Complain about delayed appointments if you must, but a better solution would be to find another doctor, that of course would be too inconvenient right? If you keep going back and the same thing is happening then you are not giving that doctor of his/her office any reason to do anything different. If enough people start taking action instead of complaining to their friends and neighbors, things would definitely change. But, no, we just keep doing the same thing over and over and getting upset because we don't get better results. Did you know that this is a sign of insanity?????

Not to excuse the wait times at all, but the dr. might have been entering data to your electronic health record on the computer. Many hospitals and dr. offices are using iPads to enter all orders, notes, etc, as mandated by the government push for electronic medical records, which is another cause of delays and major frustration by office and hospital staffs.

Anyone who's ever tried to type on an iPad/smartphone, or tried dictating with Siri should be able to realize how frustrating, time wasting, and inaccurate that can be! Drs. and nurses are quitting because of these train wrecks forced onto them for billing Medicare and insurance.

I don't know about others, but my experience at The Villages Health Care has involved very little waiting. It has been wonderful. Would never go back to old days unless I had to.

YES!!!! Let's vote with our feet just like we would do at a bad restaurant or any other business. WE are being taken advantage of by the medical profession. The treat us like cash cow cattle. At my next doctor appoint I will tell the receptionist that I have another appointment that day (or some other lie) and I can only wait 15 minutes past my scheduled time.
Also, when I wait too long my bp goes up and the doc gets a false reading. Last week the doc asked if I had "white coat syndrome" I said no, I had "wait too long syndrome". Of course he laughed it off then told me it was his staff's fault.

What was that movie where everyone was yelling out of their windows, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore"?

We should tell our doctors to read this thread. I would love to see some responses.

You're right. I think a lot of people on this forum have already stated that they either refuse to wait, or they find another doctor. I consider walking out on an appointment a good way to take action, as well as finding another doctor.

I remember back in the '60s when all veterinarians were first come/first served. It was a zoo, so to speak, in their waiting rooms. Terrible waits. Then a couple of vets in our area started giving appointments. Everybody switched to those vets. Voila, all the vets started giving appointments.

It's all about demanding customer service.

I know for a fact that there is more than one M.D. reading and responding to this thread.

That's good!

I do not have a problem with my family doctor at Colony, she is usually on time or just a few minutes late, my problems have occurred when she has referred me to specialist, so far I have walked out 4 appointments, thank goodness none were life threatening conditions.

Whilst we are on the subject of doctors, why do some doctors insist that you have a follow up appointment so they can tell you everything is fine, see you in 3 years- this a waste of our time, the insurance money and our money if we have a co-pay, I also refuse follow up appointments unless they have found a problem.

You are just like me only different.

I trust the need for a follow up appointment in MOST cases and particularly if your trusted M.D. saw the need.

If I had had the time OR the smarts to go to medical school, I wouldn't need a doctor's advice.

I have gone to doctors that felt their time was much more important than my time. They seem to forget who the customer is and who is paying their fee. I tend to fire them!!!

A friend of mine son, is a doctor, and he said that doctors in general, are afraid of people, who would bad mouth them, to their friends and neighbors. I have had only one doctor in my lifetime, who was sensitive to complaints.

My PCP does not overbook, as he keeps a couple of appointments open for people who have an emergency. For now, my PCP takes me right away, but I usually sit in his examining room, for a while. He is worth the wait. :smiley:

Wait time in the event of an emergency is understandable and, for me, acceptable; but my previous PCP double and triple booked every day!, I know this because I questioned the office manager who said the dr. did not want to refuse any patient. Obviously, he did not care that those of us who had appts. had to wait longer (I waited up to 2.5 hr.) and also had less time with him because he was so far behind. He still advertises he is accepting new patients and same day appts. even though it appears he cannot handle the ones he currently has. Although he is a great physician, I changed MDs and happy I did.

When I was working and living in Massachusetts I was a patient at the Beth Israel in Boston. They finally put a satellite clinic out in a town called Burlington, so I was able to avoid driving in and out of Boston. At the time they opened this clinic I received a letter telling me to please bring a note containing all the questions I wished to discuss with the doctor. At the time I was a bit annoyed, but after seeing how efficient it is to have your questions written out before you and to be able to hand that the doctor for him/her to answer, I realized how smart it was. I still do it to this day, and now they scan it into my chart.

How many times do you get to the doctor's office and forget what you wanted to ask him/her?

The problem with walking out of an appointment is that I'm punishing myself more than the doctor. They have patients coming out of their ears, so what does one more or less matter to them? Whereas I'm only there because I have a real need. Am I not supposed to have glaucoma surgery because the doctor has overbooked?

If anyone is looking for a no-nonsense primary care doctor, try Larry Foster at Leesburg Family Medicine. His (un-fancy) office is on LaGrande near the Medical Gate in Lady Lake. You can see the sign from 27.

Think you need an extensive nerve conduction study? He'll take out his tuning fork, give it a thump and put in on your hand to see if you can feel the vibration. He doesn't believe in a lot of referrals to specialists for conditions he can handle himself, or in dispensing the drug of the week for no good reason. He keeps his practice running smoothly and has always been spot on time when I see him. Is he warm and comforting? Nope. But he's been practicing long enough to have seen most everything and knows what he's doing.

I went for an initial appointment at 3 p.m.at one of their several offices. We were getting up to go when they moved us out of the waiting room at 3:50. We were told to make appointments in the morning before they get backed up. For the follow up, we went in to a different office for a 9:10 a.m. appointment. As I signed in, I noticed two of the seven people in front of me had appointments for 9:10. I inquired and was told it could be for other doctors; I said they signed in for the same as we did. They said that one was for blood work. I sat down next to woman that overheard my conversation as she was about to go up to sign in and she too had a 9:10 appointment. She told me it was normal. So far, and I emphasize so far, he is the best doctor we have found so I guess we are stuck with the system but I did discuss it with the office manager. I am sure it fell on deaf ears. I really don't get it either. I mean booking three people for the same time..I would think you would be covered by booking every 10 minutes.

I have been to the Mayo in JAX twice and both times it was exceptional. Runs like a swiss watch. The only problem was getting the initial appointment. But once you are in, it runs like clockwork.

When my doctor was new in this area, I hardly had a chance to sit down in the waiting room. I was called when I got there and he spent a lot of time with me.

As the years when by, and he got more patients, I gradually waited longer and longer. Last time I waited for an hour. I didn't complain but they all apologized anyway.

Now I'm wondering if next time I should call the doctor's office before I leave my house to see if they might be running behind schedule. I wouldn't mind as much waiting at home.

Good idea if you can believe what they tell you. I've done this and still had to wait over an hour when they said the doctor was on time.
With all the patients they have and the money they make you would think they could get some magazines that are less than 2 years old. A dozen subscriptions wouldn't break them. I asked my PCP if I was her only male patient. She said "heavens no, why do you ask?" I told her because all the magazines in her waiting room were for women, like Ladies Home Journal, and Home and Garden. The only up to date ones were the free ones that we all get anyways and have read.

My initial appointment with Mayo in Jacksonville was initiated by my specialist here in TV. A Mayo employee called that same afternoon and an appointment was set up immediately, no waiting.

My husband's appointments with specialists have all been initiated by the Doctor recommending the appointment.

Halibut, someone who has serious neurologic problems needs a neurologist and certainly not Larry Foster. Patients with true neurological problem need more than a "thump of the tuning fork" and to make such a comment is insulting to those with problems. He has to be one of the rudest, condescending drs. I have ever met.

Good to hear other patients' experiences……the more, the better.

Personally I think it's worrisome when a primary dr. is reluctant to refer patients to a specialist because he "thinks he can handle it himself". In fact I think that's the most dangerous kind of dr.--the kind that thinks they know it all and will not change course.

The specialists don't go thru grueling extra years of residency-fellowship training, annual continuing education coursework/credits, and board certification exams because a primary dr. knows it all already.

Too many posters are taking this issue too personally. There is a substantial community here and around The Villages that keeps growing leaps and bounds.
The government continues to expand its regulations while decreasing payments for services rendered. Insurance companies also entangle a physician in paperwork. Mal practice insurance only goes up and the costs to run an electronic medical records systems, billing etc are eating up doctors profits. Many physicians are walking away or joining groups.

Many doctors want to provide quality care to their patients, guard against errors and respond to people's health needs.

So what some may define as overbook others may say that all of the abov place a doctor un an untenable position

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.

Read and listen to Gracie Girl's and Sunnyatlast's posts...YOU ARE IN THE VILLAGES....people 55 years old and up go to the Dr., get diagnostic imaging and take prescription drugs 3 TIMES more than the younger population.......BTW Biker1......the MAYO clinic Jacksonville not only has "excess staff headcount" but they also deal with very advanced or complex illnesses and the CPT CODES they can bill Medicare reimburse a much higher rate ....... I spent 11 years as a Revenue Management Analyst at Disney....hotels and airlines ALWAYS overbook at least by the percentage of their historical no show factor.....always have, always will......

Mrich1, the number of staff members at Mayo doesn't matter when it comes to the overbooking of a specific Dr. The fact is the orthopedic guy I saw on several occasions wasn't overbooked and saw me on time. This was not true at two sports medicine practices I tried first. That was my only point. Also, I didn't say airlines and hotels don't overbook. I only stated that airline overbookings are not nearly as common as in the past. When I traveled frequently, I only saw a hotel overbooking once in 20 years. I believe over 2 million miles on airlines makes me some what qualified to comment on this.

Mrich1,

I can't comment on Medicare reimbursement rates as I am not on Medicare and my insurance does cover Mayo. I saw all the insurance statements from the times I went to Mayo and it wasn't clear to me that they were charging some sort of premium over other facilities and I doubt they would have been in my network if they did.

Bingo!! I think you summed up the real issues very well. Unless you are in the industry, it is very hard to see and understand the hurdles that many of us in healthcare are expected to jump to provide the quality services that we were able to provide many years back when the issues that you mentioned above were not in play. Thank you for voicing so well what many of us who in the industry feel, but often are too exhausted and frustrated by the end of the day to manage to put into words.

Rubicon,

I am not sure how your statements apply to the concept of overbooking patients and then expecting them to routinely wait extended periods of time past their scheduled appointments. Not all offices do this but presumably all offices are subject to the same pressures you expanded on. Also, this is not a phenomenon unique to The Villages. Medical practices are businesses providing a services. In my mind, they are no different than any other business. Again, I can accept that there are emergencies but these can be accounted for in the scheduling. I don't take it personally - I actually take it professionally - they are wasting my time for their own bottom line and I won't play and neither should anyone else. Keeping you waiting is a business decision - plain and simple. I dismiss the concept that "Drs are special and we should be thankful they keep us waiting". I bend over backward for my customers, often working evenings and weekends so they are provided the level of service they were promised.

Rubicon,

I am not sure how your statements apply to the concept of overbooking patients and then expecting them to routinely wait extended periods of time past their scheduled appointments. Not all offices do this but presumably all offices are subject to the same pressures you expanded on. Also, this is not a phenomenon unique to The Villages. Medical practices are businesses providing a services. In my mind, they are no different than any other business. Again, I can accept that there are emergencies but these can be accounted for in the scheduling. I don't take it personally - I actually take it professionally - they are wasting my time for their own bottom line and I won't play and neither should anyone else. Keeping you waiting is a business decision - plain and simple. I dismiss the concept that "Drs are special and we should be thankful they keep us waiting". I bend over backward for my customers, often working evenings and weekends so they are provided the level of service they were promised.[/QUOTE]

:agree:

Important points to remember:
 

1) Now that I'm retired I need to remind myself that my time is no longer valuable, except in my own egocentric mind.

2) Multiple health issues means more doctor visits and more waiting, so I must always remember to take my health seriously, and refrain from eating junk food.

3) If I have to wait, I might use the time to read my newspaper, which I would do anyway if I were home. Other than that, I might use the time to think and reflect on why I need to be so busy with non-essential retirement activities.

Beware the barrenness of a busy life. -----Socrates

I agree about writing questions down. Also, our doctor, Martinez Cruz, gave us his email address, which he checks twice a day, even on Saturday. He will send in refill prescriptions, order prescriptions for a condition you've seen him for previously and now need something else for, critique specialists you are thinking of choosing--all by email. I don't have to take up his office time with follow-ups unless I want to.

He's on his own and doesn't overbook. I've only had one wait, due to an emergency.

I understand getting behind, I do. But if it happens on a daily basis, to me that means you're scheduling too many patients per hour. Since you were salaried and seeing more patients did not equal more income, why not reduce the number of appointments per day?

I've been in offices where more than one patient was scheduled at the exact same time. How doctors can in good conscience allow/encourage that in their practice is a mystery.

I think it's what happens when accountants take over.

Now that I'm retired, I consider my time to be even more valuable, because there is a reduced amount of it left. And I might use the overbooking and consequential long waiting-room time to reflect on why it is wasting my day and what I can do about it.

1. No Shows
2. People call up and are ill and want to be seen without an appt.
3. Interruptions from labs, pharmacies, parents, etc.
4. People are late for their appts.
5. Really sick patients need more time or hospitalization or referrals.
6. People lie about the reason they want to be seen and more time is needed.
7. Paperwork
8. Try to see a patient every 15 minutes, but if each patient runs just a few minutes late the time is compounded by the end of the day.

Let me answer by giving an example of a frequent occurrence in my day. Urgent care sends me a patient with an eye infection. I have to work them into my schedule. Turns out they have a serious internal ocular inflammation that could damage vision. I start them on a treatment and need to see them next day, but my schedule is already full, so I have to add them on again. To delay seeing them is malpractice, so, no choice. Then, next day, a patient of mine calls with ocular pain, so I must see them. And so forth and so on.

So, if I reduce my appointments to accommodate the "extra patients", I make routine patients wait longer and they're not happy. Access to care is a major concern among patients.

It is a delicate balance between too few staff and too many. The group has to be profitable enough to hire and retain quality staff. With insurance reimbursements falling and the ancillary costs of providing care rising (EMR, paperwork/reporting requirements, rent, utilities, equipment and supplies) the solution to keeping both patients and staff happy is not an easy one.

There's always a reduced amount of it all through our lives, so nothing has changed.


There are 24 hours in a day, so waiting 20 to 30+ minutes won't waste your day.

After you see your doctor, what else is so important? Ice cream bingo?

CFrance is making the point that as retirees, most of our lives have already been lived, so the remaining years are even more valuable.
Ice cream bingo? I assume you're trying to be funny?
CFrance is more likely to be playing pickleball than ice cream bingo.

Maybe this can be understood, written by a primary care physician:

"Today’s article addresses a common complaint about physicians.

“Freewheel” responded to a previous article by writing the following, “you will not make me wait more than 10 minutes. My time is important, too.”

One of the most common complaints I hear is “I waited over an hour to see you!” Waiting for an appointment, particularly when you are sick, is frustrating. Once you have that appointment, waiting for a doc who is running 1 hour behind provokes anger.

Meeting patients’ expectations for timely appointments during which their needs are fulfilled is almost impossible. I have to admit, my approach for the last 28 years is brilliant. When my doors open in the morning, we will see you on a first come first serve basis. You don’t have to call to be seen. And, when I come into your exam room, I am on time. (I do make a few appointments for wellness care).

As a patient, it is critical for you to understand why your doc is never on time. Here’s my typical day. I get up at 5:30am to get to the hospital at 6:30am. If all goes well and my patients don’t have any medical crisis, I get to the office on time. On a bad day, Mr. “MI” decides to drop his blood pressure, stop breathing and “code”. I can’t tell Mr. “MI” that he’s not scheduled for a “code” situation; I have to do what I have to do.

I’m lucky, Mr. MI recovers quickly and I get to the office only 15 minutes late. However, I’m behind schedule. For the sake of this article, assume I make appointments like most docs. I walk into Mrs. Ulcer’s room 15 minutes late. I apologize. Mrs. Ulcer is scheduled for a 15 minute appointment for stomach pain. She is 42 years old and has been having intermittent stomach pain for 3 months. When she scheduled the appointment, she told my staff she thinks she has an ulcer. At 2 am, she developed a fever (103 degrees) and severe pain.

Mrs. Ulcer does not have an ulcer. She has an infected gallbladder. Mrs. Ulcer needs surgery. She is alone in the office and can’t drive to the hospital. I call the paramedics, the ER, and the surgeon. I’m now an hour behind.

I apologize to the next 4 patients for being late. They are relatively easy and I’m now 1 hour and 15 minutes late. I walk into Mr. Aged’s room. He has a 15 minute appointment to follow up on his diabetes. Mr. Aged is sitting with Mrs. Aged; she appears concerned. There is a faint smell of urine in the room. Mrs. Aged says, “His blood sugars have been high over the last 2 weeks. He’s more forgetful than usual, stumbling a lot and dropping things.” Mr. Aged’s 15 minute appointment takes 45 minutes. Mr. Aged is on his way to the hospital. He’s had a stroke.

I’m 2 1/2 hours behind, I have to go to the bathroom, my patients are mad, and they are taking it out on my staff. I value their time, but I value their health more.…….."

Stewart Segal is a family physician who blogs at:
Live Wellthy (Blog) Live Wellthy -

To further understand the situation, read "The Electronic Medical Record" on his blog page linked here in the previous sentence.

Amen!
 

THANK YOU. And I especially like your statement, which I think sums up what everyone should EXPECT from their physicians: "I value their time, but I value their health more........"

As I said earlier, I will gladly wait whatever length of time is necessary for caring and competent care.

In the past, there have been too many complaints about 'sorry medical care in TV'. As a matter of fact, they continue to come up. Which is it? Do you want "great care" or do you want "hurry up because I have better things to do care". From where I sit, you can't have both.

Thank you, Bare. You understood exactly what I meant. I was definitely not being literal.

And I don't have the slightest idea whatever the hell ice cream bingo is.

Anyone who thinks we should wait forever for quality care should visit my dentist in Bushnell. The best quality of care I have ever received from a dentist, and I have yet to have a wait. And these people will fit me in and will stay open late in case anyone calls in with an absess or a broken tooth at their closing time.

They run a thriving, busy practice, and they don't overbook, so nobody waits. Likewise my University of Michigan doctors, and my doctor here in TV. Every doctor's day is not full of emergencies and people with gall bladder problems who can't drive themselves to the hospital.