jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Height, weight, blood pressure, and pulse. That was it. I waited half an hour in the waiting room and another half an hour in the "little room." Then I went out in the hall to see if they had forgotten about me. That had happened once to my wife. "Oh, sorry for the delay." I went back into the little room, waited a bit more, and then left.

I can walk and talk and type, so I guess I'm okay. Even better, I didn't get furious while the clock ticket away. I stayed calm, left the office, and drove home. This is why I don't like late appointments - after 10:00 AM.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Don't you miss the "old" doctoring method where they didn't book people ten minutes apart?

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

Really? Height, weight, blood pressure and pulse? That's it? So the doctor didn't look at blood work and tell you things that could improve like bad cholesterol, PSA, how much weight you should lose or how you need to change your diet? If they didn't spend at least 20 minutes with you to talk about stuff like this, then you got ripped off and I would change doctors NOW! I have been going to the VA healthcare doctors since 2010 and every annual appointment they spent at least 1/2 hour with me in the little office talking to me about things. One time the doctor didn't like how my heart sounded so he sent me upstairs to get an EKG. By the time I got up there, they were waiting for me, took the EKG, put the results in an envelope, and I hand carried it back to the doctor whom was waiting for me to come back. He didn't even take another patient while I was gone. Thank God the EKG was fine. My point is, the VA has a pretty bad name for serving vets, but it sounds to me like your healthcare is crap. I am very happy with VA healthcare and I probably won't ever pay for medicare. Why should I give them $126 a month for shitty healthcare like yours.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

I tried to do the same, Jerry. But my wife was with me and made me stay so I made my feelings known to the staff even though I knew it was useless. On one occasion I showed up and the doctor was out of town. Thanks for letting me know. It's only going to get worse.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

[quote=jeep_daddy]Really? Height, weight, blood pressure and pulse? That's it? So the doctor didn't look at blood work and tell you.../quote]

Doctor? What doctor? I waited over an hour, but he never made an appearance. I have to accept part of the blame for this situation. I agreed to a "late" appointment. If the doctor spends an extra ten minutes with each patient, by the time noon rolls around, he's way behind schedule.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

[quote=jerryc41]

That sucks. That's why I try to always get the first appointment.

dancers Loc: melbourne.victoria, australia

not long ago, here, the office staff at the Drs wondered why he was not calling in the next patient.

She went to the consulting room to find the Dr, aged only in his 30s as dead as a doornail.......... sad eh!

rwoodvira

Managed care is supposed to be more efficient. In realty its an excuse to limit service to policyholders. When I was diagnosed with a malignant esophageal cancer a major insurer tried to do just a CT scan before surgery. Metastatic cancer can spread pretty much anywhere so for treatment you need a PET Scan which does the whole body. Their first consultant said it was unnecessary - I had the right to check out who he was - a pediatrician. The second guy was a CT radiologist - he turned it down. Finally my doc said no scan, no operation and my patient will see you in the court. I got my scan.

One of the biggest mistakes we made nationally was to allow the Blues to become for profit. They seem to be much more interested in paying their executives bg salaries then treating their policyholders. My opinion.

quagmire Loc: Greenwood,South Carolina

With my Doc you never feel hurried after short wait. Last time he spent almost an hour with wife and me
explaining CT scan.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

My doctor calls what you got a wellness physical which I am entitled to one free one a year. If I mention a concern during the physical, e.g. allergy, headache, etc., the physical becomes something else.

sseeley52

Not sure what any of this has to do with photography. Sounds like a poor me scenario..

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

When I had a private practice I ran an "on-time" practice. I didn't double-book. I expected you to be on time, and if your appointment was at 10:00, I expected you to be in the exam room getting your vitals done at 10:00, and I would be in to see you within 5-10 minutes. I allowed enough time to take care of my patients.

That was the good news.

The bad news was that for me to make any kind of living doing that, I would have had to charge $100 per visit. Insurance paid me anywhere between $48 and $72 per visit. My overhead was 50-60% - but I am a really nice boss and provided health insurance to my staff. So the result was that there were quite a few paydays when I barely met payroll and did not get a paycheck of my own.

I understand why doctors rush and double-book, but it stinks, and when you are treated like this you should complain vigorously!

I work at the VA now, and while the paperwork requirements really stink (I see patients 7 hours per day but work 9 1/2 hours per day with a 15-minute lunch and still have to put in 6-10 hours on the weekends) I really like that I have 30 minutes to spend with each patient - an hour with new patients. It allows me to deal with the often multiple problems requiring testing, referrals, prescriptions, etc. Our patients get the best care I think any patient in the US could possibly get, and at least at our facility, most of the complaints are due more to unrealistic expectations than to inadequacies of care.

jgudpns Loc: Pensacola, FL

Actually, not sure what your comment is doing in a non-photography section.

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

A relative who is a doctor told me that they purposely have patients sit in the "little room" for a while so that things like blood pressure, pulse, etc. have a chance to stabilize before measurements are taken. Makes sense to me. However, patients would probably be less anxious if nurse advised them of that in advance.

Also, at my last exam I was told not to smoke or drink, lose some weight, and begin an exercise program. When I asked if this would make me live longer, I was told "No, but it will seem a lot longer".

Just remember, getting old may suck, but it sure beats the alternative.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

I once waited a total of FOUR HOURS!!!!! And without even a hint of an apology. That was the first AND LAST time I saw that son of a bitch. Most doctors are all about the cash. In the last 10 years I've become an expert on that subject.