jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

My eye doctor's practice changes hands about every two years, so I don't even try to keep up with the current name. While I was sitting in the waiting room from 10:15 - 11:00, I read all the advertising by the latest owner - Optum. "Take Your Health to the Next Level." I'm not a big fan of "the next level," because I don't see it meaning anything. But taking your health up a level? How many levels are there? Is eternal life in there somewhere? Would I have to become a vampire?

I got to the little exam room at 11:00, and the eye doc showed up promptly at 11:45. I was back in my car at 12:00. Luckily, it was a cloudy day, so my dilated eyes weren't a problem.

crafterwantabe Loc: Mn

Gee that’s a long time to wait.

Warhorse Loc: SE Michigan

I too hate the way medical folks book these days, these long waits are ridiculous.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

One of the irks of mine is that my doctor’s office rules states if the patient is 15 minutes late the appointment will be rescheduled. The doctor never sees me less than 30 minutes after I am taken to the exam room. And that’s after waiting 30 minutes to be taken to the exam room.

Stan

Festus Loc: North Dakota

That is totally inexcusable. I wait no longer than 15 minutes for any doctor. Drs. and clinics are fighting for business just like other businesses.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Welcome to the "New America".

nicksr1125 Loc: Mesa, AZ

I wouldn’t go back to that clinic even if I’d used them for many years & I’d let them know why. Told 1 clinic I had another appointment scheduled shortly after theirs. If I couldn’t be seen on time (and I wasn’t), I would leave & reschedule. They threatened to hit with a missed appointment charge. Never went back & was never hit with the fee.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

None of my or my wife's doctors require long waits. Maybe we are just lucky or have an abundance of choices in our area.
Mark

Bayou

Yep. Mine have really cleaned up their efficiency acts. Of the several docs a see, none run more than a few minutes behind.

Ollieboy

I never wait more than 1/2 hr past the appt time. I remind the receptionist of my appt 15 after the set time. I just walk out 15 minutes later. If they advise me the doctor is running late I'll give them a little time. If I'm ignored I just walk out. If more people did this they wouldn't overbook. They seem to take advantage of the elderly.

KillroyII Loc: Middle Georgia

We changed eye doctors this year because when we called to set up our annual appointment they were booked 8 months out… both the old and new offices/doctors have been very reasonable regarding wait times.

If you want a real challenge, try to get FREE medicine on a government program… hours of waiting and frustration for everything… and currently one of the offices (I qualify for 2 different free drug programs) has changed both their phone menu system and their on-line system… and neither works… and when (if) they are fixed they have taken away capabilities the user/patient had before… putting all the patients in the position of having to go there and wait in line… for hours… for each step in getting your drugs, a week or two later.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

They are allotted X amount of minutes (on average) per patient.
If 10 patients before you each run (on the average) 5 minutes over the allotted time, .......
Then, the Dr. may take a minute to review your record before he comes in the exam room.

Gotta move those patients through!
I got spoiled when I was young, my Dr. was the only one in the office/practice.
Sometimes there was a wait, albeit short, sometimes not.

therwol Loc: USA

I worked as a doctor in primary care at a large HMO for 27 years. I won't say which one. The doctors there have absolutely no control over how many patients they have to care for or how to schedule them. In case no one knows, the population is getting older and sicker, and 15 or 20 minute appointments are grossly inadequate for many patients, some of whom have several serious medical issues that need attention. Just straightening out their medication can take 10-15 minutes. If you get even one complex patient on your schedule that takes up 45 minutes of your time, there is no recovery. You have a waiting room full of pissed off patients and work through lunch and get out late. You may even have to do your charting after you get home. The worst case scenario is having 8 or 9 patients like this on your schedule, at which point it becomes impossible to give quality care, and patients get pissed off when you suggest that they come back for a second appointment to finish up.

You have medical assistants working through administration calling all of the Medicare patients in for their "annual wellness check". Medicare requires that every single problem on their problem lists be addressed, and there is money attached to compliance. It's all about money. This is why it's almost impossible to be seen on time for an ear infection.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

medphotog Loc: Witness protection land

I got lucky in one clinic. I worked a day and a half in a diabetic ulcer clinic in podiatry (before he and I both retired). The doc had to jump through the burning hoops of Hades but finally got them to let him book those patients himself in the computer and then have the patients so to scheduling and get their "official" appointment that had been reserved. If he had to overbook then he could look to see who was on the schedule that wouldn't take the whole time slot and put them there and we were rarely more than 10 minutes off. Of course things would go south with a new patient but on the whole we had a pretty good record of getting them in, photographing, debridement, re-shoot, applying growth tissue, wrapping and making necessary adjustments to the orthotics, booking the follow up and getting them out the door in 30 minutes. (I had to wear many hats during this time) It worked well for about 6 years.