Longest wait for scheduled appointment?

[cbrunny]

Waited a half hour past appointment time. I'm sure that's not the worst but still grumpy about it. Usually I book first thing in the morning so this can't happen but today I didn't have the choice. Bah.

 

[John Connor]

About that long for a spine doctor. Didn't piss me off as much as it was unprofessional and gave me a bad vibe about him. So I got a second opinion.

 

[luv2liv]

1hr wait for a doc to look at my knee. that wasnt in the waiting room either. i was sitting in his exam room for 1hr.
unbelievable.
1 time, i was late 10mins and a physician dismissed my apt outright. had to reschedule for another time.

 

[Chaotic42]

Three hours. I've been in the doctor's office, waiting for him, and they literally tried to close the building. They just came in to turn off the lights.

 

[BxgJ]

If you count the time for the doc to actually get in the room, as well as waiting in the lobby, probably close to 2 hours once. I know they were unusually busy that day, and told me that when I had to come in, but I was still pissed.

 

[NesuD]

Waited 2.5 hrs at a doctor once. Then they tried to tell me it was my fault because I was there on the wrong day. Then I showed them the appt card they wrote my appt date and time on. Doh! Said I would have to come back the next day. Walked out got a new doctor the next day. Sent old doctor and Insurance company a lengthy letter on quality of care and medical liability had their failure to see me caused me serious harm.

 

[zinfamous]

Three hours. I've been in the doctor's office, waiting for him, and they literally tried to close the building. They just came in to turn off the lights.

That moment when the the grim reality that the world doesn't even know you exist sinks in.

 

[highland145]

Many years ago...1980...3hrs every visit for the acl reconstruction.

But very spoiled with my GP for 20 years. He only scheduled 3 people every 30 minutes so that was my max wait and I could call and get in just about any time. He retired last year. My new guy doesn't even take walk ins...wth? Is that the new norm with all of the doc in a boxes?

 

[Chaotic42]

That moment when the the grim reality that the world doesn't even know you exist sinks in.

Yeah, I seem to get forgotten about a lot for someone who is 6'1, 220 pounds, and has a booming voice. That same doctor who almost locked me in was doing a scope of my sinuses and said "oops". I asked what that meant and he said I'd know once the anesthetic wore off. I once went to a walk-in clinic with an ingrown toenail. They tried to numb it and came back. They asked if it was numb, I said no, and they said "well, we're busy so it's got to come out". Pulled my nail with no anesthetic. I've got bad luck with doctors, I guess.

 

[cbrunny]

Shit. Well I'll shut up about 30 mins at the chiropodist. Lol

 

[KMFJD]

Waited a half hour past appointment time. I'm sure that's not the worst but still grumpy about it. Usually I book first thing in the morning so this can't happen but today I didn't have the choice. Bah.

It's almost always an hour wait, it's gotten to the point where i will check in and leave and go have a sit down breakfast, walk back and still will be waiting for 15 minutes....unless i get the first appointment of the day. I had to go today, walked in at 9:55am and finally saw the doctor at 11:25am


/yeah i know, first world problems
//at least it's *free!

 

[Red Squirrel]

For scheduled I'd say maybe 45min or so. I think it's ridiculous, because if YOU are late, then they'll often want to charge you a fee. For walk in clinic, 3+ hours is typical. ER can be even longer, but I've been lucky any time I went.

Now as far as waiting for an appointment date, 3+ months is typical for family doctor or dentist. Dentist is the worse, like if I have a loose filling or something I may as well try to fix it myself because I won't be getting in before my next checkup anyway.

 

[edro]

Making patients sit in solitary confinement is taught in medical school; it establishes dominance.

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah, I seem to get forgotten about a lot for someone who is 6'1, 220 pounds, and has a booming voice. That same doctor who almost locked me in was doing a scope of my sinuses and said "oops". I asked what that meant and he said I'd know once the anesthetic wore off. I once went to a walk-in clinic with an ingrown toenail. They tried to numb it and came back. They asked if it was numb, I said no, and they said "well, we're busy so it's got to come out". Pulled my nail with no anesthetic. I've got bad luck with doctors, I guess.

Should I be laughing at your misfortune? Because I'm mostly laughing.

 

[SearchMaster]

Yeah, I seem to get forgotten about a lot for someone who is 6'1, 220 pounds, and has a booming voice. That same doctor who almost locked me in was doing a scope of my sinuses and said "oops". I asked what that meant and he said I'd know once the anesthetic wore off. I once went to a walk-in clinic with an ingrown toenail. They tried to numb it and came back. They asked if it was numb, I said no, and they said "well, we're busy so it's got to come out". Pulled my nail with no anesthetic. I've got bad luck with doctors, I guess.

Ouch.

In the past I have suffered with gout (though medication has stabilized it). I have a friend who is a doctor and he recommended a young doctor, so the next time I had a flareup in my big toe I went to see her. She insisted on drawing fluid from my affected area to view under a microscope, even though I had been professionally diagnosed by two different doctors in the past. I finally reluctantly agreed and really had to restrain myself from kicking her in the head when she put the needle in my toe. A few minutes later she came back and said, "yep, it's gout". Again I restrained myself from saying "no shit, sherlock, can I shove a fireplace poker up your ass for compensation?" I had a follow-up appointment scheduled with her a few months later, but a business trip came up. I contacted the office over two weeks before the appointment to let them know I couldn't make it. When I got back from my trip, I had a letter from the doctor in my mailbox chastising me for missing my appointment and she had CC'ed my friend who had referred me to her. I called him and asked who the fuck she thought she was, and he laughed and said "yeah she takes herself too seriously sometimes". I never saw her again.

If you don't know what gout is, it's when your body doesn't process out the uric acid in your bloodstream, then it forms tiny crystals in your joints...it's essentially having very small shards of glass in your joints and it absolutely hurts like a mofo (women with gout usually say it's worse than child birth).

 

[werepossum]

Yeah, I seem to get forgotten about a lot for someone who is 6'1, 220 pounds, and has a booming voice. That same doctor who almost locked me in was doing a scope of my sinuses and said "oops". I asked what that meant and he said I'd know once the anesthetic wore off. I once went to a walk-in clinic with an ingrown toenail. They tried to numb it and came back. They asked if it was numb, I said no, and they said "well, we're busy so it's got to come out". Pulled my nail with no anesthetic. I've got bad luck with doctors, I guess.

You need to adopt the Buddy Hackett method: Reach down, get a firm grip on the doctor's testicles, and say "Now we're not going to hurt each other, are we?"

 

[Chaotic42]

Ouch.

In the past I have suffered with gout (though medication has stabilized it). I have a friend who is a doctor and he recommended a young doctor, so the next time I had a flareup in my big toe I went to see her. She insisted on drawing fluid from my affected area to view under a microscope, even though I had been professionally diagnosed by two different doctors in the past. I finally reluctantly agreed and really had to restrain myself from kicking her in the head when she put the needle in my toe. A few minutes later she came back and said, "yep, it's gout". Again I restrained myself from saying "no shit, sherlock, can I shove a fireplace poker up your ass for compensation?" I had a follow-up appointment scheduled with her a few months later, but a business trip came up. I contacted the office over two weeks before the appointment to let them know I couldn't make it. When I got back from my trip, I had a letter from the doctor in my mailbox chastising me for missing my appointment and she had CC'ed my friend who had referred me to her. I called him and asked who the fuck she thought she was, and he laughed and said "yeah she takes herself too seriously sometimes". I never saw her again.

If you don't know what gout is, it's when your body doesn't process out the uric acid in your bloodstream, then it forms tiny crystals in your joints...it's essentially having very small shards of glass in your joints and it absolutely hurts like a mofo (women with gout usually say it's worse than child birth).

Yikes. The doctor did at least give me strong pain meds (this was back before they decided to regulate the hell out of them). I've also had a dentist kill a tooth.

 

[BoomerD]

About that long for a spine doctor. Didn't piss me off as much as it was unprofessional and gave me a bad vibe about him. So I got a second opinion.

My neurosurgeon always ran 1-2 hours late for office appointments. If you left, the office staff would "punish" you by making you wait a month for the next appointment.

 

[John Connor]

My neurosurgeon always ran 1-2 hours late for office appointments. If you left, the office staff would "punish" you by making you wait a month for the next appointment.

Neurosurgeon Nazi!

 

[shortylickens]

Two hours.
I was polite.

Then left a scathing review online, had my records transferred to a different doctor, and waited two months to pay the bill by mail.