[biker1]

That is fine and they should schedule appointments to reflect the amount of time they need with patients. Some offices do this and others don't care about your time. While I understand that it won't be precise, if you find that you are consistently having to wait a "long" period of time after your scheduled appointment time then you are being told that your time is worthless.

Originally Posted by rubicon

I have great respect for the doctors that care for me. I can be impatient but when it comes to issues such as this I remember that my docs give will give me the required time I need just as they had the previous patient. Those that want fast forget that thee are many competing vices for a doctor's attention. I would not want my doc tor rush me and miss something

[looneycat]

I was dealing with a doctor with whom appts were impossible. He was a specialist, good ones are extremely hard to find here, and the average wait time was 3 hours. I do not wait 3 hours for ANY doctor....if he doesn't respect his patients, I have no respect for him. When the one hour mark arrives I get up and leave.I also do not accept a PA in place of a doctor because THEY ARE NOT doctors and when that is all being offered I will not pay for a doctor visit. Then you have our wonderful hometown hospital where anything more complicated then a bloody nose and they send you off to Shands hospital...it happened to me and my neighbor as well, forcing my wife to drive 1.5 hours each way. With very few exceptions, the medical experience that the villages health system tries to say is available is total BS! It's your health!

[sunnyatlast]

Originally Posted by biker1

I am not insulting anybody - not sure where you got that from - reread my post. I am objecting to any office that books appointments under the assumption that patients have nothing better to do then wait. As I indicated, I understand that emergencies can happen. My point is there are practices that don't routinely waste patient's time. If people stopped accepting bad behavior perhaps it would become less common. My visits to Mayo (in Jacksonville, not Minnesota, which is about 2+ hours away) were for an orthopedic problem and there were two issues that drove me there: waiting beyond my scheduled appointment time at two sports medicine practices and their inability to diagnose and repair the problem. Neither of these issues existed at Mayo. This was when I lived closer to Mayo. I also know people who go there for what many might consider routine stuff because of the way the place is run (i.e. patient scheduling) and that really has nothing to do with how many people work there. The orthopedic guy saw me on time (for multiple consult, and pre- and post-op visits) because they schedule enough time for each appointment. The nature of the operation at the Mayo is such that they need to do this because often a patient will have multiple appointments in a single day and chaos would break out if each appointment was not taken on time.

Again, Mayo having 29,000 hospital and clinic employees, 2000+ attending doctors, and 2000+ resident doctors certainly helps to make patient scheduling run like a well-oiled machine….

..with doctors also having the benefit of "enough time for each appointment" to observe, think and analyze properly the patient's condition.

Developer Gary Morse (R.I.P.) explained that dilemma best when introducing the TV Healthcare concept:

"Medicare is a lifesaving program but it has been set up in such a way that doctors are no longer able to care for us senior citizens in the same manner that we grew up with,” said Villages developer Gary Morse.

“Medicare pays a doctor for every patient he sees, not how much time he spends with that patient. If the doctor sees 100 patients a day, he or she makes twice as much as seeing 50 patients.”

What is not mentioned in that is that the reason the primary care doctors have to see more patients is to bring in enough revenue to pay the fixed overhead costs of a practice, while Medicare pays less than cost, and private insurers pay accordingly.

http://www.thevillageshealth.com/art...20Hometown.pdf

[ssmith]

I am a nurse or was a nurse up north. My doctor was always late. He never rested or loaf.
The reason he was late is that he cared for his patients. I don't know how many times he would be done with an exam only to have a patient start in on many many issues. This of course would make him late for the next patient. It would be one thing if he was in and out of the room but all too often he would find or discover a problem that would need more time and follow up or the patient would be scheduled for a yearly and then start asking him to remove moles etc etc and all of that took extra time.https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...milies/bow.gif

The patient that was waiting would get his full attention when he was in the room with them.

BTW I tried to always let my patients know what was going on and bring them magazines to read.

I am not saying this is the case down here but it is my experience.

Also if the doctor is not in the office yet....he may be at the hospital taking care of someone.

[pivo]

I had 9:30 appointment for a test I got in at 10:30 and asked how it took so long.

The answer from the nurse and assistant was they overbook when it comes to testing it was doctors day off and they try to cram as many appointments as they ca, naturally more test more money even the aide and nurse were upset because they get stuck with pushing the testt as fast as possible.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by ssmith

I am a nurse or was a nurse up north. My doctor was always late. He never rested or loaf.
The reason he was late is that he cared for his patients. I don't know how many times he would be done with an exam only to have a patient start in on many many issues. This of course would make him late for the next patient. It would be one thing if he was in and out of the room but all too often he would find or discover a problem that would need more time and follow up or the patient would be scheduled for a yearly and then start asking him to remove moles etc etc and all of that took extra time.https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...milies/bow.gif

The patient that was waiting would get his full attention when he was in the room with them. so if people want to get mad tey may first look to government and insurance regulators
BTW I tried to always let my patients know what was going on and bring them magazines to read.

I am not saying this is the case down here but it is my experience.

Also if the doctor is not in the office yet....he may be at the hospital taking care of someone.

ssmith i said the same thing. In addition docs are now required to develop emr as they visit with you. This creates additional office visit time. Add to that other government regulations paperwork etc and its a wonder waits aren't longer.

[zcaveman]

We always try to get an early appointment. That way we are first and do not end up waiting because of any backlog/overbooking.

I can take a 10-20 minute wait if the receptionist tells me he is running 15-20 minutes behind schedule. I do not and will not sit there for an hour when I have a scheduled appointment.

My EX-dermatoligist was the worst for booking several appointments for the same time and making you wait. First in the waiting room and then in the examination room.

Z

[NYGUY]

We now know why they call it a "waiting room"

[sunnyatlast]

Originally Posted by pivo

I had 9:30 appointment for a test I got in at 10:30 and asked how it took so long.

The answer from the nurse and assistant was they overbook when it comes to testing it was doctors day off and they try to cram as many appointments as they ca, naturally more test more money even the aide and nurse were upset because they get stuck with pushing the testt as fast as possible.

And they'd be even more upset if the dr. cannot bring in enough revenue to pay them. The employees have to be paid regardless of even zero patients come in that day.

This is best explained by a family physician explaining why direct care on a small monthly subscriber fee works far better and lowers costs of providing care:

"The clinics frequented by most people bill insurance for the great majority of the clinic’s income. Once
 a decision is made to bill insurance for health care services it starts a chain reaction that ends in having to hire a large number of people and/or invest in a lot of technology.

Employees and software are needed to make sure that the patient’s insurance is active before the visit starts, employees have to be hired to call the insurance company to obtain prior authorization for suggested procedures, software is needed to prepare the bill that has to be in a certain format, and more people are needed to call the insurance company after the bill is returned unpaid with a note saying that an “i” wasn’t dotted or a “t” wasn’t crossed. Patients have to wait 15 to 30 minutes and listen to hold music to speak to an actual human being when you call your insurance company, health care professionals have to wait just as long.

Before doctors even open the doors of a new clinic that accepts insurance, they’ve had to hire a number of people just to manage the clinic’s relationship with insurance companies. Part of the clinic’s overhead expenses are these employees that must be paid even when no patients come in. And these paid positions have nothing to do with the quality of medical care that the patients receive.

Now let’s talk about what your insurance company will pay for your visit. For 
a typical follow-up visit for low to moderate severity issues, your insurance company pays anywhere from $45 to $75 to the doctor’s office. You can also add your $20 copay to this amount. The American Medical Association suggests that these visits are supposed to take 15 minutes face-to-face with the patient. That doesn’t happen very often.

If your doctor has 4 of these visits per hour, she is paid anywhere from $260 to $380 per hour when you include the payment from the insurance company and the collected co-pay. The last primary care doctor I spoke with told me that his hourly overhead is $700. When your expenses are greater than your revenue the math doesn’t work, but those are the numbers……"

How direct primary care reduces the costs of care

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by ssmith

I am a nurse or was a nurse up north. My doctor was always late. He never rested or loaf.
The reason he was late is that he cared for his patients. I don't know how many times he would be done with an exam only to have a patient start in on many many issues. This of course would make him late for the next patient. It would be one thing if he was in and out of the room but all too often he would find or discover a problem that would need more time and follow up or the patient would be scheduled for a yearly and then start asking him to remove moles etc etc and all of that took extra time.https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...milies/bow.gif

The patient that was waiting would get his full attention when he was in the room with them.

BTW I tried to always let my patients know what was going on and bring them magazines to read.

I am not saying this is the case down here but it is my experience.

Also if the doctor is not in the office yet....he may be at the hospital taking care of someone.

I appreciate it when a nurse or office staff lets the patients know what is going on. The GI I had an appointment with last summer was an hour late getting to the office, and it was not because of any emergency. I know this because his procedure scheduler told me that the doctor had changed the time he normally arrives after lunch, and yet the person who schedules the appointments just kept right on putting patients in for that hour that he was never going to be there.

In this case, the staff made an announcement to the room that the GI would be over an hour late, and we would have the choice to reschedule or see the PA. I chose the PA as I had already cleared the decks for this appointment and needed to get the procedure scheduled in a timely fashion due to upcoming travel.

And that brings up another problem... sure, you can get up and leave, but you've gone out of your way to make room in your schedule for this particular appointment, and the doctor should do the same. Now you have to start back at square one.

There are good doctors here that don't overbook. If you go to a doctor more than twice and have to wait too long, you can search for another doctor.

[blueash]

Please don't use the Mayo Clinic as an example of how your local physician office should operate. Do you want your local MD to "squeeze" you in if you are ill? Try to walk in at Mayo... Here is what their website says about walk ins

Can I get into Mayo Clinic without an appointment?
Mayo Clinic in Rochester accepts "walk-in" patients. This method, however, is not encouraged, and you should be prepared to wait several days to a week or longer, depending on appointment cancellations and others waiting for an appointment. Waiting times tend to be shorter in winter.

So walk in is only ok in Rochester MN, and be prepared to wait several days to be seen. If you'd like Rochester MN in the winter the wait is shorter.

However, if the office is open at 9 AM the doctor should be there before 9 AM. Here is where it gets difficult. If your appointment is 9 AM does that mean you should arrive at 9 AM? If so then there is time checking in, getting your vitals done, nurse doing a brief history, updating your chart. You are not going to be ready until 9:15 or later. If as the 9 AM patient you show up at 9:10 figuring the doctor is always a bit delayed, now you have messed up everything. So should the office tell you 8:45 when they really don't expect you to be ready for the doctor until 9:15 just to be sure you are on time? Should they turn you away if you are 15 minutes late so as not to allow you to inconvenience all the later patients? Some practices wave schedule. Tell 4 patients to come at 9 AM and don't schedule the next one until 10 AM, 4 more. That way you even out the early and the late people but likely see your 4 patients in that hour. Now if all 4 are there at 9 AM and it is the "first" appointment of the day, somebody is going to be the last of those 4 to be seen, and be upset.

[ugotme]

I know this may sound silly but when I call for an appointment, especially with a new doctor, I inform the nurse that I will NOT wait more than 15-20 minutes to see the doctor. I inform the person that after that time I will leave.

They will usually inform you that either the doctor is usually on or close to schedule or is running late.

Too late - bye bye!

[Madelaine Amee]

My Doctor has never kept me waiting. I get there maybe 10 minutes early, the nurse does my vitals, asks if there are any changes, asks if I need meds etc., enters everything into the computer in the room, the doctor comes in, checks the computer and then talks to me.

I asked him about it and his reply was he has told his people not to overbook him and they don't.

I had an appointment with my Gyno and the nurse came out and said she had been called to the hospital for an emergency (surgery the day before) and she would be an hour late. Reschedule if you wish, or sit and wait. They then cancelled all the other appointments for the morning hours.

My husband sees other doctors and he just will not wait, gets up and leaves if they are not on time. They know him by now and he is NEVER kept waiting.

[Shimpy]

Originally Posted by zcaveman

We always try to get an early appointment. That way we are first and do not end up waiting because of any backlog/overbooking.
Z

Me too..... but many times the very first appointment is 9:00am and the doctor walks in from the parking lot at 9:20. I can wait 20 mins, but once waited 1 1/2 hours and told the doctor I was just getting ready to have a pizza delivered there. I think it sunk in how I felt.

[looneycat]

Originally Posted by Madelaine Amee

My husband sees other doctors and he just will not wait, gets up and leaves if they are not on time. They know him by now and he is NEVER kept waiting.

no reflection on your husband whatsoever but that only means they make someone else wait...
more disturbing is the trend to have you accept a PA visit in place of a doctor, no offense to most, but some PAs are too obtuse to diagnose their own headaches, yet people are supposed to accept their word on things like cancers, etc.