Quote:
Originally Posted by billethkid
It seems on almost any thread having to do with rating or recommending doctors there is almost always several post about the waiting time.
Doesn't waiting to see the doctor go with having an appointment?
Some are close....few are right on the time.....and some are 20 + minutes.
Are there no waiting for the doctor where some of these folks come from?
Does waiting one appointment day have anything to do with the next day or the next, etc?
I look at it this way; if it is a good doctor that puts me first, takes his time, asnwers all my questions, focuses on me....then it is safe to assume he/she does the same with all patients. Hence the schedule may suffer some.
There is nothing I hate more than a doctor who is on a drum beat to get you out ASAP so he can get on to the next patient.
No Thanx. I will settle for the wait to get to my turn.
I am retired and am in no particular hurry to HAVE to be anywhere.
There. Now I can make the rest of the day!  |
I totally agree with you. We all want to be treated with caring and competence without any time constraints because someone else might have to wait longer than they want. I even left one doctor because he was in such a hurry. When he was trying to dismiss us, I told him that I had another question. He informed me that he didn't have time. Absolutely not acceptable! It was a question about the medicine the doctor who had placed a stent for my husband had prescribed and had no refills. I wanted to know if he wanted him to stay on it, and if so, I would need another script. My son happened to be in town and went with us. Needless to say, he was totally appalled and said he had never seen such a thing. He didn't get a new script until we changed doctors, which we did asap. The first thing I told the new doctor was to tell me right then (first visit) if he would ever tell me that he "didn't have time", because if so, then we were out of there. He said absolutely not and apologized that someone else had done that.
Part of the reason they book the way they do is because the nurse has to do all the vitals, get updates on histories, do ekg's etc., and it would really take a long time if the patient wasn't ready when the doctor came in. If they do even a minor procedure, they have to take time to explain and then make sure the patient is ok afterwards. Some people have actually died after undergoing even the simplest of procedures. We are humans, not machinery, and we are all different in every aspect of medical care.
Besides, it is not just the restaurants and golf courses that get overwhelmed this time of year. There are a LOT of people here during our "high" season and some rely on the doctors here, especially if they spend more than 3-4 months here. One of the problems is that they also have to allow for people that make appointments and then don't show, not even bothering to call and cancel.
Many of the doctors, depending on who you are seeing and for what, will ask that you not book any other appointments for that day or plan any recreational activities. This is especially true of dermatologists who do the Mohs procedures. They have no idea how long each one will take until they do it. It could be one hour or many.
With more patients coming on board and fewer people choosing to become doctors, it will definitely never be ideal. Not meaning to be tacky, but it is medicine....not fast food drive thru.