How long do you wait to see your Dr?

[kbpaulie]

OK, how long do you wait to see your MD? (Family or regular Dr, not the specialist?) If they tell you have a 3om appt at what time do you actually see them?

 

I keep waiting 1.5 hrs and am getting really tired of it.

[Greta]

I once got turned away and had to reschedule because I arrived at the appointment time instead of 15 minutes early as they ask. (I'm normally a VERY punctual person. It was a freak occurrence, but that didn't matter to them.) My doctor is practically obsessed with keeping to the schedule. I'm always shown back to the exam room five or ten minutes ahead of the appointment time, and he is always in the room by the scheduled time.

 

ETA: I would not tolerate 1.5 hour delays. Why do they think that your time is so unimportant??? What would they do if YOU were 1.5 hours late? Tell you to reschedule! You shouldn't have to put up with that. It's poor scheduling, and they should fix it.

Edited July 9, 2011 by GretaLynne

[FrogMom5]

I've waited over an hour. It seems if your appointment is first thing in the a.m., you stand a better chance of being seen in a reasonable amount of time. If I have to take an afternoon appointment, I plan on not being seen for at least an hour after my scheduled appointment time. :tongue_smilie:

This seems to be true of all but brand new practices or walk-in clinics. So, it's not like I can just switch doctors.

Denise

[Jean in Newcastle]

There was a poll and thread on this recently. (I know because I started it;)) In our area, every single doctor that we've been to has seen us within 15 minutes. Wait - I take that back one doctor had an emergency with a patient but even then someone poked their head in to tell me about it. I had absolutely no problem waiting in that situation.

[Diana B]

From appointment time to actually seeing the doctor has (recently) been about 20 minutes. They usually call me back @ the appointment time (or at least within minutes) and between the PA / Nurse doing their thing (weight, bp, check symptoms, etc) and the wait while they let the DR know I'm ready, it's about 20 minutes.

 

Now when I was pregnant, 8 yrs ago, I remember having many a long waits. I don't know if it's because I had to see a DR more often, so I just ended up having a larger range of experience, or what. But the last few times have been much better than 8 yrs ago!

[Element]

1.5 hour wait? That is absolutely terrible! I usually wait about 30 minutes to see my g.p., which I was okay with until I saw her face plastered on advertisements all over town: "Accepting new patients!" I really hope I don't have to wait longer than that next time!

 

My dd's allergist/ pulmonary doc is another story. It is an all-day deal. 30 minute drive, 45 minute wait, 20 minutes with nurse, 45 minute wait, 30 minutes with doc, by this time she's starving so 30 minutes to stop and eat, 30 minutes to drive back home... Ugh. I dread those days! When it's a specialist you're talking about, though, you just kind of have to take what they give you. I certainly wouldn't put up with that kind of wait if I had any other option!

[elise1mds]

Wow. I wouldn't put up with that, either. My DO's office actually has a sign that allows you to reschedule if you are still waiting 15 minutes after your appointment time... it's never happened in the three (four?) years I've been seeing the guy. The only place I've ever had a bad time with waiting is at the pediatric ophthalmologist's office, and I can understand that. When you're trying to get a small child's prescription just right and they're not feeling cooperative, it can take a while.

[Sputterduck]

We don't wait at all, but our doctor caters mostly to English speakers and therefore has very few clients. He charges accordingly - 35 dollars instead of the 2 dollars and 50 cents the other local docs charge. He might see 4-5 patients a week.

[Wendi]

Wow! I do remember often waiting awhile at the ob/gyn back when I was pregnant, but all the doctors we see now are pretty much on time. It's rare for me to wait more than 10 min. to be called back; usually it's less. And that's including the specialists we see: developmental pediatrician, cardiologist, psychiatrist, ENT.

 

I'm feeling thankful right now. I think part of the reason we don't wait long at our family doctor is that it's a fairly large practice, with a number of doctors and nurse practitioners. So they can probably accomodate emergencies more easily.

 

Wendi

[m0mmaBuck]

Military medicine. I used to wait 30-45 mins after my scheduled time BUT I've noticed that if I get there 30-45 mins early I'm usually out of there within 15 mins of my scheduled time... so for a 8:00 a.m. appt I show up at 7:15 and can usually be out of the clinic by 8:15.

[Nakia]

We wait less than 15 at all of our regular physician's offices. I would NEVER wait 1.5 hours for an appointment. They wouldn't wait that long on you. That is just very disrespectful. Does it happen every time? Have you spoken to the office manager?

[Firestar Academy]

i would have voted other...

 

I walk out if I am in the waiting room for more than 20 minutes past my appt time. i reschedule (very loudly) "that I have other appointments to keep that day and I'm sure the doctor would be happy I'm leaving so maybe he can catch up on his patient list."

 

Robin

[LidiyaDawn]

Not long with our family doc ~ longest ever was about a half hour…usually about 15 min. :)

 

The OB that I saw for my recent pregnancy though? 2 hour waits - or longer - are common there. It's not his fault…the business of babies is unpredictable and he is waaaaay overloaded with patients.

[WishboneDawn]

I'm in Canada and it's usually 0 to 15 mins with my family doctor. My last appointment it was a negative 48hrs wait as I had my dates mixed up and came two days late. My doctor laughed and saw me anyhow. :)

[LuvToRead]

Other.

 

It depends on which Dr. I see.

The girls ped - 15 minutes at most. Sometimes we even get in before their appointment time.

My OB/Gyn - 15 minutes, unless he is delivering a baby.

The local doctor in town - 2 to 3 hours. An hour if it is a good day.

[LuvToRead]

I'm sorry, I answered before reading the first post. I just realized you only meant MD. I honestly grew up thinking it was normal to wait 2 or more more to see the Dr. It was all I knew. The only time I go to the Dr. here it town is if I am sick and don't want to drive an hour. But, now they have a couple of PA's, and the wait time on them is usually under an hour.

[happyhomemaker]

We are usually called back in about 5 min. I have waited as long as 30 during the height of cold and flu season, but that is a rarity. When dd1 was a baby, I went to a practice w/ only 2 docs. I waited on a well appt for about 1 1/2 hrs. We never went back after that appt. I switched to a practice with multiple docs. We loved the staff and docs there. I was so happy that we made the switch!

[SweetMissMagnolia]

didn't vote....it depends on which dr I'm seeing and what time the appointment is scheduled LOL--my family dr's afternoon schedules tend to run behind so I've waited 1hr+ or longer.....my gyn dr's morning schedules are pretty good so NORMALLY I will usually wait 30mins or so....on a good day....pediatrician visits and behavior therapy dr visits are usually the easiest--behavior dr we usually have to wait less than 5mins---and pediatrician we usually wait 10-15mins on average.....

[AnitaMcC]

OK, how long do you wait to see your MD? (Family or regular Dr, not the specialist?) If they tell you have a 3om appt at what time do you actually see them?

 

I keep waiting 1.5 hrs and am getting really tired of it.

 

For doctor visits that are routine I will wait up to 15 minutes after my appointment time. If it is a sick visit but not urgent... I will wait up to 30 minutes after appointment time. If the doctor is so busy that he/she can't see me or my kids in a reasonable time, then I leave. Period. I often have more than one appointment in a day, or I have to take or pick up my kids somewhere and I can't be late.

 

I am polite but firm when I tell the receptionist or nurse that I am leaving and need to reschedule. And if I paid a copay already.. I ask for a refund or that they put a note in the records that I will not owe a copay for the next visit.

 

To be honest, this includes specialists as well. IMO, if my appointment is not urgent then I do not need to waste my time waiting beyond the 15 minute mark. I understand emergencies happen. So I figure if I volunteer to reschedule, then I will be one less patient the doctor needs to see when he/she is already back logged.

 

I try to schedule my appointments first thing in morning if it is a doctor who tends to always be back logged. Otherwise I will call the doctor office up just before I am leaving for the appointment to check if doctor is running on time. Most of the times, if doctor is running behind, the nurse is fine with me coming in a bit later or I reschedule the appointment.

Edited July 9, 2011 by AnitaMcC

[LidiyaDawn]

I'm amazed at the number of people I've seen say (in this thread and prior ones on this) that they "wouldn't wait longer than X"…

 

I walk out if I am in the waiting room for more than 20 minutes past my appt time. i reschedule (very loudly) "that I have other appointments to keep that day and I'm sure the doctor would be happy I'm leaving so maybe he can catch up on his patient list."

 

See - that kind of thing just isn't done here. Most of the other waiting patients would prolly look down at their feet, embarrassed for the loud person and the poor girl at the desk. :001_huh:

 

[rescheduling - politely - happens sometimes… but I've never seen anyone purposely make a loud scene of it.]

[AnitaMcC]

I'm amazed at the number of people I've seen say (in this thread and prior ones on this) that they "wouldn't wait longer than X"…

 

See - that kind of thing just isn't done here. Most of the other waiting patients would prolly look down at their feet, embarrassed for the loud person and the poor girl at the desk. :001_huh:

 

[rescheduling - politely - happens sometimes… but I've never seen anyone purposely make a loud scene of it.]

 

 

I don't get loud myself, but once I did get irritated and had to work very hard to not take it out on the staff. I had a scheduled appointment, I got there 15 minutes early, the doctor wasn't there, the staff didn't tell me, I waited 30 minutes then asked, they then told me the doctor hadn't arrived yet, I waited another 30 minutes before asking again, doctor still hadn't arrived, and then finally the doctor arrived about 10 minutes later and it was still another 25 minutes before I was taken back into a room. I was the first patient of the day. Lucky for the doctor that he apologized profusely for the delay and he waived my copay -LOL. :D.

 

One time I did let loose on a dental staff. It was a dentist appointment for nephew (county health dept). From time of scheduling... it is typically a 3 month wait. I scheduled an appointment, they cancelled/rescheduled it twice. Their cancelation/reschedules put the appointment back nearly 6 months.

I had to take him out of school a full day. I get there (after a 50 minute one way drive) and get checked in. 45 minutes later they come to me and tell me that the appointment was cancelled and needed to be rescheduled. The dentist took the week off. I was livid. For starters this appointment was necessary for school and the school was giving me a hard time (Nephew was state ward and was not allowed to homeschool without court permission). And they couldn't call me? I made them write a letter for the school explaining that the lack of dental care was not my fault (and I sent a copy to the judge so I couldn't get blamed for not taking care of nephew per court agreement when we got custody of nephew just in case the schools "complained" to the courts). :mad::angry:

For some reason, nephew got a new appointment for two weeks later and we didn't have a wait time-LOL.

Edited July 10, 2011 by AnitaMcC

[CountryGirlShake]

We were once in the childrens Dr. for a sick child visit (ear inf. if I remember correctly) with a tired and crying toddler. We waited and waited, then when we were finally put in a room we waited some more. I finally opened the door to our room so everyone could hear my crying child, hoping they would come faster just to get us out of there. When the dr finally did come in I told her it was the longest wait we had ever had (usually they are pretty prompt) and she was surprised, but said something about verifying the insurance. I told her I was happy to pay cash regardless of if the insurance would approve the visit, etc.

 

Anyway.... for appt times, with my son's dr I try to get the first one after the lunch break, usually 1 or 1:30 if it's a pre planned visit. For my dr, I seem to have good luck being the appointment just before the lunch break.... they don't want to skip their lunch, lol. If I make it any earlier, I seem to wait forever.

[twoforjoy]

With my OB--who's really the only person I've seen for the last 2-1/2 years or so--generally it's 5-10 minutes, but sometimes it's more like 20. Never more than 30, though. I don't mind waiting about 30 minutes, or a bit more if things are really backed up. An hour and a half would definitely be the point at which I'd started to get annoyed, though.

 

With my old GP, I would routinely wait 3-4 hours. It was absolutely ridiculous. If I had a doctor's appointment, or one of the kids did, we had to plan for it to be an all-day affair.

[angela in ohio]

I wouldn't regularly wait that long, but I am willing to wait for an emergency once in a while. We usually wait from 0-15 minutes, so I would know there was a good reason if I had to wait longer, and I would stay. I have been the cause of the doctor getting backed up (emergency call to her about ds, then she spent time calling to get an appt at a specialist for us,) so I understand.

[RahRah]

Typically if I need to see a doctor, my wait is less than 5-minutes - BUT - that's because I take first appointment of the day or first appointment after lunch.....or if neither are available, I'll also take last appointment of the day and then call before heading over to see how far doc is running behind so I can arrive to be seen within 10-minutes of arriving.

 

When I was having to see the maternal-fetal specialist during my pregnancy last year, I scheduled all my appointments that I knew I'd need at the first appointment, that way I had first appointment all throughout; I coordinated those appointments with the OB to follow and that meant I was his first appointment of the day and I had a note on my chart that if he was called to a delivery, to call me so I'd know and not arrive to sit and wait, but could re-schedule over the phone for a time he'd be available. Only once in the pregnancy did I get a call he was in a delivery and re-scheduled to later in the afternoon.