am on disability and don't really care since I always take a book.

Same at the Cleveland Clinic. They serve thousands of people every day and try to keep the process moving as fast as possible.

I go over about 5-6 times a year and only one time was I waiting for a very long time.

Turns out the guy ahead of me to get a heart Cath died on the table so it pushed it back for a pretty long time.

[graywarrior]

5. Man, I hear you!

My brother called me yesterday ranting about how he had a 10 am appt and the dr didn't see him til 12. When he complained to the dr, the dr told him he was mistaken about the time. Then my brother showed him the appt card and then things were all apologies. But they do it to him every time he sees this doctor!

[ohiosmith]

6. Had the same problem compounded by double booking. I now insist on either the first appointment

of the day or the first appointment after lunch.

[Cleita]

7. My husband's boss sent a bill to his dentist for a similar reason.

He got tired of waiting sometimes up to an hour and even more past his appointment time before being seen. He charged him what his professional rate was and for the hour he lost of work while sitting in his office. The dentist paid! I don't know if your doctor will see it as valuing your patronage as that dentist did, but it's worth a try.

[demtenjeep]

8. oh and you cave dwellers....hello

feel free to act like the middle school kids you act like on my behalf!

[demtenjeep]

10. yup

and then some!

[demtenjeep]

13. well gee maybe you need a new forum

if it upsets you so

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. Waiting for the doctor has never bothered me

It shows he's really spending time with each patient. I appreciate that.

I just make sure I have a good book to pass the time.

[Louisiana1976]

17. I always bring along a good book when I go to see the doctor, too.

[cbayer]

14. Scheduling in a doctor's office is really tricky stuff.

You never know what a patient might present with or how much time it will take. And then there are unforeseen emergencies that might require time that you haven't scheduled at all.

Cancellations and no-shows cause the office schedulers to overbook at times.

And then there are the gazillion phone calls for which the doctor doesn't get any reimbursement at all. And forms that patients bring in that need to be filled out right now.
And issues with getting OK's from insurance companies for a test or medicine one might want to order.

It's a nightmare. Imagine being the person who sits at that window. It's a horrible job and they take abuse all day long. But they can often tell you what's going on, how much longer they think you might have to wait or be willing to reschedule if you just can't wait.

The number of patients pissed off about how long they have to wait is counterbalanced by the number of patients who are pissed off because the doctor didn't spend enough time with them.

It's just a no-win situation.

[RebelOne]

16. That is one of the reasons I hate to see the doctor.

I may have an 8:30 appointment and finally I am taken to the examining room at 9:30. After waiting in the examining room for 30 minutes, the doctor finally comes in. I only go to the doctor when I have a real problem. I was prescribed blood pressure meds and given a prescription for about 2 months. Then I could not get a refill until I went back to the doctor. I could not endure another long wait at the doctor's office, so I ordered my meds through a Canadian online pharmacy where I did not need a prescription. The meds are generic, but are the same.

[demtenjeep]

19. I'm not upset any longer, I just hate waiting Every dang time with this doctor.

I am not exactly a patient person but I was pretty calm for the first 45 minutes of waiting.

I read two Time magazines a Sports Illustrated magazine and tooled around facebook on my phone. When it got later than the hour mark, I started getting impatient

really its my loss because I will have to go back and wait again, but I just felt I had to make a point!

[Ilsa]

20. Once I called before going in and was assured they

Were running on time.

Then I waited 45 minutes in the outer waiting room.

Then I waited 25 minutes in a "holding area".

Then I waited another 40 minutes in a freezing exam room in an exam gown.

When I complained about it and told them I had called ahead, they got impatient with me, snarled, "Well, do you want to reschedule?" I told them, "No, the doc is here ready to do the exam, why would I want to leave now? Why can't the receptionist simply let me know if you are more than an hour behind so I can plan accordingly?"

I changed doctors because the place was so poorly run.

I hope it goes better next time.

[sarcasmo]

21. Sue him in small claims for your time.

[demtenjeep]

22. naw, I am over it now.

and he is a good doctor. Just not good with his time. His PA learns from him I guess.

[sarcasmo]

23. One thing I learned from all the time my wife spent with Doctors

over the last 3 and a half years. Never show up early, always show up a minute or two before your scheduled time.

[demtenjeep]

24. that is hard for me to do

for me, being on time is at least 5-10 minutes early! Always

[sarcasmo]

25. I understand that but with Doctors you have to treat them the way they

treat you.