Dr Apt How much of a grace period?

[Anonymous]

I will preface this by saying I screwed up my appointment time. I had reschedule an appointment and I thought they told me the same time just new day.

So I showed up for what I thought was my appointment time, but I was actually 15 minutes late and was told me I could not been seen.

Do you think 15 minutes is beyond a reasonable grace period? It was not an appointment that typically takes long, like 15 minutes max.

[Anonymous]

If everyone did that, the last person of the day would be pushed hours behind. 15 minutes is way too long , five max. In fact, you should be there 10 minutes early.

[Anonymous]

5 minutes

[Anonymous]

Everyone knows you're supposed to be there at least 10 mins early, so there a 15 min grace period is insane.

[Anonymous]

I think they should have tried to fit you in. Both my doctor and my pediatrician post their policy - after 10 minutes, they will fit you in if they can. But, no one is perfect and mistakes happen. That being said, it is possible they could not accommodate you.

[Anonymous]

what kind of doctor? I think they should have tried to fit you in. But it does depend a little on speciality.

[Anonymous]

I can’t remember the circumstances but th is happened to me once. They asked if it was at least ok if I put myself behind other clients.
I said yes. I feel like it waited a whole hour, but that was fair.

[Anonymous]

They may have been able to try to squeeze you in. Or the doctor may have been booked completely all day and squeezing in another patient just wouldn't work. 15 min is a reasonable cut off time.

[Anonymous]

At my practice I see 20-24 patients a day. 15 minutes is our cutoff to reschedule, but I really wish it were 10. Someone showing up 15 minutes late can really throw a wrench in the works, though we accommodate when we can and it may depend on complexity/acuity of visit.

[Anonymous]

Yesterday, my first patient in the afternoon was 15 mins late. We have a new medical assistant who is very kind and thorough, just not speedy, so I started that visit at the same time I was supposed to be finishing.

The next person wasn’t checked in yet- so also a bit late, so I just went along and was starting every subsequent visit when it should have been ending.

As someone mentioned, often I will try to work the person in after the other scheduled patients that arrive in time, but it doesn’t always work out.

15 mins late if you are fully booked is a problem.

[Anonymous]

I’m impressed you were able to screw up your appointment time. My doctors’ offices call, text, and email incessantly about a week beforehand to confirm the date and time, often with buttons I have to click to confirm the appointment. I called to schedule the appointment at a date and time of my choosing, so yes, I intend to be there; yes, I’m aware of the late cancellation and no-show fees; no, I don’t need a zillion reminders (because, see again, I made the appointment myself), and yes, after all that, I still intend to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m impressed you were able to screw up your appointment time. My doctors’ offices call, text, and email incessantly about a week beforehand to confirm the date and time, often with buttons I have to click to confirm the appointment. I called to schedule the appointment at a date and time of my choosing, so yes, I intend to be there; yes, I’m aware of the late cancellation and no-show fees; no, I don’t need a zillion reminders (because, see again, I made the appointment myself), and yes, after all that, I still intend to be there.

She didn’t mess up the time. She was just flat out late blaming screwed up appt time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will preface this by saying I screwed up my appointment time. I had reschedule an appointment and I thought they told me the same time just new day.

So I showed up for what I thought was my appointment time, but I was actually 15 minutes late and was told me I could not been seen.

Do you think 15 minutes is beyond a reasonable grace period? It was not an appointment that typically takes long, like 15 minutes max.

15 minutes late is unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

That doesn’t seem right. We see the person who came in a bit early and shuffle with the one coming late. I have even used lunch hour to see the person who arrived 2 hours late.

[Anonymous]

Unless the doctors office doesnt ever keep on time people waiting 15 min past their time, then they were being very unreasonable