[dillywho]

Yesterday, we had an appointment in Leesburg with our primary doctor for my husband's follow up after hospitalization. Our appointment was for 3:00 and we got there around 2:15. We were early by a long shot, so no problem.

At 2:30, this lady comes walking in, gives them her name, and announces, "I'm late." No reason given for being late, just "I'm late". The lady behind the window tells her, "Yes, mam. Your appointment was for 1:45, so we will have to reschedule you."

"Why?"

"Because we have 4 other patients that are here on time for their appointments. Taking you next would not be fair to to them or to the doctor for backing up the entire remainder of his schedule."

"Well, I ALWAYS have to wait an hour in here, then another hour when I go back to see him, so what's the big deal? I suppose that doesn't work both ways, huh?" (We have NEVER waited that long to see him, and he has been our doctor for about 10 years. Close, but never. They always apologized and explained the reason; emergency, longer than anticipated hospital rounds, etc. He would always apologize as well.)

"I'm sorry, mam, but you will still have to reschedule."

By then, I had just about had it with her! I told her, "Look, this is a doctor's office. Some appointments take an hour, some take an hour and a half, some take 15 minutes. He gives each of his patients whatever time they need. This is in-between fielding hospital calls from nurses concerning his patients there, sometimes."

That lady just gave me a dirty look. Then with a big sigh, got rescheduled and left. Totally beyond rude; not only to the receptionist, but to the other patients ON TIME, and the practice.

This is exactly why I will never have another HMO because they are only allotted so much time per patient. This is not the case with PPO's, which is what we have. We don't have to say "mother may I" to choose our doctors, either. Our doctor recommends, but we do not have to take his recommendation. If the specialist's office we choose requires a referral, he submits it. We try to use doctors within our network because of lower co-pays or already having a history with them.

Yes, we did have a longer than usual wait because we were 45 minutes EARLY. Absolutely no problem. We did not expect to "jump the line". We were early by choice, so that barring anything unforeseen, we would not be late. Some who came in after us were seen first only because their appointments were scheduled ahead of ours. A couple of patients were there when we left.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

To me, your description of events doesn't come close to rudeness, more like assertiveness.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

To me, your description of events doesn't come close to rudeness, more like assertiveness.

By whom...the early patient or the late patient?

[Rapscallion St Croix]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

By whom...the early patient or the late patient?

By the one accused of rudeness. I don't consider getting involved in someone else's business being assertive.

[Polar Bear]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

By the one accused of rudeness. I don't consider getting involved in someone else's business being assertive.

That's reasonable.

But if they take the late patient long after her appointment, it could be the early patient's business.

[blueash]

I am confused. Why did the OP feel that it was his/her place to confront the late patient? The receptionist is there to manage patient flow and seems from the description to have been doing it well. The OP had "had it with her" after 3 or 4 sentences were exchanged?

And there is absolutely no difference in the scheduling of patients whether you are covered by HMO or PPO policies. The amount of time allotted for a visit is up to the practice to decide and not dictated by the insurance company. Almost all carriers sell both PPO and HMO plans. I doubt many providers even look at what your insurance is until they are writing a script to stay in a formulary or making a referral to stay in network.

I understand you may have been stressed by your husband's recent illness and hope he is recovering nicely. There may have been more than one "rude" person in that waiting room.

[Sandtrap328]

It sounds to me like the receptionist took care of the situation with the late arrival and stood her ground on rescheduling her appointment.

There doesn't seem to have been a reason for the OP to have gotten involved - but if she wants to get involved, do it.

Whatever.

[Rapscallion St Croix]

Originally Posted by Polar Bear

That's reasonable.

But if they take the late patient long after her appointment, it could be the early patient's business.

In which case the assertion should be directed towards the receptionist. There is no reason for the OP to say a word to the other patient. To do so is nothing more than provocation.

[Pearson14505]

I agree with Blueash!

[NYGUY]

I have no problem with what the OP did. The late person was, at a minimum, a jerk.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by NYGUY

I have no problem with what the OP did. The late person was, at a minimum, a jerk.

I do think there is a difference between hmo and ppo insurance in scheduling appointments and the time the doctor spends with the patient. An hmo pays a doctor not to treat patients, while a ppo pays the doctor based on the treatment he/she performs and the doctor can bill more money for a longer visit. This may sound cynical, but it is the way it works.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by blueash

I am confused. Why did the OP feel that it was his/her place to confront the late patient? The receptionist is there to manage patient flow and seems from the description to have been doing it well. The OP had "had it with her" after 3 or 4 sentences were exchanged?

And there is absolutely no difference in the scheduling of patients whether you are covered by HMO or PPO policies. The amount of time allotted for a visit is up to the practice to decide and not dictated by the insurance company. Almost all carriers sell both PPO and HMO plans. I doubt many providers even look at what your insurance is until they are writing a script to stay in a formulary or making a referral to stay in network.

I understand you may have been stressed by your husband's recent illness and hope he is recovering nicely. There may have been more than one "rude" person in that waiting room.

I do think there is a difference between hmo and ppo insurance in scheduling appointments and the time the doctor spends with the patient. An hmo pays a doctor not to treat patients, while a ppo pays the doctor based on the treatment he/she performs and the doctor can bill more money for a longer visit. This may sound cynical, but it is the way it works.

[Bonny]

Many problems start because people don't mind their own business and get involved when they shouldn't. Nothing good ever comes from that. Obviously the receptionist was handling the issue just fine and certainly didn't need any help.

[rubicon]

Dear OP:

You may want to review the "Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior In Company and Conversation" as it will explain that you were totally out of line

Personal Best Regards:

[JoMar]

When growing up the adults would always get involved when someone was obviusly rude, inconsiderate or just ignorant. They didn't hide from confrontation. Today, avoiding confrontation is a way of life and most ore on their own in all situations. People get shot in the middle of a crowd, yet nobody saw anything. Accidents happen and people keep driving. Unrest occurrs and the first thing anyone does is grab their cell phone to take pictures and videos. Then we all complain about the state of life, bullying of kids and seniors. I know it's not as prevalent here in TV but life has changed, politically correct is all the rage and IMO we all suffer becuase of it.