The other day I had a medical appointment. Nothing major – just some routine tests at a clinic. For which I had a 10:00 appointment. Now, said Clinic opened at 9:00. I arrived promptly at 9:55 and checked in for my 10:00 appointment. It was not the first time I had been there, so there was not a mountain of paperwork to complete. No. Just arrive and check in. Fine.
“Have a seat in the waiting room” she tells me.
“Yes, thank you” I replied.
And so I waited. And I waited. And I waited. For ONE HOUR!
I know we’ve all been there. We’ve all had to wait even longer than one hour at times. A one hour wait could actually be considered “short” in contrast to some waits.
But this wasn’t a case of a Specialist who might have been called out to oversee a case of his/her particular expertise and thus, have to delay previously scheduled appointments. No. It was a regular Clinic that operates all day. Everyday.
So here’s what I’m saying;
If you open at 9:00, and my appointment is at 10:00, but you don’t call me till 11:00 . . . how the hell did you get a FULL hour behind when you had only been open for 1 hour before I arrived?!?!? How is that possible?!?!?!
And to add insult to injury, all the magazines and newspapers had been removed from said Waiting Room. Apparently they’re germ catchers. So there was nothing to do but stare at the walls, the other annoyed patients and my watch.
So that’s it. I’m fed up and I’m not going to take it anymore! I’m going undercover. You might not hear from me for awhile. I’m going to blow the door wide open on how the medical profession is trained to schedule appointments. What rules and policies they follow. What time zone they operate in.
It might get dangerous, and I may be silenced. I’ll give Michael Moore a run for his documentary producing money. I’ll do it for you, my dear Internet, because someone has to shine the light of truth on this crooked sham. These appointment scheduling people continue to get away with it year after year. Well not anymore! Not on MY watch!
Got a horrendous appointment waiting story? Leave it in the comments for me (maybe I’ll interview you for the documentary).
Wish me luck.
16 Responses to “You Might Not Hear From Me For Awhile”
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December 1st, 2009 at 11:27 am
NOT THE MAGAZINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I say we don’t pay copays til they bring the magazines back. Especially if they are good current ones and not the 1989 Cosmopolitan with Goldie Hawn on the cover and the “MAKE YOUR HAIR BIGGER” headline.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:38 am
I was once dying of bronchitis and at the same time had gotten the flu for the first time in my life ( I wasn’t really dying, but at the time I certainly thought I was), and they told me I’d have to wait since I didn’t make an appointment, so what did I do? I threw a fit….a big one. And what happened? They squeezed me in after 10 minutes…thank you very much. So, maybe that’s bratty, but hey, I was DYING!!!
Hope your research goes well!
December 1st, 2009 at 1:37 pm
If you need an “inside” scoop – you know who to call
December 1st, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I stormed out of our Familly doctors office after waiting for over an hour (with an appointment). . . and I’d been going to him for over 20 years! And the PMS had nothing to do with it…honestly!
December 1st, 2009 at 5:00 pm
oh man! Good luck exposing those bad schedule makers! Stand up for us little people sitting on a cold metallic bed with a little paper dress on for hours on end.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I waited 3 hours once for an appt. I let them know I was upset and they didn’t seem to care. Not sure why I put up with it.
I can see the magazine thing really… always got my Blackberry to keep me company.
thanks for stopping by
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:51 am
Wow! I hate waiting at the doctor’s office. When I go to the gyno every year they leave me waiting ALL DAY LONG!!! Such as my appointment is at 9:00am I don’t leave until 4:30 or 5:00. Yes I’ve been their a ton of times, but it never fails. I always wait that long. It’s crazy. ugh.
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Cher says: Holy crap! You win. You will definitely be in the documentary. Go open your front door – there should be a camera crew there right now.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:01 am
Well, I don’t really have Dr. appointment waiting issues, but I do have to WAIT in a court for my job! We are supposed to get there at 9. Guess when the Judges start hearing cases? 10:30 at the earliest but usually 11. Isn’t that insane? It makes me want to scream… : ( Good luck with your report!
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Cher says: Crap – that sucks too! Okay, this issue might not make the Medical appointment documentary, but there’s definitely enough evidence here to branch out into Court appointments in the sequel. Thanks.
December 2nd, 2009 at 9:17 am
I waited almost 3 hours for an appt once…and don’t even get me started on the wait time at the hospital…bleh!
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:14 am
Now, that’s just ridiculous! You’re right – it doesn’t even make sense that they could be behind when they opened just an hour earlier. WTH? I, for one, am in full support of your undercover operation. Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
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Cher says: Actually, I could use someone with a video camera. And a good nose for sniffing out injustice.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:58 am
UUUUUGHGHGH.
That is my BIGGEST pet peave EVER.
I refuse to wait more than 45 minutes and even then I am throwing a tantrum like a 2 year old.
My time is valuable—if they are running behind–call me before I leave the house. No?
Good luck with your undercover work. That is totally awesome. I am really excited for you and cant’ wait to hear the results.
December 2nd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Um…I HATE THE WAITING ROOM!
My son has to go for appointments pretty frequently and while the doctor in question is a specialist – he is so freakin special that he comes in 90 minutes late every day. He is always behind. My son just has to blow a freaking pinwheel to a count of 100 and I’m there for 2 1/2 hours.
There’s so much history though and he’s good – ya think he knows it? – that I won’t switch…I feel it coming though.
My co pay was just raised to $30 too. Go undercover, do it for us. Do it for ME!!!
Popping in from SITS.
xx
Cristina
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I think the longest I’ve ever waited for an appointment since moving to The Netherlands is about 10 minutes… well, except for the one time they forgot about me and went to lunch =/
December 2nd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Popped in from SITS to say hi! That sounds awful!
December 4th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I had to see a specialist for my knee and waited for 4 HOURS in the waiting room. And the doctor saw me for 5 minutes. Thank goodness I brought a book and lots of paperwork with me.
December 7th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I had a family doctor YEARS ago who would TRIPLE book at times. One morning I had the first appointment of the day – 9:00 a.m. Then another patient came in and checked in and told the girl she had a 9:00 appointment. Hmmm, I thought, they must book double book their appointments, which in itself pissed me off, and then they take the one who walks in first, first. So I was called in to wait in the other room and the other patient with me in the waiting room was left in the main waiting room. So I though, great, I’m here first, and I’m outta here! No! I hear the doctor go into a room next to me and greet yet a THIRD patient ever so cheerily. Grrrrrr!!!!!! She was triple booking! The nerve!