Doctor was 45 minutes late after appointment time

[Anonymous]

and he knew that I was upset because when he came in he didn't apologize but said, "we're doing our best.".

I replied, "45 minutes past my appointment time is your 'best'? If you are running this late, then have someone advise patient because my time is also valuable."

He didn't like this and I didn't care. I am so sick of doctors running late because of their greed in overbooking.

Like most medical practices they cancel, and charge, if patient is 15 minutes late.

[Anonymous]

If needed, you could have reasonably come out at the 20 minute mark and asked what’s up or to be rescheduled.

We waited longer than that at our pediatric practice the other day. It was SLAMMED. Lots going on, lots of illness. Doctors and nurses still burned out and staffing shortages following COVID. You are OK.

[Anonymous]

There are so many reasons doc run late that have nothing to do with actual appointment times. They really are often doing their very best and skipping lunch to catch up. I’m sorry you had to wait. Someone should have let you know they were behind too. Extend compassion as we often receive the same in kind when having very human moments.

[Anonymous]

But did you DIE?

[Anonymous]

I agree with you. There is zero excuse to not contact patients before their appointments when the doctor is running behind. They aren’t planes, once they are late, they can’t speed up to make an on time arrival for all follow on patients.

[Anonymous]

It drives me batty.
The front desk should be informing patients when they check in.
Dr McSteamy is running about 45 minutes late today. Would you like to wait or reschedule?”

We left our old pediatrician because she was **always** at least half an hour behind. It was clearly systemic.

[Anonymous]

I feel your frustration, op. How I react just depends on my day. I really try to be generous, but expect an honest response when I ask how late the dr is running. I do this mostly to manage any necessary changes to my day that may be impacted, but I have also rescheduled if it’s impossible for me to deal with a 45+ minute delay.

[Anonymous]

I also hate waiting, but I don't think most doctors are greedy. They do the best they can to schedule enough patients to make up for no-shows and low reimbursement rates. And, of course, there are patients with emergencies who deserve to be seen ahead of others.

If you know that doctors in your practice are always late, find a new practice. But since there is a healthcare provider shortage, that might take a while. In the meantime you can do what many of us do an schedule for the first appointment of the day. Sometimes right after lunch can also work, as in many places they work through lunchtime to catch up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are so many reasons doc run late that have nothing to do with actual appointment times. They really are often doing their very best and skipping lunch to catch up. I’m sorry you had to wait. Someone should have let you know they were behind too. Extend compassion as we often receive the same in kind when having very human moments.

If appointment time means nothing then why not just have open House and walk in patients.

[Anonymous]

My 8 week old had a well check and the ped was running 90 minutes behind for a 10:30am appointment. How does that happen? When we finally saw her she spent 6 minutes with us and we were on our way. She was even charting during our appointment. I asked several times how much longer but it was always 10 more minutes. I hate having such a tiny baby there for so long with the number of sick kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many reasons doc run late that have nothing to do with actual appointment times. They really are often doing their very best and skipping lunch to catch up. I’m sorry you had to wait. Someone should have let you know they were behind too. Extend compassion as we often receive the same in kind when having very human moments.

If appointment time means nothing then why not just have open House and walk in patients.

Often that is part of the problem. It’s not that appointment times mean nothing. It’s that some people arrive late, others early, some no show, some need more time, some show up without appointments and are in great need. Also sometimes the office is understaffed and both providers and support staff are pulling double or triple duty on jobs that are normally distributed across multiple people. Also if it is a multiple provider office they might have a doc out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are so many reasons doc run late that have nothing to do with actual appointment times. They really are often doing their very best and skipping lunch to catch up. I’m sorry you had to wait. Someone should have let you know they were behind too. Extend compassion as we often receive the same in kind when having very human moments.

For a doctor who couldn't bring himself to apologize for keeping someone waiting, and who got upset at the idea that someone else's time might be worth something too? Compassion seems a little excessive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8 week old had a well check and the ped was running 90 minutes behind for a 10:30am appointment. How does that happen? When we finally saw her she spent 6 minutes with us and we were on our way. She was even charting during our appointment. I asked several times how much longer but it was always 10 more minutes. I hate having such a tiny baby there for so long with the number of sick kids.

That’s so hard. We’ve experienced that as well. And my pelvic floor was not in great shape at the time so stress incontinence and needing to nurse in office. Thankfully there was nothing remarkable to note at wellness check and we could go home knowing all was well. We did eventually change practices but most peds run late fwiw.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are so many reasons doc run late that have nothing to do with actual appointment times. They really are often doing their very best and skipping lunch to catch up. I’m sorry you had to wait. Someone should have let you know they were behind too. Extend compassion as we often receive the same in kind when having very human moments.

For a doctor who couldn't bring himself to apologize for keeping someone waiting, and who got upset at the idea that someone else's time might be worth something too? Compassion seems a little excessive.

Op posted hours after the event. I’m guessing they complained and the doc apologized in a way but didn’t grovel enough for this person to register it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If needed, you could have reasonably come out at the 20 minute mark and asked what’s up or to be rescheduled.

We waited longer than that at our pediatric practice the other day. It was SLAMMED. Lots going on, lots of illness. Doctors and nurses still burned out and staffing shortages following COVID. You are OK.

I came out at 30 minutes and asked and was told, "He'll be in a minute.". Fifteen minutes he showed up. I had already wasted 3/4 of an hour waiting. Their burn out should not be the problem of patients. My appt.
was 9 a.m., supposedly 2nd patient. This was orthopedist so no emergencies.