How long would you wait?

[Doodlebug]

After waiting in my Doctor office today for 45 minutes, I was sick of smelling someone's really strong rank cologne that stayed in the room even after the person left, and listening to 3 people on cel phones talking really loud, as well as a very loud and lengthy conversation between two women. I went to the window and told them to cancel my appointment and left. This also happened the last time I went to the Doctor (the same one).

Is this common??? How long are other people waiting to see their primary care doctor? I am seriously considering finding a new doctor, but I was wondering it this is common in doctor offices everywhere. I really hope not.

Thanks

[magnolia]

Was your appointment a scheduled visit or a work-in? If your appointment was a scheduled visit, then 30 minutes should be the max to wait UNLESS a couple of things have taken place: 1) the office overbooked the scheduled, 2) don't leave enough time in between appointment slots (docs can chose to set appointments every 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, etc), or 3) doctor was held up due to an emergency at the hospital while on rounds (most physicians will either round in the morning, during lunch hours, or in the afternoon after clinic hours - some will even round in the morning and in the afternoon). Any of these reasons should have been explained to you, the patient! If, on the other hand, your appointment was a "work-in" (you called this morning to get in to see the doctor), then you should expect to wait because the office staff are trying to fit you in between scheduled appointments as they can. How long you choose to wait is up to you. Some people won't wait more than 20 minutes for a scheduled appointment and no more than 45 minutes for a work-in. But please be patient and understanding....9 times out of 10, the office staff is just as stressed and frustrated as you are because patients are having to wait. A good physician is one who will take his or her time to "listen" to the patient, not herd them through like cattle. Please don't take my post the wrong way, just offering suggestions on why you had to wait so long. And trust me, another physicians office is likely to be just as busy, or busier, than this one. If this is a doctor you've seen for a while and have a relationship with him/her or his staff, why go through finding another one and having to learn his/her office habits/routine. Of course, if this is a doctor you've not seen until recently, then yes, find another one but ask around, friends, family, co-workers - find one who comes highly recommended to you - and if you end up having to wait in that office, hopefully the doctor will be worth the wait. That's what it really all boils down to - is the doctor worth the time you have to wait to get back to see him/her!

I'm sorry you're going through this! Best of luck to you

[Rae Rae]

I am a very inpatient person, I HATE waiting! But I have also worked in a doctors office and understand how appointments can get backed up. If the DR is in surgery during the morning and it goes late, traffic on his/her way to work, other patients bringing up numerous problems than what they were originally scheduled for, appointments in general taking longer than they were scheduled for, etc. There are soo many reasons, I could go on and on. If you really like your doctor, I wouldn't switch doctors just because of this. This can be a problem with any doctors office, and while 45mins is long, if things get backed up you will have to probably wait about that long anywhere. If you have to be somewhere after your appointment, maybe when you get their ask the receptionist if she can find out how long it will be, and go from there.

I just read magnolia's post, I agree with everything she said..she couldn't have said it better. Also, keep in mind with is this doctor worth your time, is your health worth this time?

[Katys mom]

I worked for a doctor once who told every new patient that he thought that thier time was just as valuable as his time. I they would be on time so would he.

It was a rare occasion when he was late with a patient.

[Doodlebug]

My appointment was made a week ago and I was in the office in plenty of time before my appointment time. I guess the problem was that it was a 2:00pm appointment and maybe she was backed up. But I feel that someone could have told me that she was backed up and "gladly" reschedule me if I wanted to, BEFORE I waited 45 minutes. I have had that happen before at a different doctor and even tho I was a little annoyed, I was glad they gave me the option to reschedule and leave.

This doctor has never rushed me through that I can recall and she seems like a very caring person. I guess she could have been spending extra time with patients. But after awhile I was beginning to wonder if she was even in the office at all. There are several doctors at this office and I don't know who the other people were waiting to see. But they all seemed to be called into the office, but not me.

Thanks for your responses. I guess I will hang in there for now. I will try to schedule earlier appointments in the future. Maybe that will help.

[YorkieRose]

45 mins is really pushing it...we rarely wait more then 15 mins.

[magnolia]

Originally Posted by Doodlebug

My appointment was made a week ago and I was in the office in plenty of time before my appointment time. I guess the problem was that it was a 2:00pm appointment and maybe she was backed up. But I feel that someone could have told me that she was backed up and "gladly" reschedule me if I wanted to, BEFORE I waited 45 minutes. I have had that happen before at a different doctor and even tho I was a little annoyed, I was glad they gave me the option to reschedule and leave.

This doctor has never rushed me through that I can recall and she seems like a very caring person. I guess she could have been spending extra time with patients. But after awhile I was beginning to wonder if she was even in the office at all. There are several doctors at this office and I don't know who the other people were waiting to see. But they all seemed to be called into the office, but not me.

Thanks for your responses. I guess I will hang in there for now. I will try to schedule earlier appointments in the future. Maybe that will help.

I think you answered your own question by saying you'd hang in there for now and I'm glad to hear that One thing I can add - 2:00 appointments I would expect a wait for 2 reasons - 1) some doctors (and yours could be one of them) schedules new patient appointments at 1:30 and won't pick up "regulars" until 2:00 2) most physicians don't leave their offices until after 12:00 for lunch - they don't leave til their last morning patient is taken care of. If they are late leaving for lunch, then that automatically puts them behind in their afternoon schedule simply because, as I stated earlier, some of them make their hospital rounds during the lunch hour (waiting on test results to come in to discharge a patient, make medicine changes, etc). Either of these two reasons could make your scheduled appointment later than the time you had made. I agree, the office staff should have been kind enough to explain the physician was running late - would have made things so much easier on you Also remember, if your physician is "on call", any emergency that comes up involving a patient out of that clinic, regardless of who their regular doctor is, the "on call" doctor is the one who is called.

It sounds like you really seem to like this doctor so please hang in there! If she's the kind, caring individual you stated, she is SO worth the time - doctors like her are a rare breed so I'd stick with her....take it from someone who works with a variety of doctors each and every day, from family physicians, general surgeons, heart surgeons, neurologists, and so on.

[magnolia]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

45 mins is really pushing it...we rarely wait more then 15 mins.

Wow! I wish that's the longest I've ever had to wait. My family practitioner, with a scheduled appointment, I wait about 20-30 minutes and for a work-in, I wait about 30 minutes - not bad. But the pediatrician for my boys - THAT'S a wait! A scheduled appointment will find us waiting anywhere from 30-45 minutes. If we are a work-in, well, let's just say I always take a good book. Longest I had to wait for her was 2 hours. Was I crazy??? No, just highly respect her and she's great at what she does! She takes her time to not only listen to me, the mom, but with my boys being older, she takes the time to listen to them. They LOVE her and don't mind the wait as long as they get to see Dr. Debbie. Because I trust her with my kid's lives, I will wait however long it takes to see her.

You are one of the lucky ones! Think you could send your docs up here to teach these a thing or two about making patients wait??

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by Doodlebug

After waiting in my Doctor office today for 45 minutes, I was sick of smelling someone's really strong rank cologne that stayed in the room even after the person left, and listening to 3 people on cel phones talking really loud, as well as a very loud and lengthy conversation between two women. I went to the window and told them to cancel my appointment and left. This also happened the last time I went to the Doctor (the same one).

Is this common??? How long are other people waiting to see their primary care doctor? I am seriously considering finding a new doctor, but I was wondering it this is common in doctor offices everywhere. I really hope not.

Thanks

I give them 20 minutes. If they can't schedule any better than that, then they need some more help.

I have found, that if there are drug reps there then the waiting room fills up until you see the dressed up people come out carrying their bags, and then they start calling people back. So I don't schedule appointments at the times when the drug reps are allowed to be there.

[Rae Rae]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

I give them 20 minutes. If they can't schedule any better than that, then they need some more help.

I have found, that if there are drug reps there then the waiting room fills up until you see the dressed up people come out carrying their bags, and then they start calling people back. So I don't schedule appointments at the times when the drug reps are allowed to be there.

Doctors don't usually speak w/ drug reps unless they have the time. Sometimes the drug reps are back there with the office staff, nurses and MA's. Drug reps become friends with the staff becuase they are there so much. I've never seen a doctor make patients wait because he/she was busy with a drug rep. I've always seen doctors put the patients first. Maybe the reps had scheduled appointments with the doctors? You also have to keep in mind that a lot of times reps will stop by unexpectidly. In these cases, I've seen my doctors tell them they are busy and the reps respect that, and leave whatever they have for the doctors. If you think it is the staff that is keeping you waiting though, you need to mention that to your doctor.

[Breeze]

30 mins here is really quick, most times its well over an hour. I went to one appointment for a specialist when I was 5 months pregnant and waited 3 1/2 hours standing. There were poor pregnant ladies standing everywhere. Some were even 8 to 9 months pregnant. It tooks months to get an appointment to see this doctor so we waited. There were several 20, 30 year old guys sitting there that did not offer their seats, jerks.

[Doodlebug]

Yes, Yes, Yes,.... I saw the dressed up guy come out with a paper bag with drug names on it. Right after he came out I saw another one come in the front door and into the back room. That may have had something to do with it too.

Since I have been reading your posts, I think that this Doctor is worth the wait. She is not real close to my home but I was wanting a female doctor and she happened to be taking new patients so I decided it was worth the extra drive time to see her. I've been a patient of hers for about 2 years. She has always taken time to listen and help and she is very thorough in answering questions. She has never ever rushed me out. I thank you all for helping me think this through and make the best decision for me instead of acting out on my initial decision to search for a new doctor. I feel good about this now. I think I will schedule my appointments for earlier in the day and after waiting 20 or 25 min I will just realize that she is probably running behind and ask to reschedule instead of getting mad.

[Rae Rae]

I'm glad you thought about your decision. Like I said, I'm very impatient, so I know how pist you could've been. Sometimes it's hard to find a good doctor, so a long wait should be the least of the problems you know.

[Doodlebug]

Another thing that just occurred to me about today's appointment. There were quite a few elderly people in the waiting room with walkers and oxygen etc. It is possible that they have a lot of health issues to discuss with the doctor.

Breeze: My babies are named Daisy and Teddy Bear. I saw your pics, they are adorable.

All of your babies are so cute. We can't figure out how to put pics on here.

[Rae Rae]

Originally Posted by Doodlebug

Another thing that just occurred to me about today's appointment. There were quite a few elderly people in the waiting room with walkers and oxygen etc. It is possible that they have a lot of health issues to discuss with the doctor.

Hahahaha, yup, a lot of times people probably call and say "I have a sore throat, I need an appointment. Then when they leave they have prescriptions for arthrities, orders for catscans, etc. I know I'm guilty of that, well not to that degree, but just "oh BTW", lol