I work in healthcare dealing with the general public. It seems that about half the people that step into the office show up when they want to. This not only puts me behind but angers the people that are punctual. With all the appointment reminders we send and smart phones for navigation it seems like people could figure stuff out. Old man yelling at clouds......
Why can't the general public get somewhere at a specified time?
4,253 Views |
47 Replies |
Last: 7 yr ago by ag0207
To be devils advocate why can't anyone ever see me at the time of my appointment? Always late
you are seen late because the person ahead of you showed up late
We have the same issues a lot. We do executive physicals with testing that can take most of the day. Therefore, we only have 2-5 patients per doctor depending on possible overbooks. Patients usually arrive 7-830 based on their appointment time. They do lab, healthscreens, dermatology, nutrition, physical, cardiology/stress testing, radiology, fitness consults and debriefing with the doc. Some also see G.I. with 30+ patients coming in, this is an all-day affair and when patients show up late, it can throw a wrench into the entire logistical machine that they front desks folks have to get everyone everywhere.
Usually because someone before you was late.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-your-doctor-is-always-late-2015-1
http://raphafamilywellness.com/blog/2013/9/18/why-in-thedoes-a-doctor-schedule-an-appointment-for-240-and-keep-my-ass-in-the-waiting-room-for-at-least-30-minutes
Usually because someone before you was late.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-your-doctor-is-always-late-2015-1
http://raphafamilywellness.com/blog/2013/9/18/why-in-thedoes-a-doctor-schedule-an-appointment-for-240-and-keep-my-ass-in-the-waiting-room-for-at-least-30-minutes
Yeah, it only takes a couple visits to see a doc where I'm not seen until an hour after my appointment - and then they rush me out the door - for me to stop showing up early...
This drives me insane. I have two young kids yet still manage to show up to anything from doctors appts to school, to play dates on time or early. People are just so selfish to even care about anyone else time, whether it's a doctor, teacher, friend. I hate people
hmmm.... I sit for an hour with no apologies. My doctor doesn't show but no call prior to me getting there. If I don't show I have to pay a $25 no-show fee. If you are behind, how about calling or texting and letting me now you are behind?
The medical field is full of over priced pre-madonnas with God complexes. They don't listen. They know they have a captured audience and just don't care.
Example? I have a c-pap. I occasionally need a new mask and hose. I have to waste my time seeing the ENT every year in order to get the mask. Why? because you have to have a prescription. And the healthcare industry just smiles as they are stealing my money.
And it is worse with my mother who has COPD, Alzheimer's, bi-polar and lung cancer in remission. Healthcare providers love her because they see her as a walking ATM.
Healthcare doesn't respect our time, we don't respect yours. Personally, and I'm sure you are a wonderful person and it doesn't apply to you, healthcare, as an honorable practice, is below used car salesmen and plaintiffs lawyers. At least with those you know you are getting screwed.
The medical field is full of over priced pre-madonnas with God complexes. They don't listen. They know they have a captured audience and just don't care.
Example? I have a c-pap. I occasionally need a new mask and hose. I have to waste my time seeing the ENT every year in order to get the mask. Why? because you have to have a prescription. And the healthcare industry just smiles as they are stealing my money.
And it is worse with my mother who has COPD, Alzheimer's, bi-polar and lung cancer in remission. Healthcare providers love her because they see her as a walking ATM.
Healthcare doesn't respect our time, we don't respect yours. Personally, and I'm sure you are a wonderful person and it doesn't apply to you, healthcare, as an honorable practice, is below used car salesmen and plaintiffs lawyers. At least with those you know you are getting screwed.
I had a sleep study 13 years ago. That was the last time I saw a sleep doc. My GP just puts his X on a script every year or so such that I can keep getting hoses and masks.
I ageee with you in a lot of respects. Doctors are off limits. I've had a potential client keep dicking with me trying to negotiate a fee. I'm not negotiating a fee with you, buddy, but people think they can do this with attorneys. When is the last time you tried to negotiate a fee with your doctor?
Oh yeah, it's prima donna - they didn't just start singing before Madonna
edited
Oh yeah, it's prima donna - they didn't just start singing before Madonna
edited
hoosegow,
I apologize to my patients when I am running behind. Every single one of them. How often do you apologize to someone in a situation that often times is not your fault? When apologizing to a patient because they were on time and you are seeing them late because 2 or more people showed up late ahead of them is not pleasurable for me.
I went into medicine to help people. I do not think that I am God nor do I want to be. I am like everyone else, I put one pant leg on at a time.
It is not your Dr.'s fault that you have to get a prescription each year for your device. Thank your insurance. They are trying to weasel out of paying for it hoping you won't go back to get it renewed. Some people can actually get off a c-pap if their apnea is related to obesity and they have lost weight. So maybe your Dr. wants to see if there is a change in your health that could potentially alleviate your need for a c-pap.
I doubt your mothers Dr. sees her as a walking ATM. First, they probably see her as a person that needs their help. I have many patients like your mother and I enjoy seeing each and every one of them. However, dealing with that many issues in an appointment is like running a mental marathon. I bet your mother wants each issue addressed at one appointment and I don't blame her. It is probably hard for her to get to an appointment logistically and physically, and I bet her Dr. doesn't say no to addressing her needs. Whether I address 1 complaint or 10 complaints it minimally changes reimbursement unless procedures are involved. So a complex patient in my office is more work for me than a simple patient but I like a challenge.
To your last point if you have such high regard for the people trying to help you I feel sorry for you.
I apologize to my patients when I am running behind. Every single one of them. How often do you apologize to someone in a situation that often times is not your fault? When apologizing to a patient because they were on time and you are seeing them late because 2 or more people showed up late ahead of them is not pleasurable for me.
I went into medicine to help people. I do not think that I am God nor do I want to be. I am like everyone else, I put one pant leg on at a time.
It is not your Dr.'s fault that you have to get a prescription each year for your device. Thank your insurance. They are trying to weasel out of paying for it hoping you won't go back to get it renewed. Some people can actually get off a c-pap if their apnea is related to obesity and they have lost weight. So maybe your Dr. wants to see if there is a change in your health that could potentially alleviate your need for a c-pap.
I doubt your mothers Dr. sees her as a walking ATM. First, they probably see her as a person that needs their help. I have many patients like your mother and I enjoy seeing each and every one of them. However, dealing with that many issues in an appointment is like running a mental marathon. I bet your mother wants each issue addressed at one appointment and I don't blame her. It is probably hard for her to get to an appointment logistically and physically, and I bet her Dr. doesn't say no to addressing her needs. Whether I address 1 complaint or 10 complaints it minimally changes reimbursement unless procedures are involved. So a complex patient in my office is more work for me than a simple patient but I like a challenge.
To your last point if you have such high regard for the people trying to help you I feel sorry for you.
How do you explain your tardiness to the first patient of the day?ag0207 said:
you are seen late because the person ahead of you showed up late
I work in a clinical setting with a attached surgical suite. I am at the office doing paperwork and many other things....sometimes goofing around on texags way before clinic opens. I have been doing this for 10 years and have not been late once.
Queso,
when is the last time a Dr. charged somebody for a phone call or other the countless other things that are done for a patient when they are not in the office (how much work does an attorney do that is not charged for?).
The pay schedule is set for us and out of my control. So if I would give a discount to someone with a specific insurance and not another I would be in hot water. Cash patients are the only ones we can negotiate with and we often do provide discounts because of not having to jack around with insurance.
when is the last time a Dr. charged somebody for a phone call or other the countless other things that are done for a patient when they are not in the office (how much work does an attorney do that is not charged for?).
The pay schedule is set for us and out of my control. So if I would give a discount to someone with a specific insurance and not another I would be in hot water. Cash patients are the only ones we can negotiate with and we often do provide discounts because of not having to jack around with insurance.
Bingo.
I'm in the office usually over an hour before my first patient walks in the door to get paperwork done. And to dick around on Texags.
Blame your insurance for the scripts and other bs. They really do suck
I'm in the office usually over an hour before my first patient walks in the door to get paperwork done. And to dick around on Texags.
Blame your insurance for the scripts and other bs. They really do suck
Here we go again. Surgical case set for 8 am and it is 8 am and they are not here yet. There goes my schedule for the morning.
Bye for now. Surgery if finally here. Let the snowballing of my schedule begin.
Unfortunately, I have to do this all the time. I'm in sales, and I work at a large company. With that comes with working with a lot of people who are there to just collect a paycheck and don't give a crap about the customer. I end up apologizing for stuff I didn't do and can't fix.ag0207 said:
How often do you apologize to someone in a situation that often times is not your fault?
I think the difference is that an attorney charges for opinions and time. A doctor charges to treat.
What if you said to a patient who was substantially late "Sorry, your appointment was at ...., and you missed that time. We have moved forward to the next patient. Please reschedule your appointment. " ?? If people were held accountable for their actions, they would change their habits.
Quote:
Oh yeah, it's primodona - they didn't just start singing before Madonna
It's actually prima donna irl.
Pre-Madonna is a longtime TexAgs joke.
Oh, and this thread went ugly, fast. I don't think the Doc expected that.
Haha. The rules of the innernets never fail. The correcting party is always wrong.
ag0207 - what is your doctor phone policy?
Agreed. I very much wish this was the case. Both of my follow up appointments with my surgeon after a recent appendectomy were 45-65 minutes late after I arrived 15 minutes early. I asked the receptionist why they didn't reschedule appointments that showed up late and she looked at me like I asked her to sacrifice her first born child. She also let me know that they overbook appointments knowing that some people just didn't show up, so if everyone showed up to their appointment, the surgeon just worked late. Incredibly frustrating to have my time not valued in the slightest.montegobay said:
What if you said to a patient who was substantially late "Sorry, your appointment was at ...., and you missed that time. We have moved forward to the next patient. Please reschedule your appointment. " ?? If people were held accountable for their actions, they would change their habits.
We do this and it aggravates me to no end, because everyone almost always shows up (we charge a $500 no-show fee). Everyone shows up and then we are here super late to get everything done.Quote:
. She also let me know that they overbook appointments knowing that some people just didn't show up, so if everyone showed up to their appointment, the surgeon just worked late.
Anyone that is 15 mins late you call or text and cancel and reschedule their appointment. Do that a few times and i bet you fix your problem.
Or if you see someone later than 15 mins you don't bill the insurance for anything and do it for free.
Solves the issue pretty quick. Then you won't book patients in such a tight window nor will your patients expect service when they are late.
Or if you see someone later than 15 mins you don't bill the insurance for anything and do it for free.
Solves the issue pretty quick. Then you won't book patients in such a tight window nor will your patients expect service when they are late.
Waiting on the dentist. I was early. While I waited some jackass came in late for his appointment. Probably why I'm still sitting here 15+ minutes waiting for my appointment.
Question is what do you consider substantially late? If you get 2-3 patients that show up 2-3 minutes late they don't magically appear in the exam room.
Example: a new patient shows up for an 8:30 appointment at 8:32. They have previously been told by my office staff to arrive 10-15 early to do paperwork & get a copy of insurance card (now 8:35). Once this is done they are brought back by my assistant (with uncompleted paperwork in hand because we try to get people back ASAP). From there vitals with a brief history performed by my assistant as to why they are here (now 8:40). I am briefed & ready to go & it is now 8:42. Same for an established patient except no new patient paperwork (but they still have a 1 page form to sign if there are any updates to meds or health history). So if this happens 3 times in a morning I'm 36 minutes behind schedule.
I am in private practice, if I rescheduled everyone that was late I couldn't keep from going belly up.
Example: a new patient shows up for an 8:30 appointment at 8:32. They have previously been told by my office staff to arrive 10-15 early to do paperwork & get a copy of insurance card (now 8:35). Once this is done they are brought back by my assistant (with uncompleted paperwork in hand because we try to get people back ASAP). From there vitals with a brief history performed by my assistant as to why they are here (now 8:40). I am briefed & ready to go & it is now 8:42. Same for an established patient except no new patient paperwork (but they still have a 1 page form to sign if there are any updates to meds or health history). So if this happens 3 times in a morning I'm 36 minutes behind schedule.
I am in private practice, if I rescheduled everyone that was late I couldn't keep from going belly up.
Quick solution is for all ya'll to kill off your parents. The Baby Boomers and Gen X people are living too long and causing the backup. Kill your parents off and the lines will go downQuote:
Solves the issue pretty quick.
Matsui,
We have tried this before. I go from running around like my hair is on fire to large gaps in my schedule. Once again being in private practice if my schedule is to light it is not good for me or my employees. My office must be strange because we don't overbook. The few days of the year when everyone does show up when they are supposed to we run smooth....it's almost to easy.
Just venting to the sympathetic ear that is texags. I know there is no perfect solution it is just frustrating for me as a provider & patients alike.
We have tried this before. I go from running around like my hair is on fire to large gaps in my schedule. Once again being in private practice if my schedule is to light it is not good for me or my employees. My office must be strange because we don't overbook. The few days of the year when everyone does show up when they are supposed to we run smooth....it's almost to easy.
Just venting to the sympathetic ear that is texags. I know there is no perfect solution it is just frustrating for me as a provider & patients alike.
Why does every medical office do this? It's asking for patients to be "late".ag0207 said:
They have previously been told by my office staff to arrive 10-15 early to do paperwork & get a copy of insurance card
If you tell someone 8:30 - but be here 10 minutes early, all they remember on the day of the appointment is I need to be there by 8:30. If you allocate those 10 minutes into your appointment time, you'd be much more likely to have people arrive in time to address these tasks.
I've never been to a medical office (exception - physical therapy) where I was in a room by my appointment time anyway. If I (or anyone) expected to see the doc at my appointment time, this thread would have started from the reverse position.
We tell patients when they schedule their appointment to arrive 15 minutes before their appointment and again when we send a reminder text 2-3 days before their appointment. If they don't confirm their appointment with text we call them a day before and again remind them to get here early for paperwork.
We also tell them that our forms our on our website that they can be printed and completed prior to their visit but it never happens.
The problem with building "paperwork" time into an appointment is then angering the punctual patient. Example: a person is scheduled for an 8:30 appointment (really 8:45 to see the doctor and 8:30 for paperwork). They are punctual so they show up at 8:15. By the time they are called back at 8:40-8:45 to be seen they are pissed.
Unfortunately no perfect answers. I will say we get many complements about how efficient our office runs because most patients don't get to sit down in the waiting room very often because we work hard to stay as close to on time as possible.
We also tell them that our forms our on our website that they can be printed and completed prior to their visit but it never happens.
The problem with building "paperwork" time into an appointment is then angering the punctual patient. Example: a person is scheduled for an 8:30 appointment (really 8:45 to see the doctor and 8:30 for paperwork). They are punctual so they show up at 8:15. By the time they are called back at 8:40-8:45 to be seen they are pissed.
Unfortunately no perfect answers. I will say we get many complements about how efficient our office runs because most patients don't get to sit down in the waiting room very often because we work hard to stay as close to on time as possible.
amazing all the people complaining about their customers....
I'm sure you are a fine and considerate doctor and said as much in my original reply and I'm sure there are others like you.
However, you can't change my experiences with the medical field and you can't understand the frustration because you are an insider who doesn't have to suffer like we do. The majority of your peers are looking at one thing and one thing only - $$$. You know you have a monopoly and can do whatever you want and there aint anything we can do about it. If a clinic takes medicaid or medicare, it is a numbers game and it is simply a matter of how many people they think they can ethically see without raising too many flags. If it is a private clinic, it is ho many tests and procedures that can be billed through insurance before the insurance company denies something. This is my experience dealing with both. It is my experience that I'm going through now - having to waste my time and my money.
The road goes both ways. If you are as courteous as you say you are, be more picky with your patients or add a late arrival charge. If you can guarantee me that you will see me when you say that you will, I'll pay for that. There is a shortage of doctors so I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would still come see you. Understand, though, that there are MANY of us who do not respect doctors' time because MANY doctors do not respect our time.
This is probably not what you were thinking when you came here for a sympathetic ear. Stick around, though. We are a fun group.
However, you can't change my experiences with the medical field and you can't understand the frustration because you are an insider who doesn't have to suffer like we do. The majority of your peers are looking at one thing and one thing only - $$$. You know you have a monopoly and can do whatever you want and there aint anything we can do about it. If a clinic takes medicaid or medicare, it is a numbers game and it is simply a matter of how many people they think they can ethically see without raising too many flags. If it is a private clinic, it is ho many tests and procedures that can be billed through insurance before the insurance company denies something. This is my experience dealing with both. It is my experience that I'm going through now - having to waste my time and my money.
The road goes both ways. If you are as courteous as you say you are, be more picky with your patients or add a late arrival charge. If you can guarantee me that you will see me when you say that you will, I'll pay for that. There is a shortage of doctors so I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who would still come see you. Understand, though, that there are MANY of us who do not respect doctors' time because MANY doctors do not respect our time.
This is probably not what you were thinking when you came here for a sympathetic ear. Stick around, though. We are a fun group.
I'm sorta confused. You don't think we haven't/don't sit in an office when we get sick or have to see someone. I definitely have to sit and wait like everyone else. It irks me, but since I know what its like on the other side, I don't complain.Quote:
However, you can't change my experiences with the medical field and you can't understand the frustration because you are an insider who doesn't have to suffer like we do.
Featured Stories
See All
Baseball Thoughts: No. 1 Aggies back top spot with T-Town takedown
by Ryan Brauninger
33:53
18h ago
5.6k