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The Waiting Room



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 18th 06, 06:08 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

I had a rather important appointment to meet someone yesterday at 10 am
(not a doctor's appt). It was 10:10 am and she still wasn't there.
She didn't call and have the secretary tell me she was running late.
Nothing. So I left. Simple. She didn't keep the appointment, so I
left. And I won't be making any appointments with her again. Aside
from being insulted, my reasoning was that if she would be
inconsiderate in that way, then she would certainly be inconsiderate in
other ways in the future.

My question is, why do we (the general public) put up with that
nonsense at doctor's offices? If someone does not meet me within 10
minutes of an appointment, or at least very politely explain the delay
and offer immediate apologies, I assume he/she is not interested in
keeping the appointment and then I leave. I honestly don't care *why*
he/she is late--that's not my problem. Same thing if I were unable to
pay my bill. I am sure they would not care *why*---that's my problem.

Anyway, don't you think if people just *left* when they were kept
waiting for more than 10 minutes, doctor's offices (and other
businesses) would stop taking advantage of people like that?

Crispee

  #2  
Old March 18th 06, 07:37 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

My question is, why do we (the general public) put up with that
nonsense at doctor's offices? If someone does not meet me within 10
minutes of an appointment, or at least very politely explain the delay
and offer immediate apologies, I assume he/she is not interested in
keeping the appointment and then I leave. I honestly don't care *why*
he/she is late--that's not my problem. Same thing if I were unable to
pay my bill. I am sure they would not care *why*---that's my problem.


I think the point is they should tell us why they are running late, just
like the person you were meeting should have told you.

It would be really nice if when you got to the doctors they said,
unfortunately Dr so and so is running about 10 minutes late, there are x
numbers of people to see before you...

.... then you could make a decision based on that. Recently I went for an MRI
scan and when I got there they apologised profusely and said they were
running 30-40 minutes late and I should go and get a cup of tea, that was
really helpful, other departments they are that late and they don't even
acknowledge it when they call you in. All I think people really want is
openness and honesty.

But, the reason why we stay is because if we don't we'll have to make
another appointment and come back another day, probably to be treated the
same way.

Anne


  #3  
Old March 18th 06, 08:00 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

My answer? I don't. The only exception being physicians I *know* are
running late because they are spending needed time with patients. I had
an ENT who would come in at 6:30 and 7AM to see patients before they
needed to be at work, he would also fit in all emergency cases that
day. His office would be very up front when you arrived for your appt
that Dr. P was running behind and gave the choice to wait or
reschedule. I didn't mind because I knew that if *I* was the patient in
need he was available for me.

Now I had (note the past tense) a GP who had prominently displayed a
paper at the front desk that if you were 15 minutes late for an appt
the appt was automatically canceled and you had to reschedule. Fine.
Except when I had the first appt of the day the doctor was 1 hr late.
Nothing said to me from her secretary. No opportunity for ME to
reschedule. She comes in and flippantly says her child had an ear
infection. Nifty, next time MY child has an ear infection and I'm an
hour late for my appt will you wait for me?
Total and complete lack of consideration for MY time but I'm supposed
to respect hers? Don't think so.

  #4  
Old March 18th 06, 08:43 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room


"Anne Rogers" wrote in message
...
My question is, why do we (the general public) put up with that
nonsense at doctor's offices? If someone does not meet me within 10
minutes of an appointment, or at least very politely explain the delay
and offer immediate apologies, I assume he/she is not interested in
keeping the appointment and then I leave. I honestly don't care *why*
he/she is late--that's not my problem. Same thing if I were unable to
pay my bill. I am sure they would not care *why*---that's my problem.


I think the point is they should tell us why they are running late, just
like the person you were meeting should have told you.

It would be really nice if when you got to the doctors they said,
unfortunately Dr so and so is running about 10 minutes late, there are x
numbers of people to see before you...


I know with my doctor, I have never once been seen at my appointment time,
nor have I been called in within half an hour of my scheduled appointment.
EVER. I don't understand it either. If I'm late, I'm SOL. At my OB's
office, they put your little file in this little file holder thing and you
go in order of when you show up (according to your appointment time) and
once you've been there for a while - this will be #4 for me, over 6 years -
I've learned the color and condition my folder is in, so I can keep an eye
on about how far back I am

... then you could make a decision based on that. Recently I went for an
MRI scan and when I got there they apologised profusely and said they were
running 30-40 minutes late and I should go and get a cup of tea, that was
really helpful, other departments they are that late and they don't even
acknowledge it when they call you in. All I think people really want is
openness and honesty.


We had a follow up at the Children's Hospital 2 weeks after the car accident
where my son needed to go for this follow up with the plastic surgeon that
had seen him. I had called to make the appointment right after we were
discharged from the hospital, and I was told by the secretary that my
appointment for my son was at 11:00 - be there on time, but expect to wait
at least an hour. I had asked why we should expect to wait until at least
noon for our appointment that was being scheduled for 11, and she told me
that the doctor usually runs an hour late at that point in the day. Boy,
did I feel bad for that person who had an appointment at 4! They'd probably
have to wait 3 hours...
I explained that my son is 5 and my daughter is 6 months, and there's no way
that I'd be able to convince myself that they'd sit for more than 10 minutes
before being bored and acting up, and I was rudely told that this is the way
it is. I asked if I could make my appointment for 11 but not show up until
around 11:45 or so, and I was told that this wasn't acceptable, so I asked
why they book so full when they know the doctor will run behind so much
early in the day. She didn't answer me, and maybe I came across as fairly
rude, which kind of was my intentions, but I know I came across as politely
rude, or maybe even ignorant more than rude. We did get there at 11. I
stood at the front desk for just under 10 minutes waiting to check in, since
there was no receptionist at the desk. After standing around like idiots
for almost 10 minutes, she finally came, took our names and all that, and we
sat down. I then asked about how long the wait will be, given that I had 2
little ones to deal with, and little ones that needed to have lunch since
our appointment was right in the middle of lunch time (1030 before we left
was too early for lunch) and she simply said, "A while." I then asked if we
had time to go have lunch, since DS was already complaining about how he's
missing lunch, and she said there's more than enough time for lunch. Went
for lunch, came back, and then we were the next in line, or so that's what I
was told. Makes me wonder if they skipped on past me or not and had a
feeling I'd throw a big scene if we were told we had missed being called and
had to reschedule.

But, the reason why we stay is because if we don't we'll have to make
another appointment and come back another day, probably to be treated the
same way.

Anne


That's true. It is always the same, IME. You're late, your loss. They're
late, your loss.


  #5  
Old March 18th 06, 09:00 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

Crispee wrote:
I had a rather important appointment to meet someone yesterday at 10
am (not a doctor's appt). It was 10:10 am and she still wasn't there.
She didn't call and have the secretary tell me she was running late.
Nothing. So I left. Simple. She didn't keep the appointment, so I
left. And I won't be making any appointments with her again. Aside
from being insulted, my reasoning was that if she would be
inconsiderate in that way, then she would certainly be inconsiderate
in other ways in the future.

My question is, why do we (the general public) put up with that
nonsense at doctor's offices? If someone does not meet me within 10
minutes of an appointment, or at least very politely explain the delay
and offer immediate apologies, I assume he/she is not interested in
keeping the appointment and then I leave. I honestly don't care *why*
he/she is late--that's not my problem. Same thing if I were unable to
pay my bill. I am sure they would not care *why*---that's my problem.

Anyway, don't you think if people just *left* when they were kept
waiting for more than 10 minutes, doctor's offices (and other
businesses) would stop taking advantage of people like that?

Crispee


Nope. They would charge you a fee for cancelling your appointment. Some
doctors over book, that's for sure. But some get called away on
emergencies. They are doctors, that's what they do, see sick and healthy
patients. I've been very lucky in all the doctors that I've used, that I've
never had long waits before being seen. And on the few occasions that I
have, they've always been good about informing me that there was a delay or
emergency.

I think it's fair to ask to speak to the office manager and explain that
they have a responsibility to the patients to be on time and courteous about
delays, just as the patient has the responsibility to be on time to the
appointment. Most people work and take time off work, and can't afford to
take a half day for a 1 hour appointment. I think it's also fair to switch
providers and write the old provider a letter explaining why you left.
--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03
Addison Grace, 9/30/04

Check out the family! -- www.MyFamily.com, User ID: Clarkguest1,
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your own User ID and Password


  #6  
Old March 18th 06, 09:05 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

Crispee wrote:
I had a rather important appointment to meet someone yesterday at 10 am
(not a doctor's appt). It was 10:10 am and she still wasn't there.
She didn't call and have the secretary tell me she was running late.
Nothing. So I left. Simple. She didn't keep the appointment, so I
left. And I won't be making any appointments with her again. Aside
from being insulted, my reasoning was that if she would be
inconsiderate in that way, then she would certainly be inconsiderate in
other ways in the future.

My question is, why do we (the general public) put up with that
nonsense at doctor's offices? If someone does not meet me within 10
minutes of an appointment, or at least very politely explain the delay
and offer immediate apologies, I assume he/she is not interested in
keeping the appointment and then I leave. I honestly don't care *why*
he/she is late--that's not my problem. Same thing if I were unable to
pay my bill. I am sure they would not care *why*---that's my problem.

Anyway, don't you think if people just *left* when they were kept
waiting for more than 10 minutes, doctor's offices (and other
businesses) would stop taking advantage of people like that?


Obviously, in an ideal world people would be prompt.
However, there are reasons things don't move like clockwork.
Dr. visit lengths are unpredictable. Some people need more
time. There are emergencies that come up. Now, there are things
that come up in your schedule too. Maybe there's a lot of
traffic, or maybe you have some errands of unpredictable duration
to run on your way to the doctor's office. So, what do you do?
You allow extra time for the unexpected. This effectively
"wastes" your time, as you likely won't *need* that extra time,
but if you don't schedule it in, you might be late.
Doctors can do the same thing. If they want to be
always on time, they must build time into their schedules
to absorb the overruns that they can't plan. That time is
not billable time. So, in order to compensate for that, they
have to bill more for the time that is billable. However,
for the most part, they are paid fixed fees since most of
the business in most practices comes from insurers through
managed care plans of one sort or another. So, in that
situation, what are they going to do? Most are going to
schedule back-to-back billable hours and when something
comes up like a patient who needs more care or an emergency,
they're going to end up running late.
Some practices are better at scheduling, and some
practices deal with specialties or client mixes that are
more predictable. At the very least, there's no reason that
staff couldn't say that Dr. So-and-so is running 15 minutes
late and give an opportunity to reschedule if need be. That's
just polite business practice. But the underlying issue of
why they run late in the first place is a bit more challenging
to deal with. There are practices that just decide to take the
financial hit and put more leeway into their schedule, but a
lot of practices don't really have the ability to do that.

Best wishes,
Ericka
  #7  
Old March 18th 06, 11:18 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

I left my last OB/GYN for that reason. I can appreciate a 10 min delay,
but I was waiting a minimum of 1 HOUR. The first time I asked "is this
normal? Because I can't really take a whole afternoon off work." And
was told it was not, it was an emergency, etc. Fair enough. I
understand that. But then it happened each time. Min. 1 hour wait just
to be called back, another 30 mins+ before she showed up. rarely any
apologies or explanations, so I just started seeing another doc.

I have been to a doc and they were late and their staff explained what
was happening and ok....I will accept that. But this was over the top.
My current OB I usually have to wait 10-15 mins, but I think that is
reasonable, and if it's more, she's usually apologetic. SOme patients
take longer than others and it's hard to predict. But more than that
and it's clear they're double booking for the $.

  #8  
Old March 18th 06, 11:33 PM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

I always have had to wait a long time for my OB, I don't mind because
when he finally comes in, he knows all about me and my family, he takes
his time, he is never in a rush, he answers all my questions, and he
has actual conversations with me. Since I know this is probably what
makes him late, I don't mind.

And another perspective--at my 6-week xheck after William, he was
called away to deliver a baby and we were told the wait would be long.
So we took the time to walk across the street to the hospital to visit
my aunt. She'd been in for a couple of weeks and we hadn't seen her,
nor had she seen the baby. She died the next day, and I am so, so glad
he was running late that day.

Leslie

  #9  
Old March 19th 06, 12:11 AM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room


it is. I asked if I could make my appointment for 11 but not show up
until
around 11:45 or so, and I was told that this wasn't acceptable, so I asked
why they book so full when they know the doctor will run behind so much
early in the day.


I think it is because the doctors know they will run behind, so they know
that there working day is going to be longer and there breaks shorter, but
if they actually scheduled there appointments that way then they would
either be breaking employment laws, or other things.

I don't recall when the last appointment with my GP usually is, but I do
know when I've been near the end of the day that after a certain point the
building begins to shut down, receptionists leave, that kind of thing.

Also, with nationalised health care, we have certain things laid down like
average length of appointment and so on, so a doctor who scheduled
appointments every 15 mins would not be popular, so they have to do every 10
mins and rely on a certain percentage not showing up and getting some people
in and out in less time, when really very few people actually only take up
10mins.

Anne


  #10  
Old March 19th 06, 12:14 AM posted to misc.kids.pregnancy
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Default The Waiting Room

Now I had (note the past tense) a GP who had prominently displayed a
paper at the front desk that if you were 15 minutes late for an appt
the appt was automatically canceled and you had to reschedule. Fine.
Except when I had the first appt of the day the doctor was 1 hr late.
Nothing said to me from her secretary. No opportunity for ME to
reschedule. She comes in and flippantly says her child had an ear
infection. Nifty, next time MY child has an ear infection and I'm an
hour late for my appt will you wait for me?
Total and complete lack of consideration for MY time but I'm supposed
to respect hers? Don't think so.


that is CRAP, once I had a doctor be really really late, there had been an
accident on the motorway and he must have been coming from the opposite
direction to his patients, he was sooooo apologetic, but I've often had
physio appointments at 8.15 and the traffic can be very variable, if I'm
late, I apologise profusely, but the physio has been late and just breezes
in as if nothing has happened, along with her cycle helmet, so she's not
even really affected by the traffic!

Anne


 




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