I am a retired RN from up north. I worked for a very busy doctor who was also the head of a huge department within a University Hospital. His office was in the hospital itself. He told his staff that his patients' time was just as important as his own and that if his patients had to wait more than 15 minutes, we were to step into the waiting room and explain the delay. If he was called to the floor or to the ER for one of his patients, we were to give the waiting patients an option of waiting or rescheduling. He asked his secretaries to put those patients who were rescheduling in, even if it meant we stayed late or came in early to accommodate them. The issue I have here in Florida is that the patients are left to sit without any explanation. I would think that a good office manager would say something to those waiting to explain the delay, i.e. "Doctor was held up with a very sick patient and we're running 15 (20, 30) minutes late". Patients should always be given the option of rescheduling if they have other obligations. If we were the sick patient, we would expect our doctor's attention as well.
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