The last visit I waited for an hour to see the doc. He apologized and said he got caught up doing something and forgot I was waiting. Ok stuff happens.

Today I have an 8:45 appt and an older lady before me has an 8:30 appt. At 9:19 I’m still waiting. The doctor didn’t even get to the office until just before 9. Freakin ridiculous. I’m done with this guy.

I once had a doctor like that. I would call the office just before I left for my appointment. I would ask if the doctor was running late as I would rather wait to come in rather than wait an hour in the office like I did last time.

No matter how many people were in the waiting room, they would call me back within five minutes of signing in.

My clown of a doctor routinely cancels appointments than I get harassed by his service to reschedule. The trouble is, the shortage of primary care physicians means we have to put up with this crap.

My doc does walk-ins from 8 to 8:30. Guess when I go.

I have fired more than one health care provider for this type of shenanigan. Physiatrist (no, not psychiatrist), urologist (two of them), dentist.

I can understand if this happens occasionally with a provider who might do surgery or something similar, but deliberate over-booking for a provider whose practice is strictly non-emergency stuff in a scheduled office environment, this is just not acceptable.

My current dentist and primary care doc are absolutely great in this respect. On time, every time.

The eye clinic is borderline, but I don't have much of a choice there. It's basically the only game in town for my needs, except for one competitor; I had one appointment with the competitor, I just got up and walked out of the waiting room an hour after my appointment time. They sent me a bill for $30.00 for "missed appointment." I returned it with an invoice for my time; one hour in the waiting room, plus travel time (all at $175.00 / hour) and mileage cost at the IRS-approved rate ($0.50 / mile at that time). They did not pay my invoice, but neither did they send their $30 "missed appointment" bill to collections, as they had threatened to do. Stalemate.

I was 5 minutes late for an appointment and the receptionist said im not sure if we can still see you today. I was eventually seen by the Dr.

I told the lady the last time I waited for over 35 minutes and that was ok?

I dont have any medical conditions that require on going care. I use the MedExpress/Quick Med walk in places and have been seen in less time than scheduling an appointment.

I think all doctors do this now.

I rarely am seen anywhere near my appointment time and have waited as long as an hour myself.

Obama forced a lot of doctors to have to join medical groups and hospitals instead of being independent and they're all about volume and I think they all overbook people.

Late night tv Johnny Carson had a quest who sued a doctor for having to sit in waiting room for almost 2 hrs because Dr was on a emergency case. But later found out Dr was actually on the golf course. So he sent the Dr a bill for his wasted time waiting and the Dr did not respond. So he sent a certified letter with another bill included and again the Dr did not respond. So he sued the doctor for the invoice for his wasted time due to the fact everyone involved had lied about Dr not having a emergency but actually on the golf course. He prevailed and won the case. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Personaly both myself and wife use the VA clinic in Baton Rouge,La and or the VA Hospital in New Orleans, La... never really had any waits to actually be seen and treated. check in 30 minutes prior to appointment and in fact several times was completed and out the door by appointment time and headed home........................................ drill sgt.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: drill sgt,

My experience with medical doctors is similar to the forum.

My dentist is an entirely different story. Been going to the same practice for 25 years, never waited more than 5 minutes. There was an occasion when the doc was running late, they called me and asked if it would be OK to come in 30 minutes after my scheduled time. It was fine. Small practice and I have a track record of being on time so that plays into it.

^^^^^
That would be OK with me, if

1. it's a rare occurrence, AND
   
2. they had the courtesy to call and give you a heads-up.

What really yanks my chain is when they know full well that they're running significantly late, and they don't bother to let you know, they just let you come in and park your ass in the waiting room for an hour.

I guess the worst one that I've encountered was at a large cardiology practice. One doc and a small army of nurses, assistants, administrative staff, etc. After sitting there for 45 minutes, I walked up to the desk to ask how much longer.

"Oh, the doctor won't be in until much later this afternoon. He's at a conference."

V-Tail does a slow burn, then in a very quiet, measured tone, says "Get the office manager out here. NOW!"

She appeared and I told her that she had five minutes to hand me my full file. She started to argue, I told her that she would be personally served for a court appearance within 24 hours. She got the file for me, I left, never to return.

I manage a large medical office for a large hospital system. We have one doctor who is habitually late. His original start time of 8AM was moved to 8:30 because he could never get to work by 8. Guess what time he rolls in now? Yep, 8:45-50.

I'd stop scheduling 8:30 patients for him but he'd be OK with that as well. Hell, no matter what time we have him start he's going to be late. It pisses me off but there is very little I can do about it. The system is run by doctors who protect their own and until these type doctors are hit where it hurt the most - the wallet - they will continue to treat patients like a necessary evil.

quote:

I think all doctors do this now.

I rarely am seen anywhere near my appointment time and have waited as long as an hour myself.

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NO. Not one of mine does this. Maybe it is just PA. LOL Sometimes it requires some ingenuity on the part of the patient and good relations with the office staff. I spend plenty of time getting to know the receptionist /scheduler. Patients who are late get charged for a missed visit. Often these patients are causing the increase in wait time.

I see no complaints above regarding the six or seven hour waits in the ER. How come?

I go to the VA for most of my medical needs, except dental and eye, and almost never have this problem.

Here's what I generally do: Schedule my appointments to be the first one in the morning, or the first one after lunch or, if I can't get one of those times, I schedule to be the last one in the afternoon. But even on those rare times when I got an appointment in the middle of the morning or afternoon, I almost always seem to get in right on time.

I don't know if it is just the way it is at Bay Pines VA Hospital or not. I've only been to one other VA Hospital and have never been to any of their clinics out in the community.

BUT, yesterday, my wife had some bad pain in her eye. She's not a vet, so I called the eye doc we both use and they said to bring her right in. She got "in" right away, but I ended up sitting in the waiting room for some 2 hours waiting for her to be seen by the doc.

Turns out it was some kinda infection and we picked up a prescription for antibiotics.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

I see no complaints above regarding the six or seven hour waits in the ER. How come?

This thread is about health care providers who do not seem to be capable of keeping scheduled appointments on time.

Emergency departments generally don't have too many scheduled appointments.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I think all doctors do this now.

Not by a long shot.

I never wait more than a couple minute past my appointment time at primary care physician, my dentist, and my optometrist. All three are very prompt, and those are the only three doctors that I see on a regular basis. In fact, since I'm in the habit of arriving a bit early for appointments, I'm sometimes seen even before my appointment time.

The same was true with the battery of neck/shoulder specialists and physical therapists that I had to see a couple years back.

The only place that I have to wait is the wonky occupational health practice that we are required to go to for work-related exams and worker's comp injuries. But that place is a dumpster fire in more ways than just their scheduling/waiting, so it's not surprising.

I help employ a gaggle of medical specialists in my area. That said most I have had long standing relationships with. My internist for well over two decades as an example. Yes some have recently retired and others are getting close. Regardless they are very professional in not only their care but their handling of patients. Always punctual and in the rare cases of emergencies taking them elsewhere, their staff is right there with facts and a back up plan. Maybe it is flyover country ethics at work.

I'm tired of losing to those smarter than me. My Dr appointment was just Tuesday. We got there a 2:40 for a 3:00 time. Checked in before the 2:45 suggested arrival time. Since there is nothing to do but sit, I watched the others arrive. The waiting room turned over twice while I waited. I was getting pissed, but finally they took me in. Just to wait a while longer. In all fairness, the Dr did spend enough time with me. My guess its one of the reasons he runs so late. What I'm really paying for is his monopoly on writing prescriptions.

I think I'm going to die of old age, in his waiting room.

I got tired of it so I switched practices to a concierge type practice that charges an annual fee. I shouldn't have to pay extra but it's been well worth it. No waiting and sometimes appointments start early. No billing nonsense. The back office handles everything ASAP from referrals to dealing with CVS shitting the bed. They also still do blood draws in house and take orders from my specialists so no dealing with trekking to labcorp or quest.

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Unless you work in healthcare you really have no idea of the paperwork involved to get paid. Bill my insurance is the refrain. A conceirge practice does not have to fool with the insurance nonsense and prior authorizations. The support staff is minimal.

quote:

This thread is about health care providers who do not seem to be capable of keeping scheduled appointments on time.

Emergency departments generally don't have too many scheduled appointments.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the reminder. My point is that if you are truly in need of immediate services you will not walk out and ask for your file.