You obviously don't see doctors very often. I'm guessing you see a PCP general practitioner and that's it? Because that is the only doctor I have that doesn't have ridiculous wait times.
Anytime I see my neurologist, for instance, I must schedule my appointment out at least 5 months in advance. Furthermore, the day of my appointment it is normal for me to sit in the waiting room for 1hr+. It's entirely normal in all walks of life, and especially where I live in a major city. Do you live in a rural area perhaps?
Another poster hit the nail on the head in that while its not necessarily the doctors fault, the facilities that employ them do things like hedge their bets - often making appointments for every 15 minutes. You know damn well as I do that typical doc appointments are longer than 15 minutes - hence they are just hoping that some of the appointments don't show up. Again, I don't fault the doctors persay. They don't make their schedules they just execute them.
So like I said, this is normal for me. It's normal across my kids doctors, dermatologists, or any other specialists. You would understand if you lived in my area and had to see docs often. I'm willing to bet it's very normal for other ATOT members and well - and that's part of the reason I would laugh in the face of any doctor office that wants to charge me a fee.
Oh, now you know me? Your're going to tell me what my experiences have been? I may live out in the sticks, but we have a shortage of doctors and facilities here. And I still haven't had to wait more than 5-10 minutes for my doctors. And I was born in Burbank, California. I grew up in Los Angeles County and lived there more than 30 years where we had three kids and saw plenty of doctors. I also lived in the North San Francisco Bay area for four years and visited docs in that area. For the last 10ish years I've lived in small town North Idaho, but I've been around. I've spent more time in the big city than many.
I've seen lots of doctors. I've waiting multiple hours in emergency rooms, and one time I waited with my wife for almost two hours to see her OBGYN because he was called to the hospital for an emergency patient in labor. We wouldn't have waited, except she was in the final trimester and due the following week so we needed to see him.
And five years ago my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. We saw lots of specialist, surgeons, radiologists and doctors and never had more than a 15 minute wait for the entire 19 months she fought that shit before passing. So, keep your fucking mouth shut about what I've lived through and what you think I know.
But, anyway, none of that matters. The OP almost certainly signed a responsibility to pay document with his doctor. It absolutely would have included that the patient is responsible for missed appointments with less than 24 hours notice. End of discussion.
Do both of us a favor and don't reply to this post. Just give up, because you will never convince me that you don't have a responsibility to keep your word.
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