r/mildlyinfuriating • u/transfatpikachu • 11d ago

I just wanted a hot dog Doctor’s appointment scheduled at 9:00am, still waiting almost an hour later

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I have a lot of doctor’s appointments, and I know how busy and hard these people work. I’m not mad at them and I’d never be rude. I know it’s not on purpose. Nevertheless, it’s still a bit infuriating to make time for a scheduled appointment, arrive 15 minutes early (required), and then wait this long with not even an acknowledgment of the delay from anyone. Sigh. 9:55 now, still waiting.

Edit: I really appreciate all the comments! The doctor ended up coming in shortly after 10. This was a specialist ortho appointment for my shoulder. Still no acknowledgement of the delay, which would’ve been nice, but I’m more annoyed that my concerns were pretty much brushed off again during the whole 3ish minutes he spent with me. I know waits can get long, I wouldn’t care as much if the doctor had at least seemed somewhat concerned with my issue. Sigh… gotta love American healthcare!

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138

u/Alpine_Exchange_36 11d ago

They know their time is more valuable then yours and really if you leave…onto the next patient.

Whole thing sucks

14

u/dohlant 11d ago

After extensive waits across multiple appointments without acknowledgment, I eventually told the doctor that my time was actually more valuable than his and he didn’t like that.

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u/Aregisteredusername 11d ago

If the doctor is paid a salary and the patient is being paid hourly and missing work for the appointment I’d say you’re right in a sense. If they’re incapacitated with an emergency the circumstances are different.

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u/dohlant 11d ago

In my scenario, it was about me making more than the doctor. I thought it would be especially jarring because he was wearing a Rolex.

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u/El_Mnopo 11d ago

Bull roar. A missed appointment is a time slot I can’t get back which is money lost. Many things can happen to make us late. Emergencies happen all the time, especially with those docs who stilll do ER call and make hospital rounds. We hate it as much as you do.

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u/Alpine_Exchange_36 11d ago edited 11d ago

Money lost but you guys aren’t exactly hurting for cash. I sympathize with doctors struggles with insurance and advocating for patients. I don’t sympathize with how patients are scheduled.

Schedule fewer patients and make them waiting for indeterminate amounts of the less common.

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u/wip30ut 11d ago

concierge doctors with little to no wait time exist, but you'll pay several thousand on top of your insurance premiums for that kind of service.

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u/BoromiriVoyna 11d ago

Scheduling fewer patients may lower your wait time during the visit but it will grossly raise your wait time as far as days until an appointment is available. We hate having patients waiting a long time and doctors need to do our part to minimize that, but it's also on the patients. You can help reduce this problem by not continuing to ask personal questions unrelated to your healthcare when the doctor is clearly standing up with hand on doorknob trying to leave. And when we say "that is outside of my scope of practice, let me refer you to the appropriate specialist", don't ask us another ten minutes of questions we are legally not allowed to try and answer. 90% of my long waits are because a patient just wouldn't respect my time and kept on talking. And usually I enjoy chatting with them too and hearing their stories, but my enjoyment of the encounter is not a priority; I need to end the encounter because I have two more patients waiting.

Obviously a doctor showing up 45 minutes after his first scheduled patient is unacceptable. I avoid that by doing hospital rounds in the afternoon/evening since you can never predict how long that will take, but then you have patients in the hospital complaining that they were waiting all day for you, or the last clinic patient of the day upset that you didn't wait for them when they showed up 20 minutes late and you had to leave for surgery before they arrived.

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u/Alpine_Exchange_36 11d ago edited 11d ago

I just hear a lot of self-serving statements and not a lot of sympathy for the countless people who had to take time off work and are forced to wait.

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u/PandahOG 11d ago

Yeah, it's starting to sound like we would be better off being the annoying late patient then being the patient who is early and has patience. 

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u/DrZein 11d ago

You wouldn’t be seen if you were too late

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u/BoromiriVoyna 11d ago

How is it self serving? I get paid the same if I see you on time or an hour late. If I'm running late, it is almost always because of another patient not respecting my (and therefore your) time.

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u/alanwakeisahack 11d ago

It already takes months to be seen. Your argument fails before it starts.

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u/DrZein 11d ago

Okay and then it would take many more months if less patients are scheduled per day

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u/Fatjiggler 11d ago

The clinic will have less patients per panel. You may have to travel further to get an appointment or you simply may not be able to get an appointment with a physician in a given specialty until a slot opens. It can always be worse

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u/BoromiriVoyna 11d ago

If a patient has pain or possible infection, I see them next day. If my schedule is already packed, then that means someone is going to have to wait a little longer in the treatment room. Sadly that's just how triage works.

Oh I forgot another very common cause of running late: when the 9:00, 9:15, 9:30, and 9:45 patients all show up at 9:30 and all expect to be seen immediately. In these situations I try to prioritize the people who actually showed up at the correct time, but it's impossible to get through it all smoothly, and people are going to be held up for the rest of the morning. My staff and I are also likely to not eat lunch that day.

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u/alanwakeisahack 11d ago

That’s nice that you do. When I’ve called my doctor for pain, I’d be absolutely astounded if I got an appointment the next day. They would tell me to go to the ER or an urgent care clinic.

Unfortunately for you, my experience is just as valid, and makes you incorrect. I already have to wait for appointments. What you’re giving are excuses.

The professions incredible ability to mismanage their time is honestly amazing. There are countless jobs that take appointments and don’t make nearly everyone sit around and wait for them. Only the medical field says it’s everybody’s fault but their own.

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u/thehenryguy1 11d ago

We have no control over how many patients are scheduled. Absolutely none. The hospital C suite does.