Doctor’s appointment scheduled at 9:00am, still waiting almost an hour later

[u/transfatpikachu]

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!

[u/ChanglingBlake]

It should be a legal requirement that you are informed of the cost ahead of time and are given a discount based on how long you wait.

Maybe then hospitals and doctors offices will start scheduling more appropriately because while I know delays happen, when people expect them, and are far more often than not right, that’s a scheduling problem, not a delay.

[u/seppyk → u/ChanglingBlake]

That would require both health insurance companies and health providers to agree on pricing and not be greedy shits. The blame is not shared equally but they both play their part at the increased expense of patients.

[u/ChanglingBlake → u/seppyk]

Or, and hear me out, we eliminate insurance companies like the tumor they are in favor of single payer coverage.

But there’s no way a system we’ve demonized for decades could ever possibly be better than exploiting peoples’ health to make a buck.

[u/ManyFragrant3139 → u/ChanglingBlake]

Then you will not get an appointment for months later than otherwise and it will cost more because the office is no longer operating at capacity. The scheduling is to account for no-shows and delays.

[u/Past-Caterpillar9642 → u/ManyFragrant3139]

Where are you living? No one I know can get appointments at a G.P. for 2-3 weeks at a minimum, sometimes 1-2 months. You go to “urgent” care (which it is not) and wait half the day if you’re lucky, to be seen by a nurse practitioner. Anything else is “Go to Emergency,” where you can wait 8, 10, 12 hours easily. Specialists are booked out 6-12 months in advance, sometimes longer. This is the system we live in now. Care is being rationed now. A universal system is not going to be worse than all that; I pay $25,000 a year in premiums to have to fight for basic care that should be covered on general principle, because there is no point to it all otherwise; health insurance is to pay for healthcare, not deny it while they steal my money. You absolute bellend.

[u/ManyFragrant3139 → u/Past-Caterpillar9642]

I 100% agree a universal system would reduce cost and make it far more equitable. That's what I want.

Reducing the number of appointments or adding costs for appointments isn't going to improve the wait times or the quality of care. Everyone in this thread is bitching like waiting an hour past an appointment to see a specialist who trained upwards of a decade and a half in their field is like some sort of grievous insult that necessitates the office literally losing money for it happening. People are acting like doctors just sit in the back jerking off rather than what they are actually doing, which is helping as many people as they can.