My psych often has people wait for their appointments. I'll be scheduled for 800, there at 740, get seen at 840.
And you know what? That's perfectly fine. I feel taken seriously, he listens, he asks, he quips, he shares his own experiences, he does all he can to make me comfortable telling him about the shit going on in my head. I'll work up the courage to tell him something I find hard to phrase and unpleasant to talk about and he takes it with a relaxed professionalism, waiting patiently for me to finish, asks questions (usually very precise ones, both unpleasant in how close to home they hit and reassuring in the implications that I'm not the only one with these issues) and looks for the best way to help me.
So when I sit in that waiting room, watching the minutes tick by, I imagine he's taking the same time with a different, far more difficult patient. Perhaps someone got slotted in for an emergency, perhaps someone needs blood drawn for a routine check and really, really hates needles, perhaps someone is having a breakdown... I don't know and I don't care what ails the other patients, but I know that I want them to receive the same quality of care as I do. To me, that's worth waiting for.
179There's a movement inside of Healthcare to get the average Dr's office humming like a dentist. Which, if you're concerned with patient care at all, is impossible. You'll see it with posters saying only one issue per visit, which also greatly imperils the patient as sometimes a diagnosis will change based off one symptom. You've got a good attitude about this. Please share it
111As far as I can tell, my psych is doing well enough to not worry about his living, not particularly keen on getting rich, deals with some super heavy things and curses at the stupid computer system he's required to use, so he's probably chronically low on fucks to give for seeing the maximum amount of patients per day.
But yeah, when you see him walk out of one room with a heavier-than-usual frown on his face, taking a deep breath to compose himself before walking into the next one, you start to wonder how many times he's had to put on a stoic face before seeing you. And then he sits down, asks how you're doing, whether you've done that thing you mentioned wanting to do last time and gives you full attention.
I have nothing but respect for that man. I've moved a good bit away from him now, but I'd still rather take the long trip to see him for my regular appointments than search for a new one.
23
If the appointments last longer....maybe he should schedule them properly
22It's hard to predict just how long an appointment will take. Some have been done in five minutes, just a brief check-in and new prescription, and scheduling half an hour for that would mean twiddling his thumbs for twenty minutes he could have spent helping someone that arrived rather punctual for their appointment. I think scheduling for the average appointment but allowing overtime for those who need it is the more patient-friendly approach.
16You got downvotes for it but nah, it's on the Dr if this is a regular occurrence. Once or twice or going over a min or two is fine, but regularly being 45 minutes late (hello my last Dr) is a sign you've lied to everyone scheduling an appointment about how long they are and when to even be there for one
14Exactly, but if you the patient are late or a no show, then here's a $50 fee for you.
9
You are to empathic for social media 😄
6For sure. I'm too empathic for most things. I can't watch embarrassment humour, I struggle with particularly heavy scenes in games or movies, I've put down books when I knew something tragic was about to happen because I couldn't bear reading it and imagining the pain the protagonists must feel.
4
125This comic is based on a true story. I'm certain, as father of a two year old.
48
I usually don't get all that pissy about doctors running late. However, there was one time I was really irritated.
I took my wife to the doctor for an appointment. She got the first appointment of the day. We were there 45 minutes early. We waited more than 30 minutes past when the appointment was supposed to start. While we were waiting there, the doctor came in through the waiting room.
It's one thing to be running late because of the normal day to day delays that happen in a medical practice, but if you're actually just running late getting to work, you should call and have your staff let the patients know.
95I had an appointment booked at my GO. Get there 10 mins early. Everything’s normal, one other person in the waiting room.
Other person gets called in. Still normal.
Receptionist walks through the waiting room, locks the front door, then shuts the shutter to the reception desk. “Uh what”
20mins pass, haven’t seen another soul. Not tooo unusual to wait 20mins.
40mins, sunk cost fallacy sets in. Can’t leave anyway as the front door is locked.
50 mins later, receptionist comes in “the doctor will see you now, sorry for the wait we had our weekly staff meeting”
You fucking what. You booked me in at the time you have your fucking weekly staff meeting?!
43Holy shit that's bad!
18
I'm willing to bet this is more common than we all think, probably a self fulfilling prophecy.
Some doctors may get complacent thinking, oh I'll be late by the end of the day anyway.
At least, this has happened to me on a handful of occasions too.
But really, the problem is that the practices are booking too many appointments.
12Doctors often do rounds at the hospital first thing in the morning. There could have been an issue at the hospital that kept them, or maybe there was an unexpected influx of patients getting hospitalized the night before. People tend to ask the people around them about their doctor when they are looking for a new doctor. So, if there was an accident at a factory, or even just food poisoning from a church gathering, it's not surprising if a large number of the group have the same PCP or GP.
On the other hand, many doctors are just narcissistic shit heads with God complexes who don't give a fuck about us mere mortals.
My pcp is often running late, but it is because he specializes in diseases that affect the elderly like diabetes and heart disease. So he often has to go to the hospital unexpectedly. On the other hand, anytime I've ended up in the hospital, he's been there first thing in the morning making sure that they aren't screwing up my medications, which they always are.3None of that precludes notifying patients in the waiting room that the doctor is running late.
2
My first day at my duty station I was 10 min early to work and a staff sergeant told me if I wasn't 15 min early I'm already 5 min late...good words to live by
-1I haven't been in the army for, um, Holy cow! that many years!, but I still operate on '15 minutes before a parade'.
1Man critized for being 10 min early and then down voted for being 15 min early...I'm always early/on time is all I gotta say
0
This did not happen.
19Idk toddlers be like that
26Why not? Toddlers do things like point out clocks all the time. The "passive agressive" part is the parent's interpretation. The actual action that is described is so very normal.
24Yeah, that's absolutely something a toddler would do
4
Thank you for your wisdom omniscient Chef Boyardee
7My 4th favorite Chef Boyardee.
2
I would have pulled shit like that if I hadn’t been non-verbal haha
14“Nurse, can you bring me the big needles?”
14Unless that doctor is performing emergency surgery there really is no reason they need to keep people waiting that long. it's so disrespectful, doesn't matter they are a doctor.
1It’s awesome being a doctor because you get to try your best to help people all day, get held up by patients talking about 6 different issues they didn’t even book their appointment for, held up by admin demanding you finish your notes between patients, held up by arguing on the phone with insurance that won’t authorize clearly necessary treatments, held up by nursing staff (understandably) needing your input on things between patients, and then read people bitching online like you were just spending that time drinking coffee and flirting with the nurses when you have a caffeineh eadache because you haven’t even had enough time to stop and drink coffee at all AND admin is bitching at you because you aren’t seeing enough patients every day.
96I don’t think people mean it’s the doctors fault or that they’re sitting around doing Jack. The frustration is that doctors time is so packed full that they don’t have time for all those things, which is an administration problem.
Clinic/hospital admins want to pack the doctors schedule full of 15min increment appointments, where they’re expected to see the patient, diagnose/treat, and complete notes/charts within an incredibly short amount of time.
Worst part is that most of the time this is not done because the clinic is having trouble making money, but because they want MORE profit from every person walking into their doors.
37Ok but like, there was a little sip and flirt on the way wasn't there? ;)
I kid. Keep on keeping on.
6then read people bitching online like you were just spending that time drinking coffee and flirting with the nurses
I don’t think anyone actually took that route (none of the comments I read).
I honesty kind of blame the patient for talking about 6 different issues while here I am trying to go by the rules and only use 5 mins of my doctor’s time.
I have never unappreciated doctors, but that doesn’t mean things can’t improve.
1All of that for 6€/h after taxes!
1So you add 20% to the time you expect for each appointment, leave a few appointment gaps to take care of administrative stuff, and ultimately book fewer patients. This means less money for you. Or, to put it another way, greed is leading to greater frustration for your patients. If that doesn't matter to you, then the bitching is deserved.
1You sound so disrespectful...
0Then book fewer patients per day (assuming it's your own practice). It's one thing to have a bad day where you fall behind. It's another thing when you fall an hour behind every day.
-1
So what happens if a patient lies about their concern and a 15 minute checkup is all of a sudden a 45 minute spiel. You can’t just leave a patient you’re treating, they try to allow for some leeway, but they’re a business too after all, can’t be sitting around either.
13
That toddler's name: Albert Einstein
-4I make a stink. If that doesn't work I leave. My time is just as important.
-13Jeez dude, it probably isn't like the doctor was slacking off and just waiting to keep you waiting. Most likely there were more people who needed help that day and they ran long. Most likely everyone is working as hard as they can to offer everybody the assistance they need. Making a stink about that is just selfish and a dick move to the people that work hard to help you.
14That’s all well and good, until one of us has other things that run late and they charge us a $200 fee. Everybody has busy days and meetings that run late, including their patients. And some doctors offices are great at adjusting. Its the double standard that’s the issue.
13If you are ok with continually letting people waste your time while they maximize theirs, that's fine. I don't play these ongoing shit games anymore. It's tiring. When I was working there's absolutely no way on God's green earth I could habitually be an hour+ late to every meeting like doctors are.
And I come from a medical background, a medical family, and I've personally seen how it's supposed to be done.
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