Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikeod
To provide a view from the other side.
The last 28 years of my professional life were spent in a medical group where everyone was salaried, so our income was not affected by how many patients we could cram into the day. My day was fully booked in advance, all day. We also had a policy that if someone presented to the clinic with a problem, they would be seen. If a patient was very late for their appointment, they would be seen. If a patient showed up on the wrong day, they would be seen. Added to those were patients sent to us by other departments. And, of course, we added our own patients who required follow-up even though there were no available appointments.
My early patients were generally seen on time. But, as the morning progressed, patients who required more time than was booked plus those other add-on patients caused me to be farther behind time. Most of the time I would finish my AM patients a bit after my PM patients were already checking in. A lunch break was a dream. Grab a bite of sandwich and a sip of a drink and get back to work. I would finish my PM patients well after the clinic closing time. Then I could embark on finishing my charting, preparing for the next day's patient load, read my messages, return phone calls from patients or colleagues, or go over lab or technician results.
Fortunately, my front office staff kept our patients informed of the wait.
Just to say that overbooking occurs for other reasons than revenue. Sometimes it's medically necessary.
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Thank you! A voice of reason and should be able to be understood by all. That is a much better way than being told that you can be seen in two weeks/months when you have a problem NOW. (Or clogging the ER unnecessarily.)
Many of the doctors here ask that you NOT make any other commitments for the day of your appointment because the length cannot be guaranteed, and especially so if you are having some procedure done.
I personally prefer the doctor that takes his time and especially the time to listen to me. I hate the Wham-Bam-Thank-You approach.
Not only do I write down my questions but also what scripts need to be renewed/refilled. I do this on the notepad of my phone. I also record with my phone the visit with the doctor and that way I know exactly what he told me. I do the same for their hospital visits. They are really receptive to that idea and it saves their office time in case I have a question that they would have to interrupt their day to answer. I am my husband's caregiver so I have both of us to keep all of this for.
I have only ditched one doctor and that was because he didn't have "time" to answer a very important question concerning a medication for my husband. I needed to know if he wanted him to continue a med that the cardiologist who placed his stent had prescribed and if so, I would need a new script since the one he had was only for 30 days with no refills. The doctor who I got to replace him said, "Absolutely." and wrote a new script. He still takes that particular one and always will.
I will always gladly wait for caring and competent care.