Dr "Appointment" Yeah Right! Here's your chance to chime in

[knever3]

I just wanted to start a rant thread. Ever go to your Dr. appointment (5 minutes early) only to see 10 people sitting in the waiting room. :hmm:

 

Well your first thought is "there's only one Doctor, so when are these peoples' appointments?" The answer is BEFORE yours!!

 

See the Doctor, or receptionist overbooks their appointments so everyone has to wait at least 45 minutes to get in.

 

Oh, and when you finally get in the nurse takes your pulse, blood pressure and checks your height because who knows you may have had a 6" groath spurt in the last WEEK!!

 

So without going into more detail, let me clue you Doctors and Specialists in on a little secret:

 

There is something called a computer and the internet, it works by entering data and keeping it in a shared folder so you don't have to ask me the same stupid questions. Like age, allergies, sex, marital status etc. See if you had a database we would all save time, so don't waste mine again! :headpop:

 

I know you all have had similar instances so let's hear them...

[deziped]

Sometime last year I went in 5 minutes early on my apt and sat there for 45 minutes. Had to pick up the wife across town in 20 minutes so I left. Called the next day for a new apt and was told I had missed my apt the day before. I told her "No I didn't, I was there 5 minutes early and sat for 45, the doctor missed the apt". I got an apt for 2 days later instead of the usual 3 months later. When I went in this time I only waited a few minutes to see the doctor. He says I must have been pretty busy the other day, sorry. But, its all for naught, the next time it will be back to the usual Sit & Wait.

[Squeegy410]

my doctor knows me very well. I'm a nursing student so he likes to talk to me :D I'm the guy you all hate because when i call for a walk in i get the next available apointment and rushed into the office :yes: oh and they do have a database at my docs office so they just ask me whats wrong when i go haha :banana: i have to go back soon to get my foot cut on again. ive got a seed wart and it hurts like crazy :fs1:

[streetjeep2.5]

Guy I know went to dr appt. Sat for an hour or more. :ack: Asked when the dr. could see him. "Oh, the dr left." :eek: He asked something like "why? when he has appointments and why did you leave me sitting here all this time?" :mad: Nurse said something like "His time is valuable." :shake: So, he said something like "so's my time. Since I had to clock out from work for this appt and will now be three hours short on my paycheck, you will receive a bill." :thumbsup: Nurse: "you can't do that!" Guy: "yes I can especially since the dr is not even here, and you tell him if he complains, a lawyer will see you and him!" :smart:

Dr. paid the bill sent. :banana:

[CWLONGSHOT]

Its inconvenient when ever you have to go, so minimize the issue.. Do like me and take the FIRST appointment of the day.. You will wait for NO ONE sans the doc!!!

 

CW

[Pete M]

last time I went to the drs office (half dozen or so drs in the place) i found out that my particular dr had moved out west. so the set me up with a different dr in the building. No prob... until I saw on the bill that they charged me a fee for changing doctors. :dunno: yeah right. as if I was going to pay them a fee when it's the dr that left me. :shake:

[Geonovast]

A few months ago my fiance' and her mom drove half an hour one way for one of her appointments... to find out the doctor wasn't going to make it in that day. Which is fine, doctors are still people, and things come up. But a PHONE CALL telling them not to come in would have been nice.

 

Pretty convenient how when you miss a doctors appointment, they can bill you for them having to move their schedule around, but when they ditch you, they don't have to pay you for your traveling expenses or having to reschedule.

[knever3]

Ohh, this is good stuff, and with CW's advice maybe we'll all learn something. I don't like to be put over a barrel when it comes to health care costs. YES my time if valuable, that's why I made an appointment, if not it would be first come, first serve, like the tire store!!

[beaterjeep]

As someone who has been to a doctor/clinic at least once a month for my entire 28 1/2 year life, I can tell you all that times have definitely changed. It used to be that when I had an appointment and showed up early, I got in early; now if I show up early, I seem to have to wait longer than I would if I showed up on time, or even late. It is quite frustrating, yes, but at the same token, the doctors are also putting more upon themselves nowadays than they did in the past.

[CWLONGSHOT]

Trust me when I tell you little PO's me more or faster than someone late or missing an appointment. EVERYONE'S time is valuable, its flatly disrespectful to be late. I don't want to have to wait for any MF'r who isn't prompt, doesn't care or office help that over books. Since my HA last year I'm at one doc or another every couple weeks/Mo. I ALWAYS take the first appointment of the day. Its worked great for me!!!

 

CW

[Eagle]

It is quite frustrating, yes, but at the same token, the doctors are also putting more upon themselves nowadays than they did in the past.

No they aren't. In fact, if you even get to see a real doctor, you're ahead of the curve. My wife has been to two doctors over the past year or so: one is a general internist, the other was an orthopaedist for when she broke her wrist. At both offices, she never got to see the doctor with whom she (allegedly) had an appointment. She was seen by PAs (physician's assistants). In the case of the wrist, the PA did everything from reading the x-rays to setting the break to splinting it to all the follow-up appointments.

 

If you ever do get to see a doctor, he/she won't spend any more time with you than minimally necessary. Informed consent? Nope -- they give you a prescription without ever informing you of all those nasty side effects that are mentioned in the television commercials (you know, the minor problems such as "If you take this medication when you aren't completely, totally, 100 percent healthy it might kill you") or asking if you understand the risks and are willing to accept them. But I'll bet when you leave the office you'll be asked to sign a document affirming that the doctor explained all the risks to you.

 

When at a doctor's office, never EVER sign anything without reading every word. Some years ago I went to an outpatient surgery clinic associated with a major hospital for an elective surgery. I was given a paper to sign that the receptionist blandly told me was "just permission to release the information to my insurance company." Well ... that was the first paragraph. There were two pages after that, affirming that the doctor had explained all sorts of things to me (he hadn't); that I had been advised of my options (I hadn't); that I understood the risks involved with general anasthesia (there wasn't supposed to BE any general anesthesia for this procedure); and several other things, NONE of which had taken place but which I was expected to sign a paper affirming that they had taken place.

 

Then they asked me who was driving me home afterward. I said, "I am." "Oh no, you can't drive. You'll be under the influence of the anesthesia for several hours." I explained to the receptionist, then to the intake nurse, then to the anesthesiologist that I had not agreed to anesthesia, that I had not been told it was to be used, and that I had nobody to drive me home even if I was willing to be "put under." They all said to take it up with the surgeon. When he finally showed up, he asked what all the fuss was about. I told him I didn't want anesthesia, he hadn't told me it was necessary (in fact, he had specifically told me in his office the procedure would be done under a local), and that I had driven myself to the hospital and had nobody to pick me up. He copped an attitude and said, "Well, I always do this procedure with general anesthesia, so either you find someone to drive you, take a cab, or we don't do it."

 

"That's easy," I said. "Have a nice day, 'cause we're not doing it." I got dressed and walked out. At the time, my sister worked in a different hospital up-state. She put me in touch with a doctor there in the same specialty. He said he always did that procedure with just a local, so I signed on with him, we did it, I drove myself home, and that was that.

 

Watch out for doctors. They lie.

[beaterjeep]

Eagle, you may have me on that one, I'll admit it. I've always seen an actual doctor that specializes in C.F. care, so I shouldn't have really spoken as a general statement. It's just been in my personal experiences that my set of doctors seem to be taking on more than they can, and therefore, as you mentioned, shorter visits with less information passed along. I apologize if my previous post is easily misconstrued, it wasn't my intentions. :oops:

[jeepjunkee]

And to think all of this will get better with national healthcare!!! :rotf: :rotfl2:

[Justin_k]

Even up here in Canada it's pretty bad. You show up early like mentioned before and the waitong room has 4 or 5 other people booked ahead of you. What makes it worse is after the 45 minute wait you have to wait another 5-10 for the doctor to come to his office. All of this for a 5-10 minute examination. :wall:

[-600JeepMJ]

:hmm: any one think of calling the better business bureau or American Medical Association to check on the the Doctor?

[Eagle]

:hmm: any one think of calling the better business bureau or American Medical Association to check on the the Doctor?

Ah, yes, the AMA. Otherwise known as "Doctors looking out for doctors." That's like asking the police to investigate when a police officer shoots a minister. (Oops, that one's been done, too. Guess what? The cops walked. What a surprise.)