Medical appointment and waiting to see the doctor

It does really stink to have to wait that long but I feel like I have long waits more often than not. I'm actually surprised when I can get in and out in a fair amount of time even though it should be that way.
Sorry for your long wait!

OBGYN's are the worst for waiting. Or they'll call you back, make you undress and then leave you there for an hour (I'd rather wait in the waiting room where at least there's something to look at!). I had one nurse offer to turn the light off and let me take a nap because it was taking so long.

I feel it’s more the norm. Many drs overbook their day so they get paid more and then need to take extra time with each patient. I don’t complain about waiting if the dr takes all of the necessary time with me. If I waited and I feel rushed in my appt them I’d be upset. An hour is excessive though. Perhaps your dr was called to an emergency. That happens to my dh. He can be running well and on time and then get called to the ER and it can throw off his whole day. That is often why the OBGYNs run late, because they’re running to see women in labour.

Unfortunately, I wait that long all the time. I’d say that’s a normal wait time for military health care (Tricare). Doctors are scheduled 7 minutes for regular appts, which obviously isn’t achievable. So they are behind with the very first appt. And I’ve been that patient that puts you behind by a good hour. (And I was darned grateful to have the attention of my doctor in a true emergency.)

when the kids were little, I’d always ask for the first appt of the day. As a diabetic, I’m now allowed 30 minutes which still isn’t enough. I saw a new doctor yesterday (only a 30 minute wait!) and she wanted to go over a bunch of stuff while I had other issues that I wanted to discuss. It’s a pain, but it’s free. There’s always a trade off.

I don’t take well to that. I would of probably gone out more than once.

I will say when I get taken back, put in a room and I wait I will open the door. They don’t like the door open. If someone says something I’ll tell them how long I’ve been sitting inside the room.

I do at times turn my timer on. It’s interesting to see how long it takes for someone to get to me.

Yeah……there time is valuable. So is mine.

No, you should not expect to wait an hour for you appt. I would only schedule the first appt of the day going forward or I would look for a new doctor. And the office staff should have been communicating with you several times over that hour to explain what was going on or offer to reschedule.

Not really related but currently, due to Covid, my eye doctor has all patients wait in the car..the waiting room is not open.

I always have to wait for my eyes to fully dilate - usually 20-30 minutes. I don't think 30 minutes is excessive in waiting to be called back the first time, but it's at the upper limit of my tolerance.

They may over book because patients don't show and don't call. Otherwise they are sitting around wasting time when they could be seeing patients.

I don’t mind waiting if an emergency came up but I’d like to be told.

With the corporatization of practices, expect to see more of this. I have switched doctors because of this.

I would be upset for waiting that long with no explanation or apology. I understand that emergencies happen, and all they need to do is to say so and I am less annoyed and understanding. But it's frustrating when they don't let you know why you have such a long wait.

That would make me insane!  Like I said, my doctor is good!  I'm thankful that he's the only one I ever see    

Last time I went to the doctor I was called back to the exam room after 30 minutes in the lobby where I then languished an hour and a half.  It was freezing cold and I was seriously contemplating fashioning a blanket out of the paper table cover and cotton balls. I finally opened the door (I was fully dressed) and positioned myself in the doorway because the hallway was at least warmer. Thank goodness I never travel without a book, so at least I wasn’t bored,

When I had surgery it was over 2 hours late, I was stressed to the max about the surgery and STARVING until my husband got a nurse and told her I was about to rip the iv out and just walk home. She gave me something to relax which put me right to sleep thankfully.

I don’t recall ever being seen on time at the doctor’s office unless I was the first appointment of the day.

I was in the waiting room at my doctor's office several years ago and watched as a man went to the receptionist and said he had been waiting almost an hour past his appointment time. He said, you guys charge patients if they don't cancel with enough notice or if they're late to the appointment -- can I charge you since I've been waiting here so long? The receptionist said no, I'm sorry. The man said that's bullshit and walked out.

I have left practices if the Dr is HABITUALLY late. Some Drs just can not seem to practice on time and some think, for some reason, that their time is more valuable than yours or mine.

I do not leave the first time a Dr is late, especially if there has been communication about it. Especially if they had an emergency.

I left my endocrinologists office after a 3 hour wait, he was habitually 1 hour late so i combat that by scheduling the first appt. To which he was 3 hours late, all the time the receptionist telling me over & over he’s almost here, you can’t leave there isn’t an opening for months. I was done.

Then I left a GP for being 1 1/2 hours late after being habitually late previously then putting me in an exam room & laughing in the next room for another 45 mins with a drug rep. I walked out and asked for my copay back as I had to get my kids off the bus. To top it off his staff was angry with me for wanting to leave 2 hrs & 15 mins after my appt time, telling me I should have set aside more time. More time than 135 minutes for a routine check up? Hell no.

Occasionally in the case of an emergency WITH communication I expect but all the time - I don’t have the time for that. Grow up and learn how to schedule yourself

Ophthalmology appointments *can* take very long. They aren’t measuring your visual acuity, they are trying to diagnose eye problems. They are different from Optometry appointments. 

I started out as one of those emergency appointments because I came into my PCM complaining of double vision. And when she ran a simple follow my finger test and one of my eyes wasn’t moving correctly, she sent me straight to Ophthalmology as an emergency. I was the one who made other people wait that day. 

I’ve since had 4 eye surgeries and now only see the ophthalmologist once a year, but it was much more often for a while. And the wait was always awful. But, she is a nice doctor, and I didn’t have choice if I wanted to keep my vision.