Waiting times at the Doctor's office

So what do you consider to be a reasonable wait at a doctor's office?

I had to bring my mother to an appointment yesterday and was shocked when she only had to wait for 10 minutes before her name was called. I think some people had probably canceled because of the snow. I have had to wait for well over an hour before and by that point my blood pressure was through the roof. Another time I was brought back into the exam room and was in there for so long that I wandered out in the hall in my johnny, looking for anyone at all to see if they had forgotten about me.

I usually don't have to wait more than ten minutes in the front office before my name is called. Once in the back, it could be a bit longer if they have to get any blood work or other things before they take me in the office where the doctors sees me.

I always try to schedule my doctor/dentist appts, so that I'm the first patient of the morning. That way, I usually don't have to wait long. 

When I need bloodwork, I go in about a week prior to my appointment for the bloodwork, so that it's been checked and the results are with my doctor for my appointment. 

I hate waiting around in waiting rooms! 

I also try to schedule to be first in.

Waiting a few minutes is fine - I can deal with up to about 10-15 but anything over that I see no reason for, unless the doctor has been in surgery earlier or, has a clinic he attends.

The only doctor I always have to wait for is my orthopedist.  He falls into that "Has important things to do first" category as he's also head of the department in the hospital where his office is.  Once, I left and rescheduled because 45 minutes later was just too much for me.  The last few times it was about 10 minutes.  I put up with it because he's a fantastic doctor with a great bedside manner.  Worth the inconvenience (most times).

AbbysMom said:

So what do you consider to be a reasonable wait at a doctor's office?

I had to bring my mother to an appointment yesterday and was shocked when she only had to wait for 10 minutes before her name was called. I think some people had probably canceled because of the snow. I have had to wait for well over an hour before and by that point my blood pressure was through the roof. Another time I was brought back into the exam room and was in there for so long that I wandered out in the hall in my johnny, looking for anyone at all to see if they had forgotten about me.

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I remember being at the OB/Gyn some years back wondering if they forgot me.  I was in the room at least 1/2 hour with nobody coming in to say a thing to me.  I finally got disgusted, opened the door dressed in that awful tiny "robe" and hailed someone down.  

Recently, I had a doctor really forget!  She was new to the practice and didn't realize I was waiting on her. I guess she wasn't quite used to the office routine yet. I was biding my time reading so didn't quite noticed how long it actually was.  She was incredibly apologetic once she came in.  

sivyaleah said:

I remember being at the OB/Gyn some years back wondering if they forgot me.  I was in the room at least 1/2 hour with nobody coming in to say a thing to me.  I finally got disgusted, opened the door dressed in that awful tiny "robe" and hailed someone down.  

Recently, I had a doctor really forget!  She was new to the practice and didn't realize I was waiting on her. I guess she wasn't quite used to the office routine yet. I was biding my time reading so didn't quite noticed how long it actually was.  She was incredibly apologetic once she came in.  

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This reminds me of my longest wait time in recent years (not counting my primary physician at the time - I found another since), I was already taken to the room, and was in there for an HOUR! I entertained myself by listening to the folks in the next room over (the walls were unfortunately thin). The reason my doctor was so late - he gave her the good news she was pregnant, and was horrified because her husband had had a vasectomy years before (he was in the room with her). She insisted the doctor's results were wrong, so they tested again, still positive. The discussions that ensued after that were quite... entertaining. Hey, when you're in an exam room with no reading material, you have to find other means of entertainment.

Wow! That would get my attention, too!

I think doctors in general are better about the wait times because that's probably been the largest source of complaints from patients. The down side to that is they have to stick to a strict schedule, and if you have something they didn't expect, they rush through treating it. Most insurance companies limit their time with patients to 10 minutes or less  because they are expected to treat a certain number of patients per hour. Personally, I'd rather wait a little longer in the reception area if it meant I could have the doctor's full attention.

DreamerRose said:

 
Wow! That would get my attention, too!

I think doctors in general are better about the wait times because that's probably been the largest source of complaints from patients. The down side to that is they have to stick to a strict schedule, and if you have something they didn't expect, they rush through treating it. Most insurance companies limit their time with patients to 10 minutes or less  because they are expected to treat a certain number of patients per hour. Personally, I'd rather wait a little longer in the reception area if it meant I could have the doctor's full attention.

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Primary care physicians are being squeezed by insurance companies.  Reimbursements have dropped but the same as for everyone else expenses including student loan debt, are rising.  Fewer doctors are going into primary care. many who are in primary care are leaving for another area of medicine.  I recently seen a job satisfaction survey for primary care physicians.  For the first time a majority of these physicians are not satisfied with their career choice and if they had known what it was really like would have made a different choice.

Our doctors office is horrible. My son has his 18 month appointment next week and I'm dreading it. We usually sit in the waiting room for about 45-60 minutes, then in the room for another half an hour or more, then have to sit in the waiting room again for 15 minutes after his vaccination so they can check it. It usually takes minimum 2 hours for an appointment. I like to book first thing in the morning but they don't do vaccines in the morning for some stupid reason.

My husband told me last week that the hospital now has a rule that if you have a family doctor in that town, you now have to wait for them to come and see you in the ER if you go there and it's not an emergency. That will mean even longer wait times at the doctors office.

I wouldn't mind waiting a bit for a good doctor. Ours isn't great but it's our only option as many people don't even have a doctor. My OB had days when I had to wait for an hour but he wakes an amazing doctor so I didn't mind.

I once fell asleep on the exam table waiting for the doctor.  They saw me, turned down the lights and ate lunch.  I just made it in time to pick up the kids from school.

I actually just changed primary care doctors because the wait after travel time to our old one was awful.  I had to allow 45 minutes to get there and get us in the building.  Then sit and wait for 45 minutes before actually seeing the doctor.  I tote 2 young kids with me.  I don't have the option of finding a sitter.  So they go and like typical kids; they get restless!  So for the last 6-7 years I haven't gone unless it was absolutely necessary.  (I regret that.)  I actually chose my new office because people online said they are good about wait times. And they were for my first appointment.  I just had to wait 5 months to have my new patient appointment!  I wasn't in the lobby long.  I was in the room longer; but not too bad.  The new doctor seems very competent and has a great bedside manner.  she even apologized about my wait in the room.  I think it was maybe 20 minutes.  

I used to work in medical offices; so I kind of know what is going on behind the scenes when  you walk in there and are waiting.  One doctor I worked for EXPECTED people to wait.  He was a good doctor. But that always annoyed me.  People's time is valuable too!  He'd get caught up with a patient or get a call from another physician. Those calls always take precedence unless he was performing some kind of in-office procedure or test.  But there is also legitimate work being done; insurance is being verified (if you are new and they didn't already have it to do beforehand), paperwork glanced over, etc.  We do have a doctor shortage in our area.  Hence the 5 month wait!

I've considered changing Pediatricians because we've had some long waits.  After an hour in the waiting room; my kids were really at their limit!  But this office is literally 10 minutes from my house. It's SO convenient when the kids have had sick appointments.  And now they know the doctor and staff so they feel comfortable there.  But those waits though...I think on average we are there for a good hour and a half.  

The one I give the most "grace" to on wait times is my OBGYN.   He's truly the kindest doctor I have ever met and you want someone you like and trust for that sort of care!  It's a single doctor practice; so he sometimes gets called to deliveries or has emergency appointments.  When my son was born I was his last patient of the day.  I'm talking a 4:30 appointment.  He was already monitoring me because some complications were coming up (again) but I ended up not even being able to go home from that appointment.  I drove myself down the street for an ultrasound and they walked me right up to Labor and Delivery.  DS was born in the early morning hours.  I'm betting my poor doctor never went home that night.  Who knows how much sleep he got!  Yet still as patient and kind as ever. I've heard horror stories.  He's worth the wait!!

My dentist's office is spectacular. No matter what time of day; they are never over booked.  I almost always go right in; even when I'm early.  My new eye doctor's was pretty good.  I didn't watch the clock; but it was my first visit and I had to do paperwork and things.  I think I waited 10 minutes or so in the waiting room and maybe 5 in the exam room.  VERY different from my old eye doctor. They have you waiting a good 20 minutes and then shuffle you back and forth between rooms multiple times while leaving you sitting in their darkened 2nd waiting room.  I saw the doctor for virtually no time at all.  And that was my last appointment there!   

Denice said:

 
Primary care physicians are being squeezed by insurance companies.  Reimbursements have dropped but the same as for everyone else expenses including student loan debt, are rising.  Fewer doctors are going into primary care. many who are in primary care are leaving for another area of medicine.  I recently seen a job satisfaction survey for primary care physicians.  For the first time a majority of these physicians are not satisfied with their career choice and if they had known what it was really like would have made a different choice.

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most doctors are forced to overbook patients.. and all hospitals have to overbook and limits the amount of time for each exam. It is done by the 'squeeze' of the insurance companies not to re-imburse properly; and the shortage of regular physicians. Everyone wanted to be a specialist because they felt that is where the money is at.. not true at all. The regular doctors, PCP, internists, GPs are overloaded with patients. 

An exam, of any kind can take 15 minutes or it can run much over 15 minutes. Most doctors are booking patients every 15 minutes to 30 minutes. That is not really enough time, if there is a problem. 

And they are faced with add on patients....how to accommodate them? squeeze them in? or they are faced with people who come in on the wrong day or time...yes it happens so often and are adamant that they be seen when they come in...Medical care is crazy now. You have all the paperwork that the doctors need to fill out/sign. These are currently mandated due to the bureaucracy of the insurance companies. So many things have to be documented. The clout that insurance companies have is outrageous. 

Oh, do not get me started on that. The ins companies are regulating patient care. Now the government is involved.. add that to all the patients a doctor sees on a given day---it is incredible... drugs are regulated, tests are regulated, follow-up appointments are regulated...

The days when a physician could just order a specific drug because they know it appropriate for a certain individual, and yet the ins company will not allow it because it is too expensive. The doctor is faced with either submitting a prior authorization, which can take up to 2 weeks to get, or they have to prescribe an inferior drug--who suffers, the patient....same for medical procedures and exams...

Because I worked in the medical field, my entire life, I was very patient when I waited. One time, I waited an hour, kept seeing people who came in after me, go in before me.. I finally said something. The secretary forgot to pull my chart, to say that I was there. That was the last time I was so patient. Now I watch and see who comes in after me and the order they go in.

Ok--off my soap box now...     

I do insurance billing for ambulance service.  We routinely have claims denied because the run wasn't necessary or there was no 'preauthorization'.  I don't get the pre authorization unless it is an interfacility transfer.  I have seen desperate letters from people who can't pay out of pocket.  Many of them were in car accidents.  They probably didn't need to go to the hospital but most police departments and highway patrols really pressure people to go to the hospital by ambulance because of liability issues.

I've been going to my family doctor for about 8 years now.  Prior to that I was going to the doctor that birthed me back in 1962.  I had stuck with him out of loyalty and because I didn't know any better.

In the 8 years that I've been seeing my doctor, I can't remember ever having to wait in the waiting room.  A couple times I had to wait about 30 minutes once in the exam room, but that was no big deal.

My previous doctor was disgusting the way he booked his appointments.  Every single visit you could expect to wait between 2 and 6 hours to see him, despite having an appointment.   As he got older, it got worse.  In the beginning it was only in patient hospital rounds and baby births that held him up.  As he got older, he took an interest in surgery and often signed up to assist in the O.R..    He had told me that had he been able to do his career over he would have been a surgeon.   I remember so many times having a 2 O'Clock appointment, only for him to not even show up in the office until after 5 O'Clock, sometimes later.   In the meantime all of his patients from 2 O'Clock onward are sitting there waiting for him.   I was one of those stupid ones who sat and waited.  One time I made an appointment for 2 pm.m only to not get into see him until almost 8:30 pm.  That's 6 1/2 hours waiting to see him!

I also found out that he quadruple booked!   Every 15 minutes he was booked to see FOUR (4) people.   So that's 16 people per hour, 4 people every 15 minutes.  How do you see 4 people at one time?  You can't!

And what made it worse is that a lot of his patients were elderly so their doctor appointments were their social outings and they would want to spend time visiting. And then there were the ones who made an appointment for a prescription refill, or a flu shot, and while they were there suddenly needed to have a dozen things checked out.

There were times I got fed up and left. But all that was doing was hurting me. He still had patients sitting there waiting to see him, so the fact that I left didn't hurt his bottom line; in fact I bet he had no clue I was even there and left.

My blood boils when I think back to all of the time I wasted sitting there waiting to see him, when he had zero consideration for my time.

Where I live there is such a shortage of doctors that if you have a GP you can't go to another one.  And so many doctors aren't accepting new patients.  I finally stopped going to him, and didn't see a doctor for almost 3 years, and when I first made an appointment to see my current doctor, they asked if I had a GP already. I honestly told them that I didn't, because I essentially "fired" my old one.

At one time, this situation got so bad that there was a movement to charge the doctors for the patients' time. I don't know whether anyone really did, but that seemed to get the medical profession's attention.

My last doctor was awful--routinely had an hour waiting time for an appointment.  Then they went to a 'membership model'.  One of the benefits of the $70 a month membership fee?  A guaranteed wait time of "no more than 45 minutes"  What a deal, eh?     No thanks.  I switched doctors and the first time I went to see the new doc, I was only in the waiting room for about 5 minutes.  So far so good. 

I know in this area Nurse Practitioners have taken some of the basic care.  Many multi physician practices have a nurse practitioner for routine care and many OBs have one for yearly exams as well as monthly visits for routine pregnancies.  They also do some deliveries.  The field of Nurse Anesthetists is also growing.  I know there are requirements as far as a physician anesthesiologist being available and how many nurses per physician are giving anesthesia at a time.  

There are also a few of the small walk in clinics in supermarkets for the most routine care that is staffed by Nurse Practitioners.  They can only do things like ear infections, UTI's, blood pressure checks, vaccinations but that certainly does help.

Denice said:

 
I know in this area Nurse Practitioners have taken some of the basic care.  Many multi physician practices have a nurse practitioner for routine care and many OBs have one for yearly exams as well as monthly visits for routine pregnancies.  They also do some deliveries.  The field of Nurse Anesthetists is also growing.  I know there are requirements as far as a physician anesthesiologist being available and how many nurses per physician are giving anesthesia at a time.  

There are also a few of the small walk in clinics in supermarkets for the most routine care that is staffed by Nurse Practitioners.  They can only do things like ear infections, UTI's, blood pressure checks, vaccinations but that certainly does help.

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Not sure how I feel about this...I mean if I make an appointment to be seen, at the doctor's office, I want to be seen by a doctor and not a nurse practitioner. That is just me. I am old fashioned. 

My PCP's used to have a nurse practitioner in there. It did not work out. Too many patients insisted on seeing the doctor and not the nurse. Plus, the NP has to run things by the doctor~~~ a  lot......

AbbysMom said:

So what do you consider to be a reasonable wait at a doctor's office?

I had to bring my mother to an appointment yesterday and was shocked when she only had to wait for 10 minutes before her name was called. I think some people had probably canceled because of the snow. I have had to wait for well over an hour before and by that point my blood pressure was through the roof. Another time I was brought back into the exam room and was in there for so long that I wandered out in the hall in my johnny, looking for anyone at all to see if they had forgotten about me.

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Our doctors office, small town, got so bad that they addressed the issue. 10-15 minutes is about the longest you wait.

no more than 10 minutes (past my appointment time) in the waiting room, followed by no more than 10 minutes in the exam room waiting for the doctor to show up. anything more than that is simply wasting my valuable time.

extended periods of 'wait time' in doctors offices is a pet peeve of mine. i don't do well with my time being wasted at the doctors office. my average wait time (past my appointment time) is 1 hour and 15 minutes, followed by a good 20 minutes sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor to saunter in, then i see the doctor for on average 10 minutes. this is the reason why i only see a doctor when it's something i can't deal with on my own.

my doctors office knows how i feel about this, because i've told them. i'm always pleasant when i'm there and not rude. my time is valuable to me and i have a lot that needs doing. i've actually thought about simply asking the receptionist at the doctors office how far behind the doctor is running, then if i have an extra hour or more to wait i could leave and take care of some errands then return for the appointment just before the doctor would be ready to see me. i guess the bottom line is:  what's the use of having an appointment for 10am, if the doctor won't be seeing me until 11:30am? i mean, why can't i have an 11:30am appointment if that's when the doctor can see me?