If I were King, All Doctors…

would either figure out a way to keep their appointments on time. Or pay us for the time we spend sitting in their offices waiting.

8 thoughts on “If I were King, All Doctors…”

  1. A friend of mine introduced me to a concept that I’d never thought of before: call the doctor’s office and ask if they’re running on time! It’s amazing how much time this little trick can save you. Of course this only works if people are seen in the order of the actual appointments instead of the order that they appear.

  2. I know you didn’t mean it and felt bad for spewing off. It’s just such a touchy subject. People are so down on their docs. What you’re talking about, of course, is disgusting!

  3. I’ve experienced this as a patient and as someone who used to work in doctor’s offices. Granted, there’s no way the docs can anticipate everything that’s going to happen, but some of the docs I worked for overbooked on purpose. They knew they were going to see their patients long after their appointment time but they didn’t care. And, yes, they said as much in so many words.

    As a patient, it especially irritated me when I was taking my Mom to doctors…her eye doctor in particular. We routinely waited an hour in the waiting room, only to be escorted back to an exam room to wait 15, 20, or 30 minutes more.

    The sad thing is, it’s probably only going to get worse as the baby boomers get older.

  4. That drives me crazy, too. They expect you to show up on time (early even) and you end up sitting around waiting for them.

  5. Therapy Doc, I should have been more specific. I’m thinking of one dermatologist in particular whom Andrew has to see, who, I believe (I could be wrong) is not dealing with life threatening issues all day long, who is routinely– and I mean, not occasionally, but every single time– anywhere from an hour to two hours late because she overschedules.

    Certainly, those doc’s who are dealing with seriously sick people can’t always plan. But I think everyone has run into this kind of dr. situation where it’s about greed or poor office management or both, and not about concern for their humanity.

    I know you and your husband fall deeply into the former category and not the latter, so no disrespect meant to you and those like you who still care.

  6. Must take issue. You have no idea the kind of #@%! that keeps doctors from being “on time.”

    Last I checked they’re only human.

    When it’s you and you’re REALLY sick (not you, friend, we’re speaking the rhetorical you) while others who are surely not at deaths door have to wait, you won’t mind. Neither will your relatives.

    Doctors are different than other people. They have to make decisions that truly affect life and death outcomes. All #@$! day.

    And by the way, they’re often paid much less than your auto mechanic, and late.

  7. Oh I could write a novel on this! :)
    I do enjoy how if you are so much as 1 minute late they bump your appointment and make you wait for hours. However if you are 15 minutes early you still have a good chance of waiting an hour. So I guess show up whenever you feel like it!

  8. Yes! I remember waiting one hour for my OB every appointment. One hour. He even kept me waiting when I was ready to deliver.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top