Who do Doctors think they are?

[moneymaven]

I have been sitting at this doctor's office for an hour. My appointment time was an hour ago, directly after his lunch. This is now the fourth time the doctor has left me waiting for ridiculous amounts of time. I want to throw a fit right now, but he's doing a procedure on my neck tomorrow and I am not trying to get myself really screwed up because I've pissed him or his staff off.

What the hell? How does this happen in a professional office? Isn't this lost profitability and reputation costing them?

I really can understand this happening once or twice, but this has now become a consistent problem. Ugh I want to scream!

[Abby Normal]

Sounds like it's time to find a new doctor.  I can see if an emergency comes up, but you'd think he'd be back on schedule (or at least close) right after lunch.

[NancysSummerSip]

Let the doctor know about that the fourth time is not, and will not be the charm as far as you are concerned. Is this your regular doc, or a specialist of some kind? If it's a specialist, at least you will be done after the procedure and the post op. Let your regular GP know not to ever send you back there and why never to send you back.

If this doctor does the procedure in-office, that could explain a lot. He often has no clue how long procedures will take, or what he will find when he gets started. If he goes to a hospital or clinic, then same as above, plus added travel time.

[moneymaven]

I have looked for other doctors but he comes at the top of the list. He is a specialist too.

I am infuriated that this has become the norm. He has treated me for over 10 years and it was never like this before.

[moneymaven]

The procedures are only two days a week at another facility so he can tend to emergent issues in person.

[NancysSummerSip]

If this lack of timeliness is a new thing, then something else is going on. His office procedures may have changed due to new health laws/requirements. Has his office staff changed noticeably - fewer people or newer people, by chance?

[Deleted]

Give him a stinkpalm next time you see him. 

[The Captain]

It will only get worse, not better.  Not making a political statement, but when you expand the pool of people to whom a service is available without expanding the number of people providing the service you can only expect wait times to increase.

[justme]

Have you broached this with him when it's happened? Often with my doctors that it has happened a few times with, they state a reason. With one doctor the practice had recently switched to an entirely new computer system. With another doctor they had almost an entirely new staff (which was a good thing! I disliked how the staff handled things and the new one is a lot better). But every time I've mentioned it there was an actual response from the doctor and not a brush off. If I kept getting brushed off I probably would look elsewhere.

Oh, as for first appointment after lunch, sometimes that can screw you over. Once a doctor was so far behind they only caught up right as they were supposed to come back from lunch, but the doctor hadn't eaten anything yet. So then it threw off all the afternoon appointments too. I prefer beginning of the morning or a late afternoon appointments myself.

[Rocky Mtn Saver]

Have you tried making an appt for early in the day?  The longer the day goes on, the more backed-up they tend to get. 

[Phoenix84]

I know what you mean.  I've had a couple of docs over the years do that kind of stuff.  It is rather irritating, because they don't respect your time.  If it becomes a chronic issue, I usually switch docs.  As you said, it's very unprofessional.

I'm fine with waiting 10-15 minutes, or longer on occasion.  But anything more than that is totally unacceptable. 

I went to an Opthamologist in Ohio once and waited for an hour and a half.  All of his patients were elderly retirees who obviously could sit around a doctors office all day.  I had things to do, and just left and never went back.

[tskeeter]

Money, seems you have a long term relationship with this Dr.  And it sounds like you'd really rather not change Docs because this person is the best in your area.  Once this course of teatment is completed you might consider either talking with the Dr., or writing him a letter letting him know that you appreciate his treatment over the years and the level of skill he has demonstrated.  And that in appreciation for his past treatment you want to let him know that you are concerned about the fact that you have been kept waiting for an inordinant amount of time when you arrived for every one of your last four appointments.  And that you had specifically scheduled those apointment times to minimize the probability that he would be running behind.  You might also let him know about any consequences you suffer because he is not on time. Lost wages.  The need to work evenings or weekends to get the work done that you didn't do while you were waiting for him.

Let's face it.  Doctors are medical care providers.  Despite the fact that many Doctors run businesses, Doctors are often not very effective administrators.  And that extends to scheduling and managing their time.  Maybe your experience with late appointments was simply the luck of the draw.  But, it's also possible that the staff member who used to mange the Dr.'s appointments and keep the Dr. on track has left the practice.  And the new person just isn't very effective.  I suspect that it's possible that the Dr. isn't really aware of how far behind he is every day.  And that he is so focused on providing medical care that he hasn't even considered the impact his tardiness has on his patients.    

[cktc]

Find out what time they open and request the first appointment slot. Schedule it early if you can't be flexible. Doctors are less likely to be running behind in the morning and you can usually be in and out within an hour.

Also yes, it is very annoying and unprofessional to keep clients waiting.

[Formerly SK]

My DD's first neurosurgeon was like this.  Waited 1+ hrs for my appt to start, saw several resident neurosurgeons for beginning appt stuff (waiting 10-15 for each one - found out this was the time The Big Guy spent looking at our file), and then saw The Big Guy for 15 minutes.  The guy simply had no respect for my time.  Getting the first am appointment didn't improve things. 

Switched to DD's second neurosurgeon over it (our city has two excellent ones).  She wasn't much better about appointment times.    Fortunately, we don't need to work with a neurosurgeon anymore. 

[Deleted]

Feb 5, 2014 16:43:12 GMT -5 moneymaven said:

I have been sitting at this doctor's office for an hour. My appointment time was an hour ago, directly after his lunch. This is now the fourth time the doctor has left me waiting for ridiculous amounts of time. I want to throw a fit right now, but he's doing a procedure on my neck tomorrow and I am not trying to get myself really screwed up because I've pissed him or his staff off.

What the hell? How does this happen in a professional office? Isn't this lost profitability and reputation costing them?

I really can understand this happening once or twice, but this has now become a consistent problem. Ugh I want to scream!

I hear you. It would seem that your time is not important. This happened to me a lot with my previous doctor. He made appointments for every 15 minutes and I almost always had to wait at least an hour.
You wait in the waiting room, then they move you to the exam room where you wait AGAIN for ages. I got tired of it and got a new doctor.

[comom1]

Several years ago I had a dr. that always ran at least an hour or more behind.  First thing in the morning didn't help, either.  Turns out, his staff was scheduling three patients in every patient slot.  I found a new dr.  I was even happier I switched when I saw that he was sent to prison for sexually assaulting patients.

[Deleted]

Honestly, I just expect and deal with the doctor delay.  Doctors are squeezed by insurance companies, Medicare, and who knows what else.  They have to book people incredibly close together in order to make money.  They are also small businesses like the rest of many of you guys.  If they can't show a profit, why work?

I had a 3:15 eye doctor's appointment for a glaucoma check.  I left at 4:45.  The multiple tests were through by 4:00.  But she needed time to review those tests, talk to me, do additional stuff, etc.

I never count on doctors for a quick visit. 

[moneymaven]

I talked to the doctor about it. Turns out today was legit. There was a threat made at the local HS (where his children attend) and the students were evacuated. He had to tend to that matter.

That I can understand. He recently took over this practice so I think he's just in over his head. It's new behavior since I've worked with him for my care so hopefully it stops. Pretty tiring though, I spent 2.5 hours there and will be there most of tomorrow for a procedure. Ugh.

[marvholly]

ok, Wed was VERY understandable. HOWEVER:

I had this happen constantly in my dentist's office. It stopped immediatly after I walked out (more than 1 hour behind) and sent a bill for my 'wasted' time. I was REALLY ticked off because he was late due to an emergency & his partner walked out for lunch while I sat on my bottom waiting. He changed up practice procedures. Stopped taking emergencies from non regular-practice people. Added a couple hygenists to do the routine cleaning stuff leaving him time for REAL patient care.

NOTE: my bill was not paid BUT I did get my point accross & fixes/changes ensued.

[Opti]

Feb 5, 2014 16:43:12 GMT -5 moneymaven said:

I have been sitting at this doctor's office for an hour. My appointment time was an hour ago, directly after his lunch. This is now the fourth time the doctor has left me waiting for ridiculous amounts of time. I want to throw a fit right now, but he's doing a procedure on my neck tomorrow and I am not trying to get myself really screwed up because I've pissed him or his staff off.

What the hell? How does this happen in a professional office? Isn't this lost profitability and reputation costing them?

I really can understand this happening once or twice, but this has now become a consistent problem. Ugh I want to scream!

Find out their schedule and go for there. Some doctors do all their
emergencies(patients) in the morning.

[thyme4change]

My ob/gyn cancelled on me 4 times in a row - I understand that people have babies, and she needs to be there, but every time they would say "We don't have any openings for 6 months."  So, I went 3 years without an annual exam.  After the 4th cancellation, I found a new doctor.  The guy in the second slot on the list is probably just as good as the guy on the first slot.

[Deleted]

Who so Doctors think they are.

Professionals in extremely high demand with more clients than they could possibly service. As busy as he sounds he'd probably be grateful if you found another doctor.

[Pants]

maven - I've had this trouble with a specialist as well. I always book the first morning appointment. This usually cuts down on the waiting.

In the past, 1) I have had luck with telling the receptionist I am about to leave, 2) telling the doctor that I am a professional, and I wouldn't keep them waiting - so why do they feel it's ok to do it to me?

But best bet is booking the first appt in the am.

[bookkeeper]

I recently changed opthamologists for a similar reason. Left me waiting in the waiting room, in the exam room and then when he finally shows up he spends all his time trying to get the billing right on the new computer software that they had launched.   The computer screen in the exam room got more face time with this guy than I did. I got the feeling that he couldn't pick me out of a lineup 5 minutes after our appointment. He also told me I couldn't retire because I was too young.   Hello--I have been working and supporting myself since I was 19 years old.  I decided I no longer needed his advice or medical care.  I found another highly recommended doctor and am very happy. 

I have noticed that the staff at the new doctor also seems very happy and relaxed.  The staff at the old doctor always looked like they were on pins and needles, very uptight place to work.

[tskeeter]

Did you hear the one about the guy in the long line at that gates to heaven?  As the guy is patiently waiting for his turn with St. Peter, a fellow in a white lab coat comes bustling importantly along, bypasses all those waiting in line, nods to St. Peter, and strides through the pearly gates.  After a very long wait, our guy gets to St. Peter.  And he asks St. Peter "so what's the deal with the dude in the lab coat?".  St. Peter's response -  Oh, that's God.  He likes to think he's a Doctor.

[tloonya]

Feb 6, 2014 12:51:14 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Did you hear the one about the guy in the long line at that gates to heaven?  As the guy is patiently waiting for his turn with St. Peter, a fellow in a white lab coat comes bustling importantly along, bypasses all those waiting in line, nods to St. Peter, and strides through the pearly gates.  After a very long wait, our guy gets to St. Peter.  And he asks St. Peter "so what's the deal with the dude in the lab coat?".  St. Peter's response -  Oh, that's God.  He likes to think he's a Doctor.

How come you didn't tell this joke when I had my 'long wait for a doctor' thread?

[zibazinski]

This isn't the time to mention that my doctor is going to meet me at the local coffee shop, huh?

[tloonya]

Feb 8, 2014 7:48:04 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

This isn't the time to mention that my doctor is going to meet me at the local coffee shop, huh?

 
Obamacare makes doctors looking for a supplemental income? Wow!

[moneymaven]

I received a handwritten apology and gift card for the repeated delay. Unexpected and appreciated.

[goldensam]

It's so frustrating when this happens. Just this week I had an appointment with the specialist I see for my back. I was finally seen by his PA an hour and 45 mins after my appointment time. The doctor never saw me.